Chilling out in Kanchanaburi

Trip Start Apr 25, 2008
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14
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Trip End Jun 07, 2008


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Where I stayed
Camelia
(Kanchanaburi hotels)

Flag of Thailand  , Kanchanaburi,
Friday, May 16, 2008

Well, I guess I have to confess that our backpacking adventures haven't been as 'rough' as we were expecting!  We discovered this lovely little mini-resort in Kanchanaburi.  There are several 3-story hotel units, each floor with 2 rooms; each room with a deck overlooking the resort.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped, and there is a gorgeous swimming pool from which you can ponder life as you watch the comings and goings along the river.  The room is basic but clean - and there is a small poolside bar/restaurant playing nice cruisy music for us to listen to.  All this for $30 a night (or $15 each)!  We're in poolside heaven right now!

On the day that we arrived, we just chilled by the pool for the afternoon, and wandered the streets of Kanchanaburi in the evening.  And the next day was pretty much spent doing the same thing, although we did the obligatory walk to the Bridge (as in the Bridge over River Kwai).  This was a tourist trap to the extreme.  There were dozens of double-decker VIP buses full of Korean and Thai tourists crawling all over the bridge.  (Only a handful of Australians, Americans tourists).    We had been very spoiled for the last week or so, since arriving in Chiang Mai as we really were not coming across many tourists (if any).  It was nice.  But in Kanchanaburi, they are everywhere!  I guess this will be the case as we are fairly close to Bangkok.

Today, we decided we needed to leave the swimming pool for a few hours and jumped into the car to travel north-west for an hour or so to see Hell's Fire Pass.  This is where the Japanese and Koreans, during WWII forced the Allied POW's to build a railway (intended to run from Thailand to Burma).  They had to build bridges and make 'cuttings' through mountains of rock - all by hand, in atrocious conditions.  There was an Australian-run museum up there that is extremely well down, and gave a good presentation of the history of this are.  Fascinating stuff although I am continually amazed at how people can treat others so horribly. 

It started hosing down in the afternoon, so our planned relaxing afternoon in the sun didn't quite eventuate.  But we did enjoyed a swim in the rain, anyhow!

So.. all in all, nothing too exciting to report on our time in Kanchanaburi.  It was a time for us to just relax for a bit.  Tomorrow, we will drive a couple of hours south, to a small town called Ampawa (1-2 hours south of Bangkok).

See ya later!
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