Stop 9: Buri-ed Deep in the Jungle -- Kanchanaburi, Thailand

The town of Kanchanaburi lies three hours northwest of Bangkok. It’s claim to fame is a bridge over the river Kwai, also the name of a movie, built during WWII by Thais and other prisoners of war. Aside from this tourist stop, the city is also the central point for exploring the surrounding jungles and waterfalls, which was the purpose for our visit.

                                                                        

We arrived in the evening, checked into the not-so-aptly named “Jolly Frog,” and watched thunderstorms roll in from all around us. Along with being starving, we were also in serious need of some comfort food. This was our first chance, as Jolly Frog had a lovely little “Western” section on their menu. In addition to the whole fish we ordered, we also got milkshakes, a burger, French fries, banana pancakes and apple pie. We filled up, called it a night, and fell asleep to episodes of House.

In the morning we jumped on the local bus and headed towards Soiyok Yai, a national park several hours northeast of Kanchanaburi. Our desired destination got lost in translation and we were dropped off at Soiyok Noi, a small waterfall an hour south of where we were meant to be going. After patiently waiting on the side of the highway for the next red local bus to swing by, we eventually made it to the national park and the floating raft hut we would be spending the night in. Joined by two ferocious schnitzels along the way, it was a battle ‘til the end to beat them to the hotel, as they threatened to steal our room, ruin our fun and our lives. Needless to say, America conquered Germany. To get them back for their naughty behavior, we stranded them at the one “restaurant” in town and made our way back with a lovely little flashlight. They were left to fend for themselves in a much scarier version of the Blaire Witch Project and we were slightly disappointed when we heard them arrive later that night. Guess you can’t win ‘em all.

That night we fell asleep at the hands of the mellow river, the soothing smells of citronella incense, and the sounds of symphony conducted by frogs and the occasional wolf. Finding any excuse not to shower, we took our baths in the river in the morning, practicing acrobatics as we jumped off the dock and tried to dodge the shady inhabitants of the mud water.

Cam getting eaten by flesh-eating piranhas 

4th Tier of Waterfall

The following day we took another bus to Erawan Waterfall, a seven-tiered heavenly oasis filled with milky blue pools at each level and massive flesh-eating carp. The water was cool, the falls formed natural water slides and we feasted our eyes on one of the most beautiful sights of our trip.

2nd Tier of the Waterfall

                         

Our next destination was Sukhothai, which entailed spending 12 hours on a local bus. Still determined not to take the air-conditioned greyhound-type buses, we suffered through sticky plastic seats, doors and windows that don’t close, and stopping every 1 or 2 minutes to let people on and off. Legroom that only accommodated midgets was the least of our worries. When we finally arrived, we found a hotel and crashed for an entire 36 hours, vowing never to leave air conditioning again.