It was March 2022, and time to party. I was stoked to have finished my teaching contract and credential course in one fell swoop. Kent was truly thrilled to finally be done with covid isolation. How to celebrate? With a little adventure, of course! It was time for KnC to visit Kanchanaburi!
With Kent back to work on Monday and many more adventures ahead of us in the month of March, we could only do a mini trip to this western province of Thailand. In fact, we’d only have one night and two days to play. But a short trip has never stopped us from cramming in loads of fun before!
Although we considered renting a car and driving to Kanchanaburi, we wound up hiring a driver instead to save time and trouble. We were picked up at home on Friday morning. After a handful of hours – and one quick stop for coconut slushies – we’d arrived!
A Riverine Rest
Our home for the night was a floating bungalow on the river Khwae Noi (aka the River Kwai), and we were incredibly excited. After hopping out of our van, we hopped into a narrow skiff and were ferried upriver. The rapid current, high cliffs and lush jungle here make for some striking Kanchanaburi scenery!
Our home-away-from-home was one of several bungalows floating on the river, anchored to the shore nearby. Although most guests reach this resort by boat, there is also a road access to a village close by. The village is tucked just out of view in the trees beyond the line of floating cottages.
At our home base, there was nothing on the agenda except chillin’. We lazed on the floating deck to watch the river flow by. And when it started raining, we lounged in the hammocks on the inner deck under the roof!
During a weather window in the late afternoon, we decided to head off on an explore. We’d seen a map of a little trail leading to a cave that had sparked our curiosity!
This was a fun little riverside wander during which we got to see lots of the local insects! For some reason, all of the bugs in this area are bright red.
The cave was an ancient Buddhist place of worship that still sees some use from the villages nearby. And the viewpoint offered tremendous views of a bend in the river below!
The cloudy skies and high cliff walls made for an early sunset on our only evening in Kanchanaburi. But no matter: it was time to eat dinner at the lovely outdoor, floating restaurant!
The gurgling water and gentle bobbing movements of the dining platforms made this a unique experience. Combined with the lack of other tourists (only a handful of folks joined us there, most of them Thai) and a delicious veggie feast, our meal was magical!
We fell asleep to the sound of water rushing past below our bed, rocked gently in the current. It was absolutely delightful, and highly recommendable! We wished we were staying longer.
Before we left the next morning, we met the village elephant! Wendy was coming down the slope opposite the cottages as we made our way along them to breakfast. And of course, we immediately went over to say hi!
It’s true that Asian elephants are much smaller than their African cousins. But they are not small! I was amazed to stand close to Wendy and admire her solid yet sensitive feet and gaze into her bright eye. I longed to touch her trunk, which was curiously roving over a massive fruit platter. She crushed a watermelon before inhaling it!
Following our pachyderm encounter, we were left to enjoy our last moments on the river. I spent our final half hour running to the end of the platforms and jumping in and floating downstream! I had a blast – but I only managed to convince Kent to do this once. He was not a fan of the cold water or the DIY nature of safety precautions!
Then it was truly time to go! We bid goodbye to our floating chalet and hopped back in the boat. Back at the pier, we met our driver again. We drove just a few minutes up the road to our next destination in Kanchanaburi.
Hellfire Pass
Both a museum and a walking tour, this landmark recalls the making of the Burma-Thailand railway. Constructed by prisoners of war in brutal conditions and with great loss of life, it’s an important historical monument in Kanchanaburi.
After touring the (free and excellent!) museum and learning the stories of the Australian laborers, we had a greater understanding of what we were about to see.
We descended a long staircase to reach the railbed. At first, the cliffs are only on the east, and there’s an open view out west. But shortly, the walls close in. Literally. And you can start to see why constructing this railway was such a difficult and deadly job.
The audio tour kept us informed about everything we were seeing. It was sobering, but important information. We were bearing witness to a part of history. I wished I could share it with my dad.
But there were long stretches in between the work camps. After we left ?, we left a small crowd of tourists behind and were completely on our own. When we weren’t listening to the audio guide, we walked quietly and respectfully.
