Kanchanaburi
05.26.2009
We spent the past 3 days in Kanchanaburi which is about 2 hours west of Bangkok. It was definitely a change of pace from the big city! The guest house we're staying at is on the Kwai River and only cost 70 baht a night (about $2.50 Canadian)! There is a nice lawn with palm trees and flowers and their are hammocks and beach chairs to relax in.
The day we arrived we just layed around enjoying the sun for a few hours and then that night we went to the night market in town. The next day we rented scooters and took them all around town. We went to the Kwai River bridge that was built by POWs during the war (and the movie 'Bridge over the River Kwai' is based on it). Then we drove around the back roads a bit and went to a temple inside of a cave. Our "tour guides" were two little Thai boys no more than 5 or 6 who wandered through the cave with us and sang Thai songs! Very cute.
Yesterday we decided to keep the scooters for another day and drive out to the Tiger Temple! There were about 15 or so Tigers that were rescued as babies by Monks who then tame them. It is very touristy compared to most things here and a bit more expensive (about $18 entry fee) but you get to pet tigers and end up with amazing pictures! We even got to kiss baby tigers on the neck! In a few days I will put up some pictures, but the computer I'm on right now won't let me.
Today we are taking the bus to Ayuthaya (the ancient capital of Thailand) and we will either spend the night there and check out some of the temples, or bus up to Chaing Mai right away, we will decide when we get there whether it's worth spending a day there.
The weather is nice and hot, yesterday was probably the hottest yet as we had to wear pants and tshirts to the Tiger Temple (no shorts or tank tops allowed for women). Every day around 4:30pm the rain starts and lasts for about 2 hours. There has been thunder and lightning every day and the rain comes down in buckets! We just sit on our patio and watch it come down, it's quite refreshing after a day of heat! Thankfully we have yet to get caught in the downpour, it's very predictable so we make sure we're back to our guesthouse in time!
That all sound wonderful. Maybe Mom and I should retire there! At $2.50 a day our pension would take us a long way! Can't wait to see pictures.
05.26.2009 by Dad