Massive day of sightseeing!

First up was Erawan Falls, yes you guessed it, a waterfall. But not just any waterfall. A 7 tiered waterfall THAT'S RIGHT ladies and gentlemen I kid you not.

What is a tier you ask?

It's a waterfall. Yes I know.

This was more like a big river with many many waterfalls (far more than the advertised 7). It is not, as the name suggests, a simple waterfall where you stand at the bottom, gawk, take some pictures, perhaps futz around while waiting for the rest of the family and be done by lunchtime.

We hiked all the way to the top, it took about an hour and a half, through jungle and slippery muddy ponds, and once we reached the seventh tier (if one was counting, it would probably be like the 87th) and swam in the plunge pool (call Mr. Williams!) at the top! We saw with relief on arrival, a sign saying END OF TRAIL.

(That joke was for Emma - saw many of them that day!)

I was with three Danish people from the place I was staying. We had a bit of a swim, stood under the fall etc. and were soon joined by about 20 Malaysian men who stripped off to their undies and joined us.

The climb down was faster, sped up by many slips, and we swam in a big pool on the second level as well. It was full of fish and they wouldn't stop nibbling! Strange at first, but you get used to it. It was fun watching women reluctantly lower themselves into the pool only to scream and run out when approached by the curious fishies.

We were actually done by lunchtime, but it was a very well deserved lunch.

Next was Hellfire Pass...

This is part of the Death Railway, built by Allied POWs in the second world war. Hellfire Pass is the biggest and longest cutting through solid rock on the railway, and it was done without the use of heavy machinery. They had to hammer a sharp metal thing into the rock, make a hole, fill it with dynamite and blow it up, then carry the debris away and start again.

Needless to say, it was very very hard work and many people died. We walked around it and through it, there were little Australian flags and memorials (most of the POWs were Australian here) and even some little clip on koalas stuck to crosses. The pass is really deep and pretty long, through solid rock, I couldn't even imagine how long it must have taken and how hard it must have been.

There was also a brand new and shiny museum, thanks to Australian taxpayers, which gave loads of good info and a movie.

The third and final part was a ride on the Death Railway! It isn't as long as it used to be but still runs. Slowly.

Oh while waiting for the train we saw a cave which someone had decided to put a HUGE buddha in. It was quite a shock to walk in expecting nothing but rock and perhaps a spider web and be faced with a golden knee. It smelled nice from the incense though :)

The Death Railway was... full of fat French tourists. I mean they were literally hanging out of the windows, taking up all the good views with their blubber. So I contented with staring at a cliff face for 20 minutes while promising myself that I would never get that fat and loud. The train wobbled worryingly at one point which prompted cries of, "Pas tous d'un cote, s'il vous plait!" from the one nearest to us. His mega-wife was had her boobs out the window which is probably what caused the sideways lurch in the first place.

Was glad to get out of there.

THE NIGHT MARKET!

That night, I rented a bike and rode through the tiny streets doing my best not to get run over (apparently my best was good enough, which was a relief) and headed to the night market! It was the best I have seen in Asia so far, because of a significant lack of tourists like myself!

There were endless stalls selling food, amazing tasty stuff all over. The only problem is deciding what you want and then ordering it. I have found pointing to be quite effective, but also going to a stall where they only make one thing helps.

Then there were stalls selling shorts, jeans, bras, underwear, cutlery, underwear AND cutlery (odd), porcelain, fried squid eggs, CDs, DVDs, jewelry, cosmetics, and the big one, FRIED COCKROACHES! SO IT'S TRUE! There were also fried maggots, locusts, and what I think was baby birds fresh from the eggs, deep fried.

The cockroaches were the biggest I've ever seen. While I was standing there amazed (with my farang face on) people would come up and mumble and the guy would scoop up a handful of maggots into a plastic bag as if he were selling popcorn. I almost worked up the courage to try something but then..... no.