The Bridge on the River Kwai

I'm in Kanchanaburi for two days. It is a depressing and sad place if you ignore all the tourist activities and the british and australian bars around here and concentrate on the history. Here at the border to Myanmar you can explore the historical places, museums and war cemeteries dedicated to the estimated 100.000 people that died as Prisoners of War while accomplishing the Japanese project building up a railway connection between Thailand and Burma through the jungle during World War II. The bridge over the River Kwai, that is part of the so called Death Railway, looks totally different than in the movie. But after visiting the Thailand Burma railway centre I can say that the story of the movie is pretty near to reality. It is possible to walk on the bridge and I walked on the tracks beyond the bridge into the jungle and tried to imagine the pain and the effort of the prisoners building the railway by remembering scenes from the movie that automatically come to your mind when you are here. The bridge is still used today, so when a train wants to cross it blows its horn coming close so all the pedestrians on the bridge have to step into the safeboxes at the side of the bridge and the train passes by just centimetres before you. The train behind me on the pic is actually moving...

Getting up here was an interesting trip. I got up in Hua Hin with the knowledge that I still needed a room in Kanchanaburi. So I got up early and went for a coffee to call some places with my old Nokia that is really doing its job here. I ended up booking a very nice place again instead of an easy traveller place, because they always make me such good prices travelling alone and not in the main season. But when the woman laughed at my answer that I would come by train from Hua Hin I got a bit uncertain about my plan. She told me trains ought to be very late here, so she didn't think I would make it until 7 PM. Well, it was 9 AM in the morning for an estimated 3 hours trip, early enough don't you think?

So I packed my stuff to walk to the railway station. And as assumed everything worked out fine and as planned! The 6 AM morning train heading north had a delay of 4 hours!!!, so I could take that one at 10 AM. Perfect timing! My tourist guide said I should change in Ratchaburi, but the friendly employee of the State Railway of Thailand told me to change in a small town called Ban Pong. So I bought a ticket to Ban Pong. Only Thais and me on that train and I inhaled the atmosphere with open windows and the countryside passing by getting greener and greener and the weather colder and rainier. Everyone was so nice and helped me with my luggage and with a seat and I was really nosy having a closer look at all the baskets the food sellers carried around selling food on the train. New ones boarding at every railway station.

Arriving at Ban Pong I found out that I landed in the middle of nowhere. Nobody speaking english around me, all the signs only in Thai. Even the railway personnel couldn't help. Here I was in a situation I always wanted on this trip...After trying to ask some people and earning plenty of smiles back from the locals I just started walking and trying to read the Thai signs on the road. The lady at the train station in Hua Hin told me the bus was leaving right from Ban Pong railway station to Kanchanaburi, I would say a very wide definition of railway station... I finally found a guitar store and because every guitar player must like american rock music someone there had to speak a bit english. And yes, it was enough to understand "bus, Kanchanaburi" and after asking some other people with hands and feet and after walking some few blocks lucky me ran right into a blue sign "bus station" and the bus even had AC. The ticket seller was on the street and took good care of me until the bus arrived.

Landing in Kanchanaburi I took a TukTuk to my place and rented a "vehicle", because everything to see is spread widely over the city. I didn't want to drive a motorcycle in this crazy traffic. So you can guess from the picture which vehicle is mine...It is a bit safer, but you have to cope with the strayning dogs who are not used to bicycle drivers and some are pretty aggressive and there are lots of dogs here. But I handled monkeys so I can definitely handle dogs...

I biked around the city and had a great dinner at Apple and Nois place right at the river. It was amazing! Noi, one of the owners who also runs a Thai cooking school talked me through the menu and recommended things. I had a very spicy prawn salad with lemon grass, mint and other herbs as appetizer, the best masaman curry I can think of and which they are famous for. And for dessert a warm coconut cream with sweat potato. It really was delicious and I wish I would have stayed at their guesthouse to enjoy their food all the time while I'm here. They are pretty famous around here and recommended in every tourist guide for their food. Now I know why!

Feeling that the climate and the weather is quite different up here, many mosquitos, rainy as it should be in rain season and colder. Need more mosquito protection and will use my longsleeves and long pants more often. Especially the next days when I will go trekking in Kao Yai National Park northeast of Bangkok. Called a lodge there a couple of days ago. They have guides and do tours. Looking forward to that, minibus to Bangkok tomorrow morning and then bus to Pak Chong, where they will pick me up.

Night market, Wats and Monkey Alley

Mission accomplished on Ko Tao! I saw my first shark during an intense snorkeling afternoon. Perfect timing before getting back to the mainland. It was pretty good sight under water and I saw his massive body turning in the distance a couple of times. I confess I was to scared to get closer, I mean come on, it was my first shark sighting! So I swam away quickly, but it still was an amazing experience and when I get my second chance I will be braver...

Everything went well with my trip to Hua Hin, the ferry was on time, the transfer to the ferry was a (very) fast pickup ride, I even had time for a banana pancake from the best pancake stand on the island. Actually there were three stands claiming to be the best on the island, so I chose the best. And then it happened between Chumphon and Hua Hin, somewhere on the highway. After having some unregular stops at people's houses the bus drivers knew and some nice food from a food stand at a resting area the bus broke down. The AC went out and we stood there for a while, sweating, and the drivers taking their tools out and trying a repair. And you won't believe it, they made it and we could continue our journey! Faster than ever!

