Greetings from Kanchanaburi!

But what a mission to get here, so I'd best chronicle the planes, trains and automobiles we went through. Back on Ko Lanta, I discovered early doors how inept I am on a moped...a whole 10 minutes in fact was all it took before I totalled the thing. Promptly handed the deathbike back to its frantic owner, lovingly trying to stroke the dents out of his livelyhood, with a 1000 baht (about 18 quid) to cover the damage and a handshake. Turned on my heels soon after and tried to forget the experience. Its a big step up from a Tigra...too big a step for me. Oh the shame.

To note, its top speed was 40mph. How these things are allowed on roads is beyond me.

Anyhow, we'd decided to leave the sun and sea for the central plains, north of Bangkok, with Kanchanburi firmly in mind. Minibus booked, ferry waiting, we duely set off...only to frantically debark at the port once we'd realised we'd left a money pouch under the matress at the resort (I'd taken security a step too far). One tuk tuk ride later, we'd retrieved our goods, only to be faced with the dilema of getting to Krabi by 4pm to catch the connecting minivan to Surat Thani for our nightbus back to Bangkok.

I don't need to go too much into detail, but lets just say we missed our connection by 10 minutes (one dubious travel agent guaranteed us we´d be in Krabi in time for 300 baht each, lying cow!), went through the trauma of a minivan to Surat Thani (laden with thai compatriots who obviously were dropped off prior to us two anxious travellers racing to reach a 7pm bus), but made our bus which (bless this countries poor timekeeping) was late by 30 mins.

One restless nights sleep later, we were "deposited" on the Khao San Rd at 4am by a rather angry driver (as knackered as us). Little time to waste, we hotfooted across town to the TAT office to pick up our passports with Vietnam visas at 5am (a trampy doze in the main rail station next door whilst they opened), only to then dash across town to the Thonburi Station to get our train to Kanchanaburi. We finally arrived at our guesthouse, weary, hungry and glad the ordeal was over!

We didn´t waste time sleeping mind...we were past that! One hot shower (what a luxury in this country) and a full meal (Suze succumbed to burger and chips, I settled for my 100th Phad Thai) later, we set off up the road for the Bridge over the River Kwai.

We´d been warned beforehand about what to expect at this historic site, and the advice was unfortunately very true. The bridge itself is overun with tourism, so much so, its cheapens what the structure symbolises and what should be an emotional experience is soon diminished. Much as I understand that tourism is a livelyhood to many in Thailand, I was saddened by the grotesque stalls selling River Kwai T Shirts and other associated tat, sat next to baying food stalls and littered with brash americans with enormous cameras. You can still walk across the bridge, dodging the hordes of school kids posing for photos and a odd looking yellow train that merely goes back and forth for 20 baht, but otherwise the whole experience left us both a little low.

We moved up the road to sample the World War II musuem and JEATH Musuem, but came away disappointed. Both places, 40 baht entrance fee of course, are moreso a collection of brick a brac from around the war era, with rather disturbing lifesize models of POWs depicting "living conditions" during the time. The soldier accounts from the laying of the Burma-Thailand railroad across 1942-1945 are of interest, but there is little else to recommend about the place. We took the long walk back to our rafthouse on the River Kwai, prepared to make the journey to Hellfire Pass the next day hoping that the guide books promising writeup was justified.

It certainly was. We opted to take the bus, a mere 2 hour journey at only 50baht to the site that is Hellfire Pass. The Pass itself was a brutal cutting along the old railroads stretch to Burma that got its name from the "hellish fires" that lit the site during its construction by the POWs. The museum that accompanies the site is first class, a recollection of the time and the trauma endured by the 200,000 POWs that were drafted in to build the "death railway". An emotive 7 minute film, depïcting photographs and cinefilm during the contruction was an enduring memory, as was the menacing music that accompanied it. Its shocking when you recall the 150,000 death toll of POWs that succumbed to the japanese regime whilst building their railroad, and for the first time I personally apprecited the full scale of devastation left by World War II.

On a lighter note, we made tracks for the Erawan Falls today. 7 tiers of cascading beauty, and one hell of a climb to see them all! Time was upon us, so we were unable to take a quick dip at the top which is a shame...seeing as the national park charges 200 baht for foreigners! Again, we had cravings for a poison clown, but found a Wimpy instead (its poorer cousin). Granted the meal looked nothing like what was on the posters, but it did the job..and due to the 99percent salad to 1percent beef pattie ratio..one of the most healthy meals we´ve had all day! The pictures do the falls more justice than my words.

A couple of things we´ve noted upto this point on our travels..

- TAT is an accredition granted by the government to travel agents which meet certain criteria. That is to say, whereas they´re fine for seeking local information, they dubious when it comes to booking accomodation or travel. We booked through a TAT in Bangkok, and our VIP Bus was not government run, hence the indirect route back from Krabi via Surat Thani. Apart from being a farcical operation, we heard stories on the bus about these private companies "drugging" passengers and stealing their bags. Thankfully, our bus was nothing of the sort but we´ve found in Kanchanburi its infinately cheaper, and safer, to organise trips and travel yourselves. A day tour to the Hellfire Pass was quoted at 980 Baht here, we did the same trip in the same time for only 90 Baht!

- The wonder of the buses is that you get the opportunity to soak in thai life as it passes you by on the public roads. We´ve encountered moped riders sporting those policeman helmets you buy from cheap London stores (safety isn´t paramount over here) and bizarrely a rickshaw rider wearing a full Sunderland strip...you´ll take any fans anywhere nowadays eh Macca!

- Look out for Monkeys. Especially the ones at Erawan Falls who apparently are vicious and looking to steal your belongings. Whereas my clothes are useless to them, Suze was a prime target given her size!

- The muscle top has gone into hiding for a while as the climate changes dramatically the further north you go. The nights are freezing! We´ve already asked for more blankets and Suze has got her winter socks on when we get to bed.

I´ve waffled enough.....so we´ll continue on to Ayutthaya tommorow, the ancient captial, before taking the express train up to Chaing Mai for hopefully a 3 day hill trek, a cookery course so I can show the good people of this country how its done and a stint at the elephant sanctury. For now, enjoy our snaps and we´ll be back soon.

Love to all

Mike and Suze xxx

p.s. Snaps will be uploaded later as Suze is hungry and must be fed. We sampled pizza last night, Thai style, which wasn´t bad. Óur digestive systems begged to differ this morning. 101th Phad Thai it is then.