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| The highway at dawn |
We set out on a 2-day River Kwai tour, looking forward to sight-seeing and experiencing the River Kwai region. We found that "experiencing" is a much over-rated expression.A brief run-down goes like this. 13 people (The 5 of us, 3 Fins and 5 Russians) piled into a 13-seat minibus with 2 drivers at 5:30 am and headed off around the Gulf of Thailand, through Bangkok and east to the Kanchanaburi region.
Early morning, as we circumnavigate Bangkok we saw the massive 3-headed elephant statue rising out of the morning mist/smog. Then we passed along the salt pans where salt is extracted from sea water in large flat fields, cleaned and sold along the roadside.
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| On the road in the sardine can, oops... minivan |
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| Three-headed elephant overseeing Bangkok |
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| Australians and Russians at a snack bar an a service station |
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| On the road - The Big Grasshopper |
Our first stop was a traditional floating market, selling all the traditional souvenirs available at Jomtien, but at 3-4 times the price - our first experience of tourist prices.The fruit at least was reasonably priced.
I liked the traditional woven hats worn by the women that are cleverly raised above the head to allow for ventilation.
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| Entrance to the floating market |
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| Couple of tourists |
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| Traditional woven hat |
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| Main market building |
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| Typical fruit sellers |
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| Bargaining by boat |
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| Floating market - Postcard |
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| Floating market - Postcard |
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| Floating market - Postcard |
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| Typical motor boat |
The engine is attached to a flexible mounting and they have a 2-3 meter long (uncovered) drive shafts sticking out the back with a propeller attached - these things really move.
When idling, the whole propeller shaft is raised out of the water by tilting the engine down at the front.
Next we visited the Woodcraft centre, with the obligatory traditional souvenirs. We had ample time to buy the wooden carvings that would be confiscated by customs when we arrived home!
Nonetheless it was quite interesting, with both men and women making intricate wood carvings, most on commission for overseas clients.
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| Rail bridge over the River Kwai |
We stopped at at historic railway bridge, stopping to take a few photos before heading off for lunch.
For lunch we dined at a charming floating restaurant on the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi - with the "I want meat not fish" Russians, which, through a devious ploy of asking one directly, we found were from St Petersburg - end of conversation. The Russians don't look that big in the photos, but believe me they certainly fully occupied their personal space.Notwithstanding the aforementioned lack of large quantities of meat, the food and staff were excellent, and quite happy to pose for a photo with our girls, who, compared to the Russians, were the epitome of politeness.
Then it was off to the Wangpo Elephant Camp where we boarded bamboo rafts (with some modern technology reinforcement for durability) and were towed upstream in one of the aforementioned small boats with a car motor. We then drifted quietly and slowly downstream on our rafts, while I secretly hoped ours would beat the Russians in the friendliest possible way.
Next we went to the Wangpo Elephant Park where we got to ride on elephants, in pairs. Now this was pretty different.
Did I mention that the main minvan driver had a habit of pressing and lifting the accelerator pedal in a continuous motion which had the effect of rocking you backwards and forwards, not in an entirely pleasant manner?Well, that was nothing compared to riding an elephant. Imagine sitting on a really uncomfortable chair at school, and this really, really big kid behind you grabs your chair and starts tipping it in four different directions at random. That’s what it was like riding the elephant on flat ground…then we went up and down steep slopes.
The mini bus was looking really comfortable now.
As we rode along, on of the elephant guides made rather fetching headdresses for the ladies out of leaves, flowers and twigs plucked from the trees overhead.Frances looked a little concerned when her driver stood on the elephant’s head in a very precarious manner to get the raw materials.
Looked like he'd done it a few times before, but it was very impressive.
Then it was onto the train that crosses the River Kwai for a short trip to experience the ‘old’ train. For those of you who’ve ridden a ‘red rattler’ it would have felt quite nostalgic.
Interestingly it is the local train, so it was full of regular Thai passengers and school children returning home in the afternoon.
That night we stayed at the Duen Shine Resort which was quite pleasant - especially after a dip in the very refreshing pool. Did I mention that it was hot - all the time?
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Speaking of the pool, the hotel had about the strangest outdoor shower facilities we've ever seen - giant mushrooms! Our accommodation that night was in houseboats moored on the river.
