(28th to 30th October, 2008)

Today we took a local bus from Bangkoks South Terminal at 6.30am for a 3 hour journey to Kanchanaburi based on the infamous River Kwai. Taken the local bus takes a little longer, but ALOT cheaper than the organised tour bus's. Doing it this way allows you to see a different mix of thai people including - Monks, school kids who practice there English on you (so cute), vendors and people going to work etc. It was a breath of fresh air (literally) to finally see greenery again. We were pretty much wowed by the beautiful forested mountains surrounding us as we got closer to Kanchanaburi.

Once we were of the bus we took a tuk tuk to our guesthouse the "Jolly Frog". The ride only cost 30 baht but after cycling (a bicycle tuk tuk) for about 20 mins with our back packs also he deserved every baht and probably more haha! He was completely saturated by the time we arrived at our destination, we felt so sorry for him.

We were delighted to find our guesthouse situated on the River Kwai. It was such a relaxed backpackers haven, with a well kept garden and swinging hammocks, a really nice restaurant area and a pier in which you can sit on deckchairs to chill and watch the sunset over the River Kwai. We even had a river view from our balcony which made it even better. The place had a really nice Thai feel, with thatched restaurant roof tops.

After sittign in the restaurant and munching hard on a bacon bloomer, we booked a tour for the Tiger Temple which sounded awesome. This didn't depart until 2.30pm, so we decided to fill the morning and visit the memorial cemetory of the POW's wo were killed by terrible working conditions - starvation, dehydration, disease, brutal punishment and many other causes due to harsh working environments while building the "Death Railway" from Thailand into Burma. It really hit home when many of the plaques had different verses on from their loved ones and was quite upsetting to imagine what they went through.As we did not really understand the in's and out's of Death Railway we decided to pop over the road to a small but very informative museum. Unlikeother museums we have been to before this one was really interesting, and we learnt alot. The death railway was built as Japan were cut of from essential raw materials esp oil and rubber so they went to war and launched a number of surprise attacks such as that of Pearl Harbour. They took over many countries such as Malaya, Phillipines, and Netherland East Indies etc and pushed into Burma capturing thousands of POW's who were used to build the railway. This was to transport merchant shipping, supplying far flung Japanese armies. Because it was such harsh environments huge machinery could not be used so it all had to be done by hand. Desigers of the railway bridge said it would take 5 years but it was completed in 16 months or something like that as the POW's worked around 18 hours a day!! Horrible considering we struggle with 8 hours in a cushty environment. Anyway we wont go on and on, although I think we already have haha!!But it is a definite must see if ever in Kanchanaburi!

Anyway 2.30 soon came around quickly and we headed of in an open back wagon to the Tiger Temple quit nervously lol! When we arrived all the adult Tigers were resting in the canyonsoaking up the sunwhich is where we got to stroke and interact with them. While stroking one of them kate stroked it to gently and the tiger thought it was a fly so it flinched and whipped its tail up and caught Kate. I have never seen someone so nervous and scared at that point. I found it hilarious!!! After, we moved onto see the Tiger Cubs before it was time for the big Tigers to be walked and for the other animals to be fed. The cubs were so cute (kates comments) more fluffy but still very powerful!! We asked the tour guide if they ever bite or get agressive - they said no, but when they play they use thir teeth and claws so sometimes get nipped but nothing bad. This is onlythe tiger cubs though because their so playful. Once all Tigers had been put back into their secure living areas they released the rest of the other animals for feeding, such as pig, ox's, horses and huge buffalo's(or something of that description). A truck emptied about 15 bags of potatoes along the path and millions of them swarmed into get first dibs on the food, it was quite funny, like a stampede on the Lion King lol (laugh out loud for Chris's Mum and Dad)!!

On the way back we got talking to an Australian bloke from Sydney and he gae us his contact card and number if we wanted to be shown around Sydney - but he was a little seedy and freaked kate out a little bit, especially when he had bought a Thai lady to accompany him for his hols, if you know what we mean!! It was a nice offer but we will begiving it a miss hahahaha!

