A big day out

Just time for a superfast breakfast as we were getting picked up at 8am. our trip (expertly organised through Good Times Travel in Kanchanaburi) started with a drive to the Erawan Falls about an hour from town. It's known as the most beautiful falls in the whole of Thailand and I can believe it. There are 7 tiers in all and we spent around two and a half hours trekking to the top and paddling and swimming at a couple of the tiers (5 and 7). I reckon you could spend all day there. Cliff enjoyed getting his feet and most of his legs nibbled by the fish there. Have a look at the video here. Liam wouldn't go near them after his experience at Siam Ocean World, but basically covered about double of the ground we did by running off ahead. After a really good lunch (best pad thai so far) we headed for the elephant camp, where we got to ride one on dry ground and then into the river, a bit bumpy but it does make you feel a bit like a maharaja. When we got off our elephants, our guide Eileen said there was a partial solar eclipse, which we all then viewed through a special lens.

We then took a raft ride down the river, very peaceful and cool and Liam got to pilot one on the way back. We visited the Krasae Cave where the Japanese would leave injured POWs to die rather than have to transport them back to camp. Local stories say that people used to hear the spirits of the dead still working on the railway so a monk erected a Buddha image in the cave to calm the spirits. After leaving some flowers and lighting some joss sticks there we took a bumpy ride (I see a pattern emerging here) on the pleasantly named Death Railway, just four stops along the line back towards Kanchanaburi. I thought that it would be just a tourist train but it's packed with kids on their way home from school. Then there was time for another look at the bridge over the River Kwai, this time in daylight. It would have been cool to ride the train over the bridge but apparently we couldn't because the train from Bangkok was expected and there's only the one line. After dinner we went to the One More bar on the 'strip' as they advertised a Wii console - unfortunately broken though. So Liam played pool and darts and we chatted to a couple of girls called Blair and Vicky from The Wirral and Shropshire respectively. They're in Thailand for a month and were heading down to the islands for the Full Moon Party. Hope you had a good birthday Vicky!