tales from thailand: Kanchanaburi/Father's Day

To kick off the month of December, Alexis and I headed back to Kanchanaburi (where we rode elephants during orientation) to visit the famous Erawan National Park. This is a beautiful waterfall with seven levels to hike and swim about. It is located about 45 minutes outside Kanchanaburi's town center.

Our journey to Kanchanaburi was relatively simple as far as traveling in Thailand goes. We took a taxi to a nearby town where 6 of our friends from orientation were placed. Then we had to take a bus to the major city in our province, Nakhon Pathom, where we switched bus lines and finally set out for Kanchanaburi, which is about 3 hours away. We arrived in the town around dinner time, so we settled into the hostel and explored the backpackers street where we were staying. The street was pretty fun with outdoor bars, live music, and western food restaurants. My personal favorite on the street were these makshift bars. They were literally coolers on wheels, placed randomly on the side of the road with buckets turned upside down as seats. They had a variety of liquor and mixers in their traveling freezers and all drinks (including shots) were 10 baht. 10 baht!!! That's the equivalent of 33 cents!! We spent a majority of the night there, surrounded by street dogs and yet it was very enjoyable.

The next morning we woke up and had WESTERN breakfast!! Pancakes have literally never tasted so good. I do enjoy thai food but every once in a while I need familiar tastes from home. The apple pancakes were delicious and it was the perfect fuel for the long hike ahead.

Although we had hiked a waterfall in Chiang Mai, this hike was just as beautiful and enjoyable. There were many more tourists at the waterfall in Kanchanaburi, which provided entertainment and horror as Europeans have much more self confidence than Americans and are not afraid to flaunt what they got. People watching was just as entertaining as the beautiful scenery. It was quite a sight.

I knew the waterfall had great levels for swimming and some even had natural water falls to slide into the pools. I had been looking forward to the waterfall for about 2 weeks, and it wasn't until we arrived at the falls that I learned the pools were filled with biting fish !! Anyone who knows me knows that this is NOT my style. I am terrified of water creatures- especially biting ones!! I was so disappointed because I had been really looking forward to swimming, but I was so anxious and terrified at the idea of them biting me. When we arrived to the water slide level, I watched as my friends dove in and squealed when the fishies bit. I stood on a rock for 25 minutes, trying to prep myself and pinch myself for the bites to come. I finally mustered up the courage to jump in, but when I stood up my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I was truly afraid of jumping in- some of them were pretty big too!! All of a sudden a little European boy came swimming straight for my rock and started climbing out of the water- if I didn't dive in now I would have been pushed off by this aggressive child! I closed my eyes, counted to 3 and dove in. The second I hit the water I kicked and swam as fast as I could and headed straight for the waterfall. I didn't get bit !!! I had made it safe and sound! I went down the waterfall slide two times- It was really, really cool and I was SO proud of myself for going in. Each time I slid down the slide, I instantly swam out of the water but I tackled my fear and I am so happy I did because the slide was really cool.

After the water slides, we continued hiking through the beautiful (jungle? forest? it was unclear) towards the top of the waterfall. Along the path, we saw wild monkeys climbing through the tree tops. It was really cool to see them in their natural habitat, minding their own business and being super cute!! Overall the waterfall was a really fun day, it was a really beautiful national park and the hike itself was really fun.

Saturday night we found a pizzeria, which I was super happy about, and revisited the 10 baht shot bar. Sunday we went to the markets located near the bridge over the rive Kwae and it was cool because I actually got to see a train pass over the bridge. After lunch at a delicious vegetarian restaurant, we headed back to the bus top and headed home. Another weekend that went by too fast! It wasn't too bad heading home though because we had a short week to look forward to.

Wednesday of the next week was Father's Day in Thailand, which is also the King's Birthday. It is a national holiday in Thailand where all of Thailand celebrates and expresses their love for the King. It was cool to see a lot of people wearing Yellow, the color of the King, and at night there were shows of fireworks, Thai boxing, and traditional Thai dancing. I am absolutely fascinated by the culture in Thailand and I am really happy I got to see the celebration and learn more about Thai culture.