The Bridge Over River Kwai and So Much More

At the Chinese Cemetery, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
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There was no direct way to Kanchanaburi from Petburi, so I had to switch in Ratchaburi, which was a very brief stop and I felt I was almost jumping off the local bus. I only had to wait about 10 minutes for my next local bus. Once in Kanchanaburi I had to get to a guesthouse, with most of the guesthouses being near the river and not close to the bus station. I ended up taking my first saamlaw (like a rickshaw) which I have mixed feelings about. I feel bad for the guy having to cart me around in the heat, but at the same time, you want to give him business.

Chinese Cemeteary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
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It was a 30 Baht (approx $0.93) ride to Apple's Guesthouse which was my first choice. They only had one room available that was just fine, but at 350 Baht (approx $10.94), which I know isn't really that expensive, but I knew that I could find something cheaper. So I walked over to my second choice, Pong Phen which was located right on the river. Now, the only drawback (besides more mosquitoes) of being so close to the river is the possible annoyance of the karaoke boats that float down belting out very bad Thai music. Thankfully, I only heard a few, and not during sleeping hours. I managed to get a room with an attached toilet/shower for just 250 Baht (approx $7.81) that faced the river. They even had single rooms with a shared bathroom, just two doors down for 120 Baht (approx $3.75) but I decided to splurge!

Allied War Cemetary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
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Once settled in, I took a walk around to visit two of the cemeteries. The first one was the Kanchanaburi Allied war cemetery. It was a very pristine and polished cemetery that contains the remains of those that died while building the Death Railway that was constructed under the power of the Japanese during WWII. The second cemetery was the Chinese cemetery which was not in such good shape, but was very colorful. I had also wanted to go to the "Cave Temple of the Golden Dragon" that has a floating nun that strikes Buddha poses when paid, but given how much it was to go out there since it was outside of town, I decided to skip it.

Main Street Where the Guesthouses were Located, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
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My next day was my cooking course offered by Apple's Guesthouse, which was a very fun and filling (both time and mealwise!) way to spend a day. I have a separate blog entry for this cooking course (http://realtravel.com/kanchanaburi-journals-j5632348.html). My second day I was supposed to go on an all day tour, but due to the rain it was postponed. I had a very lazy morning, then thankfully the weather cleared up enough so that I could go visit Tiger Temple in the afternoon. I have a separate blog entry for my visit (http://realtravel.com/kanchanaburi-journals-j5632486.html). My last full day I was able to go on the full day tour. I was picked up at 8am and dropped back off at 5:30pm and the day included visiting Erawan National Park (with a 7 tiered waterfall), Hellfire Pass, a train ride on the Death Railway (along with a visit to Kesut cave) and finally what I really come to Kanchanaburi to see, the bridge over the river Kwai. I have a separate blog entry for this tour (http://realtravel.com/kanchanaburi-journals-j5632552.html).

I did make it to Apple's Guesthouse one of the nights for dinner, which was the best meal I had while in Kanchanaburi and did see Noi there, who seemed quite pleased to see one of her students. I had also eaten at an Indian restaurant and was very happy to find onion bajee on the menu since I can't seem to find the appetizer in the States.

Although Kanchanaburi is definitely a busting town, the area where most of the guesthouses are is a little more chill with one main road that has all the shops, bars, restaurants and accommodation. I guess it says something good, when I had originally thought I would only stay for 2 nights, but I ended up staying for 4.