Thailand, Kanchanaburi: Floatin' on a River

The two tiger cubs housed in the forest sanctuary outside Kanchanaburi were adorable
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What we thought would be a nice trip away from the big and crowded, dirty and dusty, busy city of Bangkok ended up being a remarkably enjoyable experience. We liked the feel of Kanchanaburi so much upon arrival that we immediately asked the owner of the guesthouse where we decided to stay if we could stay an extra night. The owner of Nita Raft House said it was no problem and therefore we were set up in a nice and small, slower-paced and relaxing, quaint town for a couple of days. Credit must be given to a good friend of ours from London - thanks Elaine! - who recommended both Kanchanaburi and Nita Raft House in her travel journal. We are very happy that we followed her lead on both counts!

Nita Raft House has been one of the best places we have stayed on our trip and it was fun to sleep in a large house built on top of a raft on the river
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Kanchanaburi is a small town a couple of hours west of Bangkok and is, to quote Lonely Planet, "nestled in between rugged limestone peaks and the pretty Mae Nam Khwae (Kwai River)". Unfortunately, the Thais have a severe problem with their "slash and burn" agricultural techniques and we were only barely able to glimpse the limestone peaks around the area due to lack of visibility from the heavily polluted sky. Despite not being able to fully take in the surrounding atmosphere, we really enjoyed the sights we could "see" in and around Kanchanaburi.

The people in the photographs were emaciated from a lack of any substantial food and from the heavy physical work they had to endure

The infamous bridge over the Kwai River
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The town is full of history, most of it extremely tragic. Kanchanaburi was used as the site of a WWII prisoner-of-war camp, and tens of thousands of Allied POWs and over 100,000 Asian labourers were forced to work in order to build the infamous bridge over the River Kwai. During the time the bridge was built and the POW camp was in place, 16,000 Allied POWs and 90,000 Asian labourers died. A few metres down the road from Nita Raft House is the Jeath Museum, containing a bamboo hut filled with many historic photographs, drawings and paintings depicting what life was like in the camp, as well as what the prisoners had to endure during their time in captivity. After seeing some of the graphic and gruesome images, we were surprised that anyone was able to survive at all, as disease was rife and living and working conditions were the poorest we could imagine. Imagine if you were sent into the jungle to clear a path large enough to accommodate a railway, and you had to live in the most diabolical manner with extreme heat, heavy rains and the bug-infested outdoors for a long period of time. The people in the photographs were emaciated from a lack of any substantial food and from the heavy physical work they had to endure and many of the prisoners were completely ravaged by insects and covered in massive sores. It really made us think twice about complaining about our insect and mosquito bites (mums don't worry though as we are still taking our malaria tablets!).

These two cows were showing each other affection and we caught them unawares
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We were able to quickly come up with a title for this journal entry. We were inspired with "Floatin' on a River" because our favourite part of visiting Kanchanaburi was staying at Nita Raft House. The small and cosy guesthouse floats on the river on empty metal cylinders, and is complete with several guest rooms, a living area, kitchen and small deck area to lounge about and read a book. It is located about 5 minutes walk from the main bus station in town, and a few kilometres from the train station and bridge. We knew we were going to stay at the guesthouse before arriving in Kanchanaburi, and we came by train, so we had to get a tuk-tuk as the walk was a bit too far when we had no map or clue as to where we were going. Our suggestion to anyone visiting Kanchanaburi from Bangkok would be to take a bus as it is more convenient than the train - the buses run more often, are more comfortable and even cheaper than the train was.

Dan put on his brave face and stroked this large (sleepy) tiger on the belly
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A small notebook was handed to us when we arrived at Nita Raft House. This book would be our "tab" for the time we spent there, and this was where we recorded all of our food and drink items. As there was a kitchen at Nita's, all we had to do when we wanted food was write it in our book and put the book on a table next to the kitchen window. Soon after, we would be served with delicious dishes, and delicious they were! We ate all of our meals in the living room area which was adjacent to the kitchen. The room was quite shaded from the heat as the roof extends out a bit over the water, and there were also ceiling fans which kept the area very cool during the day and night. A large TV and DVD player sat at the front of the long living room, and the sides of the room were lined with comfortable cushioned benches, chairs and a sofa. All around the living room area and adjacent small deck we saw cats playing friskily with each other. Currently there are six cats in residence at the guesthouse, and they were quite cute. With the great food, relaxing atmosphere, comfortable room (fan, two beds and private bathroom) and friendly owners, we felt that we got the best value for money yet on our trip. The room alone was only 220 Baht per night (£3.40 or $6 USD)!

We had to walk through this large weekend market outside Thonburi rail station in Bangkok, to catch our train for Kanchanaburi
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We mentioned the fact that we travelled by train to Kanchanaburi from Bangkok. To do this, we had to take a taxi from The Urban Age Guesthouse in the Silom / Patpong area of Bangkok's capital to the Thonburi rail station, and since the train we took left Bangkok at 7:45am, we had to catch a taxi around 6:30am to make sure we arrived in time to get tickets. The taxi driver dropped us off at the entrance of a large weekend market which was already full and bustling with people that early in the morning. We had navigated our way through the extensive market stalls and make our way to the train station, which was fifteen minutes down the road, down the road which the taxi driver could have easily driven us! We arrived at the train station and we both laughed out loud, as we had expected a large building with several platforms. The truth is, there was one platform and a tiny check-in window where we bought our tickets.

