Kanchanaburi - Vacation within a vacation

Sophia's real name is Lee Ji Hye. A lot of Koreans seem to chose Western nicknames, probably because of our total inability to remember Korean names. She was alone on a whirlwind tour of Thailand that was just coming to an end, and Kanchanaburi was her last destination. She clearly knew the secret to traveling alone: meeting people. I was hoping she could impart some of that wisdom on me.

We arrived in town after a short hour and a half bus ride. It was quite nice not being assaulted by the hustle and bustle of Khao San Road. Here, the streets were wide, the buildings classic, the people unhurried. A man riding a bicycle taxi rolled up and managed to cram both of us and our luggage into his apparatus for the 5km stretch to the hotel. his calf muscles were disproportionately huge. The hotel was beautiful. Riverside, bathroom, wifi, and very very cheap.

So what's so special about Kanchanaburi? Well, it's a remarkably flat stretch of land just outside of Bangkok that's flanked on all sides by beautifully dramatic cliffs. It's built along a clean, swimable river and many Thais and tourists enjoys it's general laid-backness and wealth of outdoor activities. It also has a lot of history attached to it. Cutting through the town is the infamous Death Railway, a railway that Japanese occupiers built using POW labor. Thousands were worked to death, and the war ended before the railway reached it's intended destination: Rangoon. In the northern part of town, the railway crossed the Bridge Over the River Kwai, a poignant symbol of the war and it's heavy casualties. Throughout town are numerous museums, cemeteries and memorials dedicated to the area's tragic history.

We rented motorbikes for the day. So many of the attractions are so spread out that it would have been inconvenient and expensive to do it any other way. Plus, at 150 baht a day, come on. We went everywhere. Just outside of town, burgundy fields stretched out across the landscape. Cows and chickens grazed freely and the hazy, yet discernible cliffs formed a second horizon in the distance. We went to a monkey school and a lonely gibbon held my hand. When I took it away, she would tap my shoulder and extend her hand outwards again. The poor dear. We attempted a shortcut through some fields and I got stuck in the mud. That was a fun distraction. The sun was setting and the sky was bright orange and red; you'd almost expect the choppers to rise over the palm trees at any moment.

The Bridge Over the River Kwai was a little underwhelming, but enhanced by the classic Indochinese sunset. Lots of tourists were there taking pictures. There were no guardrails or safety precautions, and at one point the train came while we were still on the bridge. We had to stand precariously on the edge while it passed. I'd like to see the statistics for how many people died on this bridge AFTER the war had ended.

The sun finally set and we hit the night market. Sophia dared me to eat a Thai pepper and I did. Searing dry heat had be throwing on my sunglasses in an attempt to maintain some dignity. Of course it didn't work, and I suffered the full brunt of my mistake. It was a quiet, quiet night, so i jumped in the river before going to bed.

The next day we rode elephants. It's pretty surreal being on top of these giant beasts. You really can't fathom how big they are until they are right in your face. Their skin is like sandpaper, so riding one while wearing shorts can be a little abrasive. They would reel, make loud noises, pull leaves off of trees and occasionally drop giant turds with an audible "THUMP!". The elephant experience. Not to mention the smell. At the end, the elephant waded down into the river for the second part of the tour, bathing the elephants. The brochure called it "bathing with the elephants", but I won't call it that considering that most people emerge filthier than when they went in. The huge creature got down while we scrubbed it's rough skin. It's trunk occasionally surfaced like a giant sea monster and blasted a puff of air. The locals had a good laugh at our clumsiness and apprehension. Afterwards, off to the shower to wash off the elephant stink.

After a second tour of the night market, we walked past a stretch of bars before settling on an outdoor reggae bar. It was empty, and a reggae bar, which I guess is better than being full of ruddy old men and Thai escorts, like all of the other bars. Posters advertised a celebration for Bob Marley's birthday which I found amusing. I swear, a new form of religion is taking shape. the bassist for the house band let me tap around on the drums for a bit, which I appreciated.

I spent the remainder of my time in Kanchanaburi swinging in a hammock listening to music. Sophia shared her playlist with me. Luther Vandross. India Arie. I played her some Junior Boys and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Tomorrow we were heading back to Bangkok where I would meet up with Adam again and see what kind of trouble he got up to since Koh Pha Ngan.

My first stretch traveling alone was enlightening to say the least. At times refreshing and at times maddening. I'll do it again before this trip is over, I'm sure. Maybe I'll do a whole trip by myself some day? I looked over and Sophia had already fallen asleep in her hammock. I'm really never alone, I thought to myself.

EDIT: Recovered 2 pictures

Hilarious picture.

Sophia in a tuk-tuk.