24 hours in Kanchanaburi

When we first moved to Thailand I had no idea that the Bridge over River Kwai was in Thailand. I had heard of the movie but really had no idea what it was all about. Once I realized that this place was actually in Thailand, it made the list of places I wanted to make sure that we would visit before we move away.   My husband had a long weekend and some friends invited us to come along with them on a whirlwind trip to Kanchanaburi. We would be spending 24 hours there and we made it quite an adventure  

How to get there: you can always take a taxi, bus, or hire a driver, but we decided to take the more adventurous route. We met up at 7:00 am to catch a train from the Bangkok Thonburi train station. The ticket was around 100 baht ($3 USD)  per person. We have never done a train trip before and I thought this one would be a great one to introduce the boys too because it is only a 3 hour trip from Bangkok.

 Thonburi Train Station (this is not the large main station)

 The station seemed like it was right out of a movie. Men, hand ringing bells when the train was departing, open windows, and in Thai fashion, no signs really explaining what to do. We hopped across the tracks to get on a waiting train when the other masses of people did thinking it was our train. Thankfully, some very nice people told us that was not the train to Kanchanburi. If you're not sure which train you should be on, just ask.  Thais are very friendly and will be willing to help you out. We managed to get on the right train, but it was packed. Due to it being the weekend and a holiday weekend on top of it, we were packed in. Out of our group of 8, two people had to stand the entire time. The train is not air conditioned, only open windows. It was a great first train experience for all of us, but I was thankful it was only 3 hours long. 

The whole reason you go to Kanchanburi is to visit the famous Bridge over the  River Kwai. We went right away and had lunch at the floating restaurant ( I would skip this. Too expensive and not very good food. We ordered many dishes and none of us were very pleased. Find a small local place to eat!!). Then we walked along the bridge. A small train can also take you across the bridge.  This is not the original bridge, as that one was bombed. 

 Welcome to Kanchanaburi

Floating Restaurant (Save your money and search for a less touristy place!) 

 Green curry & rice noodles

The Bridge Over River Kwai

Little train that takes you over the bridge

After we checked out the bridge we went to the JEATH War Museum. The museum is not that well organized, but it did give us a better idea of what actually occurred at the bridge site. It's so interesting when you actually see a landmark in person that you have heard about in history class. To think about what really happened there and how this city has taken a terrible event and turned it into a positive memorial for the people it affected is quite amazing.  We saw original pictures of the bombings, memorials with the skeletons of men that were killed that day, replicas of what the prisoners would have gone through while they were being forced to build the bridge and many other pieces of memorabilia from the war.   It was a great history lesson for all of us.

 JEATH War Museum

Day two we decided to do something a little lighter and headed to the beautiful waterfalls outside of Kanchanaburi. To get there we went to the local bus station, bought tickets for Erawan National Park and took the hour bus ride up to the falls. ( Just to add a little more adventure, the door on our bus would not shut and Britton and I were in the seat right by the door. Only Thailand !  ).

The waterfalls are a  7-tier waterfall. You can stop along your climb to the top and jump in the water. At about tier # 4 we decided to jump in. The water was freezing and you are welcomed in the water with masses of people and fish nibbling your feet. None of us liked the fish bites, but it saved me from ever needing to try a fish pedicure! No thank you! We only climbed to tier 4, but that was enough on a sweltering hot day.  I have heard if you make it to the top, you will not be disappointed.  With four little ones climbing some very steep steps, tier 4 was enough for us. 

  There are places to eat outside of the falls and we noticed many locals that were taking lunches onto the grounds of the falls. After a quick lunch, we hopped back on the bus.   They will tell you when you need to get back on the bus to Kanchanaburi. There are multiple shuttles going all day. Our bus driver was even nice enough to drop us off at our hotel instead of the bus station! We hired a private driver to take us back to Bangkok instead of the train home.  The cost was around 2200 Baht.  We set that up before we went to Kanchanaburi,

So, that was our 24 hours in Kanchanburi...a beautiful town filled with history and gorgeous waterfalls. I really recommend visiting it for yourself. It was a nice weekend getaway. 

Relief from concrete: Finding Peace at Mae Sa Waterfall

After our full day at the Umbrella and Silk Factory, we left the city and headed up to Mae Rim.   Mae Rim has quite a few attractions, but we headed there for the peace, quiet, mountains, and waterfalls.  We stayed at Away Suansawan Chiang Mai, Centara Boutique Collection.  We hired a Songthaew to take us there and the driver knew where Mae Rim was, just not our hotel.  It should only take 45 minutes at the most to get to Mae Rim, but after at least 10 stops to ask for directions and over 1 1/2 hours being in the back of a pick-up we ran in to a wonderful expat that was able to point us in the right direction.  So thankful we crossed paths with that man because I was beginning to think I may have booked an imaginary hotel.

The hotel was beautiful.  We were welcomed with drinks, but that was about it.  I was disappointed at how unfriendly the staff was.  No one really smiled or were even willing to help us.  That was surprising after the amazing service we usually get at every other hotel in Thailand. Our room was pretty amazing though.  It was a villa that had two connecting rooms and two bathrooms.  Probably one of the nicest hotels we have stayed in. We are used to cramming 5 people in 2 beds!  My only other major complaint was that one of the sinks was broken and the other bathroom's toilet stunk, but we were not going to let any of those minor issues ruin our time away from the "Concrete Jungle". I was just so happy to see some green space.

 Our Villa

Relaxing in the back of the Songthaew (pick-up truck)

Mae Sa Waterfall

The first full day up in Mae Rim, we hired a Taxi and went to Mae Sa waterfall.  We got there in the morning and it wasn't busy at all.  If you get there mid-morning, vendors will be making food and will pack a lunch for you in a basket and give you a mat to lay out on the ground.  This waterfall is a ten tier waterfall.  We went during rainy season so the waterfalls were coming down pretty hard.  This waterfall isn't beautiful blue water either, it's a muddy color.  There are a few of the tiers that you can swim at, but me being the crazy worrier, would not let the boys do anymore than put their feet in the water.  Who knows what could be hiding out in there?!  But, this was complete paradise for the boys.  Climbing up rocks, digging in mud, and crossing bridges...what more could three little boys ask for? They were having so much fun.  We decided to climb to the 6th tier. The boys tried to talk us into going up either further, but I just kept thinking we have to walk all the way back down.  I think it might have been a little too much walking for a 3 year old.  

Being at the at the waterfall  really made me miss being able to take the boys to the metro parks back home and have them bike on the trails.  I never realized how lucky we were to have a beautiful park system in our city until we moved to Bangkok.  There is not a lot of green space.  Being at Mae Sa Waterfall was so refreshing.  Where ever we end up next will need to have a little more space for the boys to run and play.

After our trip to the waterfalls, we had our taxi driver take us to a place to eat.  He dropped us off at a type of food court.  I am pretty sure we were the only foreigners that have ever stopped by because we were getting quite a few looks.  We are used to be watched, but it felt like we had a spotlight on us. I loved that most people were surprised that Ben could speak Thai and seemed to be even more excepting once they knew we lived in Thailand.  We had a delicious lunch and then headed back to the hotel to swim and the boys finally were able to check out the silly playground that was on the hotel grounds.

After dinner, our neighbors from Bangkok, who were also up in Chiang Mai, picked us up and we headed back to the Night Bazaar.  The boys were giddy with excitement to see their friends and we all had a great time.  We were able to find a few more goodies.  I hate shopping but love markets.  The Night Bazaar is so much fun.  I look forward to heading back there again someday.