Kyle hanging out with a couple of big, lazy cats
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Tickets cost 100 Baht each for foreigners (the Thais love to take advantage of us) and when the train arrived (on time), we boarded and found window seats in what has been the most uncomfortable train either of us has ever ridden. The seats were wooden and comfortable at first because the train itself actually rode quite smoothly on the tracks. After a time sitting on the seats, however, the ride began to get uncomfortable. Window seats were not necessarily the right choice, either, as all of the windows were open and by the end of the 2-1/2 our journey, we were covered in dust and grime that had blown in from outside. Showers were an absolute necessity when we arrived at the guesthouse after a short tuk-tuk ride from the train station in Kanchanaburi.

The fire-induced sunsets in Kanchanaburi were stunning but the Thais need to learn new agricultural techniques
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The first thing we did after cleaning up at Nita Raft House was eat lunch; we lounged about in Nita's living room and shared a couple of dishes that were very tasty. After filling up on food, we were given directions to Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno Forest Monastery, or Tiger Temple. Visiting this was the primary aim of our trip in Kanchanaburi, a tip given to us by Ashley (thank you!) when we were on Koh Phi Phi together. Our secondary aim of the trip was to see the bridge over the Kwai River and to gain a bit of historical background on what happened to the prisoners of war in WWII. We also wanted to explore the small town of Kanchanaburi and meet some friendly Thai locals.

We are still keeping our eyes out for big and strange spiders on our trip, and this one was extremely unusual
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To get to the Tiger Temple, we were faced with a few options: get a local bus from town (cheapest), take a taxi (most expensive) or board a sawngthaew (a truck with benches in its back bed, serving as a taxi) with several other people (we hadn't met anyone else to share with). We opted for the cheapest choice and paid 25 Baht each for a ticket (38p or $0.70 USD). The memorable 45-minute journey on a bus packed full of Thais was fun but it was quite hot on the bus and we both had to stand as it was packed well above capacity. We were the only foreigners on the bus and no one really spoke English, except for a young chemistry teacher who could put a few words together and kindly told us when to get off the bus. At the start of the journey, Kyle was accosted by some crazy old woman, and even though we had no idea as to what she was saying, it was a lot of fun trying to hold a conversation with her while the chemistry teacher attempted to translate.

Walking back through Kanchanaburi new town at midnight (lost really), we were able to see workers setting up for their next day's activities
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When we stepped off the bus at the Tiger Temple stop, we were told to cross the road and walk 2km to the monastery entrance. Before doing that, we walked down the road to someone's house, with a small shop on the outside, in order to buy a cold drink. After filling up on Pepsi, we walked back to the road leading to the tigers. Luckily, a minivan was driving along the road and offered us a lift to the entrance. With it being a scorcher of an afternoon, we acquiesced and arrived at the entrance a couple of minutes later. We had previously read up on the Tiger Temple and one of the things we learned was that anyone entering the grounds should not wear the "hot" colours red, orange or pink. Dan, having completely forgotten this important fact, only brought red and orange t-shirts to Kanchanaburi, but he sweet-talked the man working at the entrance ticket counter to loan him his white shirt. Apparently if you wear any of the "hot" colours, the tigers will quite readily attack you. Next time, we think we should write these important facts on our hands in permanent ink, but we managed to get through this situation in the end with no accidents (or deaths).

This is a deer with horns
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Tiger Temple is a bit of a misnomer, being that there is not really a temple on the grounds. Instead, the monks there live in a forest monestary and attempt to find solace with nature. Several years ago, local villagers brought an orphaned tiger cub that was barely alive to the forest monastery in order to provide refuge for the animal. It was welcomed with compassion and saved from a certain death, as the cub would not have been able to survive in the wilderness on its own. Since then, many other orphaned tigers have been brought to the abbot and put into his loving care.

One of the market traders set up his goods on the side of the path lining the market stalls
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The tigers in the forest sanctuary have been brought up healthy but they don't have enough instinct to survive the wild as hunters (they are only fed cooked meat so they don't generate a taste for blood, i.e. people in red, orange or pink shirts). However, their offspring are being trained for their eventual return to the jungle, and what is being done at the Tiger Temple is an amazing feat of human compassion. Currently, a large project is underway to build a 12 acre "New Home for Tigers", which will give the tigers the ability to roam freely in their new home. It will also serve as a training ground for new cubs to learn jungle survival skills needed to make it on their own in the wild.