The relentless, sticky heat and somber atmosphere reminded me of our trip to Hiroshima in 2011. But this time, the cicadas were silent. Not a hint of wind stirred the treetops. All was eerily quiet.
We had more glimpses out across the forest toward the edge of Kanchanaburi province and into modern-day Myanmar. But, as we learned in the guide, this jungle is just a shadow of its former self. POWs who returned noted, in the audio guide, the lack of teak trees which used to tower over the canopy. Just as people were abused here, so too was the land.
It was pretty nonetheless. And dramatic. In places, the sheer rock walls on either side towered so high that it was like being in a tunnel. Holes in the rock pointed the direction of the dynamite blasts that carved the very opening we walked through.
Close to the far end of the trail, we encountered a group of hunters on motorcycles. It is a testament to the relative safety of South East Asian travel that we only felt a moment’s unease about this.
When we reached a road, we turned around. Of course, the former railbed continues, but it’s now fenced off; restricted access and overgrown. But we still had a nice, long walk back to the interpretive center, plus more audio guide!
Though mostly quiet and contemplative on this journey, we were delighted to spot a new animal! On a distant tree was a lizard so colorful it beggared belief. We crept closer and closer to examine it. Seeing such a unique denizen of the Kanchanaburi wilds was a definitely highlight of our walk.
After making it back to the museum, we reunited with our driver for a slightly longer drive to the final stop on our tiny tour.
Erawan National Park
Next up, national park-ing – Thai style! I’d heard wonderful things about the seven different waterfalls that are the draw to this Kanchanaburi park. I had high hopes – and was still impressed!
The first of the Erawan falls start small. At Hlai Kuen Rang, the water gently tumbles over boulders and families were playing here in the shallow water. It kinda reminded me of why we always preferred the riverine route down in Korean mountains (see: Piagol & Cheonbuldong valleys).
Despite how delightful it was early on, we couldn’t linger. Our driver had given us a strict deadline to come back to the car. So we scampered past the first falls and up the trail!
The second level, called Wang Mat Cha, was a wider curtain of water. The families playing here wore life jackets in the deep pool below the cascade. The view the next falls delighted me so much I almost abandoned the mission and stopped there!
Oke Nang Phee Su, the fourth falls, spilled over massive boulders into another popular pool. Climbing up still further, we found the fifth level, Buar Mai Long, and the 6th level, Dong Pruk Sa. The latter reminded me of Kuang Si in Laos with its multitude of striking little blue pools. Dong Pruk Sa was a taller chute with no swimming allowed, making it a nice, quiet stop.
A hilarious sign greeted us at the final waterfall, Phu Pha Erawan. “You are the conquer” it declared in English and Thai! We couldn’t resist taking a photo with it. Then, finally, we could get in the water! We shucked our sweaty clothes and slid into the cool blue water at last.
This waterfall was so fun! Friendly, flesh-nibbling fish swam up to clean us of any dead skin. (I suppose this is not for everyone: I loved this; Kent hated it.) The water was a surreal tint of aqua. Best of all, you could swim under the spray into a horseshoe-shaped cave behind the falls! It was strikingly beautiful, thrilling and an absolute blast!
We lingered here until a ranger came up and informed everyone that it was time to descend for the day. We’d lost track of time, so we hurried into our shoes and zipped back downhill.
But my idea was to descend quickly enough to make up time to stop at one more waterfall. And I knew exactly which one it would be: waterfall #3, the phenomenal Pha Nam Tok!
I’d admired this waterfall on the way up, even when the pool below was crowded with swimmers. Now, deserted but dreamy as ever, I adored it! I wasted no time in hopping in and swam over to the falling wall of water. I relished this last immersion so much!
Back at the entrance, we pleaded with the driver to let us go the last open shop. We were in dire need of coconuts and mango smoothies! Not having had any lunch, we searched in vain for vegan snacks but wound up scarfing a can of chips (once again, how reminiscent of certain Korean adventures!).
The sun was setting, and it was time to go home. But what a wonderful time for KnC in Kanchanaburi!