Part of the challenge of documenting an action packed tour is finding the time to log the highlights of each day without missing out on any of the excitment. So obviously there are a few days missing that I want to share and capture, starting with the midnight train from Chiang Mai.
Following the afternoon visiting the tigers and walking through old town we boarded the night train from Chiang Mai to Ayuthaya. The agreement was whoever slept on the bottom bunk on the way to Chiang Mai got the top bunk on the way back. So the top bunk for me it was. The challenge was 2nd class on this train was quite different than 2nd class on the first train. So much so that we got a refund on a portion of the fare. What this meant was there was plenty of room to sleep as long as you didn't need to turnover. NO problem though, they had the equivalent of seatbelts to prevent you from falling out. I chose not to test them! SInce we only got to sleep until 4:30 am, it was a short night. We reached our destination at 5:00 am. Backpacks on we were ready to go!
Hiking into Ayuthaya, we crossed the river on a very primitive ferry, and headed to the guesthouse to drop of our bags, a quick shower and then time to explore the local market. Overwhelming! Venders with their merchandise covered every corner of the street market. Fruit, vegetables,raw meat,fish, clothing,and the occasional pigs head. It was all here, out in the open, no refrigeration. You had to wonder how it all got sold, but rumor is it does.
After breakfast in the market we explored the ruins of the World Heritage site by bike, including stopping to give prayer to the reclining Budda. Truly moved by the magnificance of the temples and the beheaded buddas, it was hard to understand why in war it was deemed necesary to destroy the site.
Ayathaya was the Thailand capital from the 14th to the 18th century and it's splendor definitely captured our admiration.
From Ayuthaya we headed up to Erawan National Park where we boarded two rafthouses for an evening on the lake. Coincidence had it that tonight was Halloween. After playing in the water, a few canoe rides and a feast of fish purchased earlier in the day at the Ayuthaya market it was time to celebrate. While Halloween is not celebrated in all countries represented, the creativity of the group quickly presented it self as we produced interesting costumes from the depths of our backpacks. Cross dressing does seem to be the outfit of choice and the laughs never seemed to stop. The beverages may have helped??
The next morning we were on the road to Erawan waterfalls. Seven tiers of clear blue water, with fish that nibbles at your feet. While getting a solid workout as you climb up to each level of the waterfall the sites are amazing. At level 3 we stopped for a fish massage and swim to cool off. At level 5, we remembered that we were looking for monkey's. Since we were climbing our focus had been on the ground, so da let's look upward. Sure enough a pair of monkey's in the trees. Now unlike the monkey,s we had seen in the mongroves, we were told the monkeys at Erawan were not friendly and could be darn right mean. So here we are taking pictures of the monkey's when they start to come towards us. Chicken hearted we were as we ran back to the path away from them. Too funny, 3 ladies searching for monkey's but to scared to get the picture. Thank goodness for Jeanne, who was our resident, expert photographer. By noon the park was getting extremely busy with locals and it was time for us to head to Kanchanaburi. Home of the river Kwae.
Back on our bikes, we rode to the Museum of the Railway on the River Kwae. The history of WW11 documented in the museum was overwheliming and very emotional. It is extremely hard to comprehend the degree of hardship the POWs experienced! As the Japanese tried to establish a supply route to Myanmar and India, POWs were used to build the railroad. Over 100,000 Asians and 16000 POWs died during the construction.
Visitng the museum, war cemetary, under ground caves and the Bridge over the river Kwae, took our bike ride well into the evening and we found ourselves riding home in the dark. A bit scary!
Talking about scary, that night we headed off to the local night market. After wandering around for an hour we decided it was time to head home. So we took Scooter taxis. Our guide told the drivers where we wanted to go. They put on their helmuts and away we went. However the passengers don't get helmuts, you just get to hold on for dear life. A short ride and we arrived safely at our destination.
Interesting rules in Thailand. First they drive on the wrong side of the road, and only the driver is required to wear a helmut. However very few helmuts were seen on anyone and often 3 or more indivuals were riding one bike.
The motto- honk, honk and more honking to advise you are coming through, get out of my way or I am passing.
Day 9 is a day of travel as we leave Kanchanaburi and drive to Bangkok to catch a flight to Krabi. Final destination for the day Ao Nang, arriving in time to celebrate the Full Moon Festival.
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