17 September 2010

Kanchanaburi

James gets a shot at playing captain at the floating market
Hong Kong - check. Bangkok - check. Now time to experience the true life of a backpacker. We started on our voyage by taking the local, non air-conditioned bus to Kanchanaburi - a town sitting alongside the famous River Kwai.

After melting on the bus, we were hit with sweltering heat (finding out later this is one of the hottest places in Thailand) and clambered onto the very unusual pick-up truck taxis to Apple's Guesthouse. Here, we met one of the nicest people ever - Noi - who has greeted us with a smiling face everyday of our stay.

The Death Railway
Our time in Kanchanaburi has been a tale of two halves. First of all, there was the floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Setting off at 4:30am (a time of day I am definitely not used to) we took two buses in search of the sought after market but were left disappointed. Chatachuk Market had set the benchmark high.

The fourth of the seven-tiered Erawan Waterfalls
The floating market may not have been a success, but the next day more than made up for it. We booked a tour that involved a trip to Hellfire Pass (a point in the Thai-Burma original railway line), the Erawan Waterfalls, a trip on Death Railway and a visit to the River Kwai bridge.

The waterfalls were so beautiful - even if we looked like two Scottish lobsters after the steep walk. We considered swimming in the falls, but the huge, scary looking fish that 'nibble but don't bite' put us off!

Now, we are off to Chiang Mai - a 17 hour bus journey awaits!

Pam

     

8 comments:

  1. Looks fab! I hope your tans develop soon as you are right you do look VERY Scottish at the moment! :-) x

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  2. What a fantastic time you are having! I feel that a food theme may be emerging for you James, there's a surprise.
    Just back from Dalguise with some extremely motivated P7s. Will the banana song ever leave my mind....
    Lots of drop bear sightings, so numbers must be up this year. Watch out when you reach Australia and their native territory. Constant vigilance!
    Jill

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  3. Hi guys :) Just thought I'de say a big Hello from me :) The places you've been look amazing and I'm sure your having a FAB time :) Thanks for the updates, they're great and really make us feel apart of it. Enjoy the next part. God Bless xxx

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  4. Fabulous pictures! Looks like an incredible time - take care & take it all in. I'm not sure about this "Death Railway" business... :-/
    Esther xxx

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  5. reminds us of our time there! Loved the Erewan falls! Scared by the bus drivers! We are just back from a great holiday in Crete, and today is the first Quest! This is Paul Wraight (cannot work out how to edit the profile to make it work!)

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  6. Hi Paul, that's great you've been to the Erewan waterfalls - we loved it! I'd say it's the nicest place we've seen so far. I've sent Dominique an email she could hopefully read out to the kids at Quest Club. I hope it's started well this term.

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  7. I'm just thinking to myself, it's a damn shame you don't have a cam corder. U could have done a 5sec same dance in each place u visit. Put them all together, would have been ace. To Pam, Lorna would like to know if you have been able to make good use of your gift. Which reminds James have you used your flask. All the best too you both.

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  8. Yeah, I've seen the clip online of the guy who does that. If only we'd thought of it first! Pam has been writing in her travel journal loads and I'm loving my hip flask! I hope you, Lorna, Cole and Top Cat are doing well!

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