On return to the Jolly Frog we sat on the pier overlooking the River Kwai on some deckchairs watching the sun come down while the fisherman were in their little boats trying to get the last catch of the days, it was very peaceful and tranquil - a lovely end to the day. We got chatting to a guy from Colorado called chris up at the hammocks afterwho owned a B+B in the mountains at a ski resort, and ended up playing frisby with some Thai kids which was really fun. A little later on that night we joined Chris for some dinner and a few beers which was relaxing, he was a top bloke, however he was leaving the next day to meet a friend in Bangkok so we said our goodbyes.

The next day was an early start (again) and we were at the bus stop for 8am to go to Erawan Falls, a 7 tier waterfall. The weather wasn't great which was ashame but the waterfalls were amazing and the walk was really challenging. Because there had been thunderstorms all the previous night as well the river was full. In the dry season the swimming areas at each tier are turqouise blue waters, however because of the storm the water and river was all churned so the water was fairly murky, which to be honest was a shame after seeing all the leaflets of the place. As we walked up each tier the walk got alot harder, until the rain was so hard that between the 5th, 6th and 7th tier we were walking through the river and waterfalls to get up to the next tier. Many people turned back as it was really quite dangerous. At one point Kate and I went of the path route accidentally and made our own way up certain parts, not advisable but I'm not going to lie it was really fun!! We had our shoes of and was literally climbing some parts. Eventually we got to the huge 7th tier waterfall. We were so glad we had carried onto the top as it was so beautiful watching the water cascade of the top of a very high forested cliff at different places. The other 6 tiers were great but nothing compared to this one. The only problem was it was still raining and the camera had already had a complete battering so we didn't want to get it wet anymore. Therefore we headed back down and to our surprise once back at the 5th tierwhich is the point the walk started getting hard it stopped raining lol. We both looked at each other clearly thinking the same thing, so we turned around and up we went again to the top for another 30 mins to get our picture postcard photo's. I think the people who had passed us on the way down thought we were crazy or something haha. However, if we had shown the people who turned around the photo's I think they would have been upset they didn't just push themselves a little further to see it. On the way back down we stopped of fora swim as we were wet through anyway which was refreshing after a very sticky hike. We also saw a monkey munching hard in the tree's,which was cool.

After a good 6 hour trek we returned to Kanchanaburi on the bus and decided to get a quick shower and go see the sunset on the Bridge Over The River Kwai - we were so pleased wedid because the sky and thebridge looked sensational. After having a quick look around the museum as we went around the other one we took a walk over the bridge. There was a central platform along it but you would not want to trip as there was no barriers either side and you would have ended up in the water, but that made it all the more fun. Heading back we had a drink at a cool little bar made out of bamboo sticks, totally didn't feel safe at all lol as it was very flimsy and we sat on the top floor, even the bar maid seemed a little scared but it looked so chilling in thedark lit up with lots of lights. Shortly after it was time for a slap up Thai meal. We were impressed with the food at our guesthouse the previous night so we ate there again,finishingthe night of with a few drinks.

After a tiring and wet walk the day before this morning we decided to relax and for once not rush our breakfast. The breakfasts here are just like lunch,nothing like ours in England. You can get egg and toast etc but most Thai's have some sort of meat soup or something siimilar, not our cup of tea at that time in the morning haha.

Asd it wasour last day in Kanchanaburi we decided to take it easy and get some chores out the way (washing). Once the boring stuff was over we headed ona bus to Hellfire Pass - a quiet location where there is some remains of the Death Railway tracks along witha number of scenic walks with outstanding views. However we only did the short 40 mins one as our shoes were still wet from the day before and it was to stony for flip flops. The rain showers were also fairly frequent. Never the less the walk was still enjoyable. It was nice to slow the pace down for a day as we haven't stopped yet, barely to even sleep. On return we had to sort out our journals as it had been been a while andif you dont write them for a couple of days its a pain in the ass trying to catch up - it starts to feel like homework. This was a hungry job so we again ordered a huge meal to finish of our trip, leaving no pattern left on the plate. The amount of food Chris eats at home and the lack of food and different portion sizes is starting to make him loose weight. That as well as the constant heat and sweating!! However this did set us up for an early night for the 4.30am bus to Ayuthaya in the morning.

Anyway we'll talk to you all soon with some more stories. Miss you all loads!!!!

P.s we realise theres alot of pics the same but its a pain in the ass to sort them all out so we slapped them all on.