Of course we arrived at Hua Hin far to late. It was getting dark already, about 7 PM and the city night life pulsing. I really was a bit challenged with all the traffic and excitement around me, but it didn't take long and I was ready for diving into it. It helped that the bus threw us out in front of KFC. Hua Hin is a very touristic city with big hotel chains like Hilton or Sofitel and a very nice but touristic beach. I walked down the old city centre with my map, seeing restaurants like "Old Germany" and "London Bar" and lots of Thais offering me massages and things to buy. Down at the port, where my small but nice hotel is located, I was searching hard as suddenly someone asked me "Are you Eike? We were waiting for you!" And so I was picked from the street right into my hotel with a great seaview and a quiet AC room. Did my first laundry on this trip that night, it is so convenient, getting it back ironed after 24 hours. And I watched TV for the first time in 8 days!!! and bumped right into "The Real Housewives of NYC", thanks to all the American TV channels they get here...Think I had the best nights sleep for a long time after having some great experiences and food on the pulsing night market. Its hard to put in words and pictures, you just have to have felt it yourself...

I knew there is nothing really to see in Hua Hin, so I drove up to Phetchaburi today. I didn't find the local bus stop, although searching hard for it last night and early this morning, so ended up taking a taxi after some hard bargaining. I already had gone away when the girl drove after me with her motorbike taking me back with it to the taxi of her dad and made me a good price :-). The trip was worth it! Phetchaburi is a real Thai experience. I only met about a hand full of westerners throughout the day and experienced that as more local you get as friendlier the people are. There are smiles for you always, but today was just amazing. I "talked" to so many people, although we couldn't communicate in English. The best thing was eating whatever soup at this small food stand in the old city. Three "chefs" just picked the ingredients with me by pointing at things and I had the most amazing noodle soup ever. And I drove my first TukTuk and had a Thai hands and feet chat with the driver.

Walked up the hill to the Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace, built by Rama IV. including a very nice Wat. Getting there you had to take a 20 minutes walk through a forest: MONKEY ALLEY, Muahahaha. There were dozens of wild monkeys living there, strolling around and sitting there watching your steps from the side or the trees. The Coke and Sprite bottles they were carrying and drinking out of showed me that some people had been there before me, but when I went up there I was kind of alone because it was early in the morning. Okay, now somewhere I read that we are evolutionary related to monkeys and so I tied my backpack closer to my back, put on my very serious look and walked slowly but with severe steps up there and didn't look around or back so they knew, don't mess with King Kong! And it worked, they just looked at me and opened up a path for me. What an experience! And the view up there and getting inside those spiritual and historical places was definitely worth the excitement. Because I was pretty concentrated on walking and my facial expression :-) the pics of the monkeys aren't very good and of course I couldn't get out my camera when they were all sitting in front of me...

Phetchaburi is full of Wats, the most beautiful I found was Wat Mahathat Worawihan right in the middle of the city, where I could experience the spirituality of the Thais and met some very nice monks. It is really nice because at certain day times you can here the monks singing or better humming around the Wats.

Didn't find any bus stop for my trip back, so started hoping for the next train on my way to the train station when suddenly the orange local bus turned around the corner and I waved like a crazy European and it stopped for me!!! Awesome, I found the local bus and what I couldn't know, there aren't any bus stops on its way. Haha!

I have to confess I fell for one of the many western restaurants tonight, went to Pizza Company and had a small pan pizza. It was sooo delicious!!! I think its okay before heading north for the Kwai River tomorrow...

Shark Bay

One hundred Baht a night can make a difference here and means a quantum leap forward in amenities. After experiencing some problems with reloading my mobile sim card I finally found a nice place called OK2 Bungalow right above Shark Bay or Ao Thian. Stone made huts with a great view over the bay and shark island in the distance. No Fritz here, there are no holes for him to get in, but I already found some Fritzchen, his little pals. All in all nice to have some more amenities after my first very basic hut experience. They have a nice restaurant too with pretty original cuisine. Although people say you have problems with the food in the first days I must say I never felt healthier and balanced before. Also my mosquito net has its first mission here. The trip here was a new experience too. Trekked back to Mae Hat on the jungle path with all my luggage and then took a Taxi to Shark Bay. Now taking a taxi here means nothing else than sitting on the back of a pickup truck. No more comments on this, my Mom is reading this too, just look at the picture...


People say sometimes in the mornings you can see the sharks hunting in the bay from your balcony. During the day there are to much snorkeling boats disturbing them. I've been snorkeling several times since I'm here, but haven't seen one so far :-(. The only thing I can say is that if someone has doubt that god has created a masterpiece with our planet earth, come here and snorkel. It is unbelievable which beauty and liveliness you can see under water. I'm really impressed and shocked at the same time how many corals are already destroyed and the exploitation through extensive tourism still goes on. I just hope, that preservation programs will help. I would wish to show pictures, but the underwater camera exceeded my budget.

Today I started being one of those low budget travelers since this trip I normally critized for using other facilities. Because of the fact that my place doesn't have a beach, I climbed over the rocks along the coast to the great main beach, mainly used by a luxury resort I might come back to for a "real beach vacation" some time, because its very nice :-). So my behaviour isn't that bad I guess...I also was so overwhelmed from the smell of the beach bar I even had a club sandwich with french fries (my most expensive meal so far) in that luxurious resort, so they made money with me. I think after a week it is okay to have an exemption meal, eating something familiar from home, I loved it :-). From the beach I made a nice picture of my place, the huts just hanging on the mountain over the cliffs. Just relaxed before going back for snorkeling in the afternoon. I think I will attend the same program tomorrow.

Saturday I'm leaving for the mainland. It won't be my last time to the wonderful beaches during these two months, so I'm not very sad. More excited to explore the mainland and the north of Thailand. My ferry and bus to Hua Hin are already booked, just need a place to stay. Want to try to do a day trip into Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park from Hua Hin, so will be there for two nights beginning Saturday. Still stick to my rule not getting my mind distracted by reading a book. With all the organizing I anyways don't know how I could fill in book reading if I want to have some free time. Hard life :-)