"Hopeless Wanderer": "Don't go chasing waterfalls"

After a long week off and one day of teaching we caught a mini bus to Bangkok and then another mini bus to Kanchanaburi. We went to Kanchanaburi over orientation week to ride elephants, float down the River Kwai, and see the the bridge over the river which is part of the famous Death Railway. I was told by former OEG teachers that I must go back to Kanchanaburi to see Erawan National Park and climb all seven levels of the waterfalls, and to also stay on the Main Street in Kanchanaburi because where we were during orientation was no where close to this and it is a lot of fun.

The mini bus ride from BKK to Kanchanaburi was not ideal. Once again I was stuck in the worst seat in the very back right corner with no leg room because the tiny Thai man in front of me had his chair back. I had my legs tucked up, my bags on top of me, and Nichole right next to me. We were squished. I panicked for the first 30 minutes because I get slightly claustrophobic when I am in a small van crammed with people and Alex had to tell me many times if I just stop talking and complaining the ride will get better. It eventually did and people eventually got off along the way which meant we could space out. When we got to the bus station in Kanchanaburi a song thaew kindly took us to the hostel we had googled during the week. Got there. It was full. So we stayed next door. 3 in a queen bed. On a boat house. Yeh that happened.

After settling in we went for a bite to eat and witnessed a woman getting hit by a moped. She just walked right out in front of him. It was pretty crazy. Some cops came to direct traffic on a moped and they were about 12 years old. Then the paramedics came cleaned the woman up and put a bandaid on her nose. It was quite a scene and all from our dinner table. After dinner we wandered up and down the street and it is clear that Kanchanaburi is a biker town. There we nice bikes and not just moped up and down this street, more restaurants, and some odd bars. I'm not sure how to describe the place we stopped for a few beers but it was interesting for sure. The lady was a bit crazy and Nichole has a new best friend, the DJ.

We woke up early on Saturday. Melissa joined us early because she could only get a bus from Bangkok at 7 am after missing the last bus the night before. So when she arrived I checked into a room, on the river boat, with her and then we all went to fuel ourselves for our day of waterfall chasing. We caught a taxi tour guys attention and he was the same price as the song thaews but a lot faster and he drove us to Erawan National Park. It was a great deal bc we paid him 300 baht each and he waited for us the whole day while we explored the park. The waterfall has 7 different levels and the first 5 are not that bad to walk up. There is a trail you follow, you can stop and swim at each level - that is if you don't mind the fish that nibble on you. Then the last two levels get a little tricky and at one point you don't really know how you are suppose to move on. Some people walking down laughed and told us - just go it's worth it. And it was worth it. The top level is by far the best.

We spent about 4 hours in the park and by the time we got home we were all exhausted but we had to show Melissa what it was like at night so we got dressed and went for dinner. Like a normal weekend away we ran into some other OEG people and chatted about our schools, all the "oh Thailand" moments we have had, and requested songs all night.

I am happy we decide to go back to Kanchanaburi because now I can say I have seen the place and explored it without orientation rules and sechdules. I love getting to see slices of Thailand on these weekend adventures and I am looking forward to all my future ones. Got some great weekends and holidays planned!