The wooden-benched train started out comfortable but soon was giving us both pains in the arse
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Both of us have seen tigers in zoos, but never up close; it is amazing how large and beautiful these wild cats are. We walked into Tiger Canyon on the grounds of the forest monastery, and at the bottom of the canyon we found a large group of trainers, as well as monks, standing around eight or nine full-grown tigers. The tigers were loosely chained to posts but could easily break free if they wanted to. We watched the tigers lazing about for a few minutes and then were approached by one of the monastery's female staff asking if we had taken photos with the tigers yet. We said no and she asked for our camera, and the next thing we knew, each of us was being led individually around the canyon grounds to have our pictures taken with the animals. We were able to sit or squat right next to them and even pet them and touch them. Dan had a bit of a scare when one of the tigers (on its back) started yawning and moving as soon as Dan touched its belly. Their mouths and teeth are enormous and Dan decided at that moment never to follow a career like Siegfried and Roy's!

Outside Nita's there were several floating discotheques and karaoke bars
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After getting our photos taken with several tigers, we walked out of the canyon heading towards the tiger cub area. Along the way, we passed several animals walking free, including deer, cows, water buffaloes, wild boars, peacocks and goats. The majority of the animals are wild and have ventured into the forest monastery grounds over time. We found out the most likely reason that the animals don't leave is because they are fed each day by the monks and staff. When we made it to the tiger cub area, we saw two cubs in a large cage, which were taking a nap. A monk was standing next to the cage and told us we could wake them up and pet them through the bars. The cubs were already much bigger than a house cat, but they were too cute not to scratch behind the ears and pet on the head. Kyle went first and escaped with no scratches or bites, and then Dan followed suit.

Inside the Jeath War Museum we saw many old photographs displaying the poor living and working conditions the prisoners-of-war had to endure
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Heading back to Kanchanaburi was going to prove tricky as there was no proper bus stop on the side of the road where we got off; instead, you just get on and off the bus when you need to do so. There was a small group of tourists travelling back to town on a sawngthaew and even though the price the driver was a little more than double that of the local bus, we went for this option as a matter of convenience. The funny thing about our journey back was that an English couple in back of the truck with us was the same English couple who shared a tuk-tuk with us when we arrived on the island of Koh Samui a couple of weeks previously. We seem to constantly be running into the same people on our travels, and it always makes an interesting start of conversation when this occurs.

Kyle didn't like this "ship" but Dan really did because it was carved of polystyrene (styrofoam to Americans reading this)
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Having made it back to Nita Raft House by 6:00pm, we were able to watch a DVD while eating dinner. Our dinner was just as good as our lunch and "The Pursuit of Happiness" with Will Smith was a great film. Exhaustion from a long day and a very early start hit us quickly after we had filled up on a lot of food and watched the film, so we headed to our room to make it an early night. Despite Elaine having mentioned in her travel journal that Kanchanaburi is THE place for Thais to go on the weekend as they fill up the floating disco bars which cruise up and down the river, we still thought we could achieve a restful night of sleep. Well, this didn't happen! The energetic and noisy discos, many with karaoke included as a bonus, kept waking us up throughout most of the night. It was all in good fun, though, and at times when we woke up, we wished we were a little further out in the river enjoying our Saturday night as much as the Thais seemed to be enjoying theirs.

A couple of friendly monks we talked to in a temple outside the Jeath Museum
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Our goal on the second day in Kanchanaburi was to actually make it to the infamous bridge. Nita's was about 4km from the bridge, and we walked along the river to get there. Along the way, we passed many shops, bars and restaurants as well as massage parlours, motorbike rental shops and internet cafes. We were pulled into one of the internet shops and ended up spending a few hours there enjoying yummy ice coffees and fruit shakes while chatting to the women working in the cafe. As the sun started setting we ended up at the bridge and walked out over the Kwai River. It was sad to reflect on the tragedy that befell the town during WWII, the first of what will be many sad sights in Southeast Asia. We anticipate the next to be in Laos, the country which was bombed the most (devastated) by the US during the Vietnam War.

Inside one of the larger temples in Kanchanaburi
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With the air being as smoky as it was in this small town, the sunsets on the river were an amazingly deep shade of red, and the sun loomed large over the water as it set; each night we were enraptured by the view. After the sun set behind the "Bridge over River Kwai" on our second night, we started walking back to Nita Raft House. We had built up quite an appetite during the walk and stopped at a restaurant along the way called Sri Rung Reung. The walk back to the raft house was scary as there were many packs of wild dogs roaming the streets and claiming their territory. As the Thais don't eat wild dog (this does happen in rural Laos and Cambodia), we had to be very careful in the streets. At one point, a large dog went for Kyle's calf but fortunately decided not to take a bite at the last minute. The threat was real enough, and after that we picked up the pace to get out of the dark and away from the other packs of snarling dogs which followed us until we got out of their areas.

The Thais are irreverent to their King and photos can be found all over the country - you even have to stand to honour the king befoe watching a film in a cinema!
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The next morning we had our final breakfast at Nita's and settled our inexpensive bill with the owner before setting out for the bus station. We bought tickets for Bangkok and boarded the bus for our 2-hour journey. The a/c was not that great on the bus so the trip was boiling hot. Kyle is still working on coaxing Dan to close the bus window curtains when it is so hot, but Dan really likes to look out the window.