About a year before our trip, I downloaded Pinterest onto my iPad and started pinning places to visit around the world. Angkur Wat in Cambodia, Ha Long Bay and the nearby Caves in Vietnam, and a dozen place in Thailand, like the Reclining Buddha, were Pins that I googled and hoped to see. However, we needed to get a visa for Vietnam prior to entering the country. Most countries we visited either didn't require Canadians to have a visa, or you could get a 30 day visa upon entry, which simply meant an extra line to stand in when you arrived at the airport. For Vietnam, the embassy was in Bangkok, so we organised the visa through a travel agent to whom we entrusted our passports. The process takes several days, so we organized a day trip around Bangkok, and a three day tour of Kanchanaburi, which is north and a bit west of Bangkok, to fill our days while we waited for the visa to come through. We were in for some great surprises.
The floating market was a terrific surprise. We were driven by boat down a series of canals to the start of the floating market, where we needed to change to a smaller boat. On the way to this dock, Cooper spotted a strange creature swimming in the water. When the driver saw it he started yelling to nearby boats and was very excited. It was a Kimodo Dragon. Apparently, based on the driver's reaction, these giant lizards don't come around the villages that often, so this was an unexpected addition to the day. He was probably about 6 feet long and was flicking his tongue around as he swam along the edge of the canal.
After transferring boats we were told to keep our hands and elbows in the boat. We learned why quickly, as the über crowded canals were jammed with long narrow boats that slid along each other in a tight squeeze that left no room for fingers, wrists, or elbows. Originally, the floating market consisted of ladies paddling their boats up and down the canals, selling fruits, vegetables, meals that are cooked fresh on the boat, household items like handmade brushes and brooms, and many other products, to the locals and to the odd tourist. Over the years, however, it has become a major tourist attraction. We bought two meals from the ladies in the picture below, which they prepared for us, fresh, on their boat. Katie and I also bought two small elephant figurines. I'm so glad we were able to experience this unique shopping trip!
I'm ashamed to admit that we also went to a couple of animal shows during this day trip and during the Kanchanaburi trip. There were several locations with tigers, elephants and crocodiles. We went on two elephant rides. We said we wouldn't go on the second one, but due to communication problems I guess we didn't make this clear enough, and we ended up on the second ride. At the tiger zoo, Katie was able to feed a baby tiger (still huge... +100lbs) a bottle of milk. That was probably the only part of the animal shows that we enjoyed. The rest of it was so sad. Instead of being inspired by the beauty and majesty of these great animals, the antics that they were made to perform seemed degrading. I won't go on and on; I'll just say that if I had it to do over I wouldn't go to any of the animal shows.
Kanchanaburi has a great deal of historical significance regarding WWII. Do you remember the movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai"? There were actually several bridges, and they were built in Burma and Kanchanaburi. The building of the bridges was engineered by the Japanese and the construction was carried out by POWs and enslaved civilians. The conditions they lived and worked in were inhuman, and many men died. The museum and the cemetery were worth the visit. We walked across one of the famous, re-built bridges, which was bombed by the allies despite the fact that the Japanese made the POWs stand on it and wave their arms in the hopes that they wouldn't bomb it. Sadly, the bridge was blown up, and any surviving POWs were swept down the river. (The movie tells the story of another bridge, in Burma, that William Holden helps blow up just as a train full of Japanese dignitaries crosses over it.)
We stayed two nights in Kanchanaburi, staying on/in a floating hotel on the River Kwai. This sounds so lovely and romantic, doesn't it? Well... a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out the pictures below, that show our floating accomodations. Take special care to note that the toilet doesn't have a handle for flushing. We needed to scoop water out of the bucket provided, to help swoosh away the contents of the bowl. Also, you'll note that there's no door to the bathroom, just a shower curtain, and that thin blue towel on the end of the bed was the comforter. We nearly froze the first night (yes... we actualy stayed two nights!) On the up side... the meals, three breakfasts and two suppers, were surprisingly tastey.
The highlight of this trip, for all of us, was our hike up the Earwan Falls; absolutely beautiful. It was about 2.5km to the top, passing lovely falls as you go. Many people swim in the pools under the falls, and at one of the pools there were boulders you could slide down. Cooper and I tried it and it was awesome. A bit of a shock was when I stepped into a pool for the first time. Are you familiar with the tanks of fish they have in cities all over Asia where the fish nibble the dead skin off of your feet? Well, we found the wild version of these fish. I screamed so loud the birds and beasts were silent for a moment. I'm not usually a screamer, but I was NOT expecting to be pounced on by these huge fish (at least 4 inches long! : ) I was determined to get in that water (it was very hot out and we'd been hiking for about two hours). After a few more attempts and a couple of slightly less jarring screams, I managed to get in the whole way. (If you flailed a lot, the fish stayed away.) It was totally worth it; refreshing, beautiful, not so peaceful with all the flaling, but....
If you go to Thailand, I'd say that the River Kwai and the Earwan Falls shouldn't be missed. As unique as it was, the floating hotel could probably be happily replaced by a one or two star hotel. If you love elephants, there is a special elephant park in Chang Mai that rescues and recovers abused and neglected elephants. You can go for a week or more, helping with the feeding and bathing of the elephants. We tried to get in but they were booked, so book your stay well in advance. Here is the website: http://www.baanchangelephantpark.com/
Floating down the River Kwai on a bamboo raft.
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