3 reasons to head to Bangkok: the King's Birthday, Jen, and J and Kelly. Jen, a MediaKids teacher in Ang Thong, is leaving her teaching post in Thailand to unwillingly return home due to personal reasons. She and Maddy, another teacher in Ang Thong (whom I spent time with at Baan Dada Children's Home) were in Bangkok, for Jen's last night. Jacqueline and I were coming to say goodbye. Also, J and Kelly were in Bangkok - two girls that I traveled with through Laos. Bridget, was also there to say goodbye. J and Kelly just returned to Bangkok, after months of traveling throughout Southeast Asia, returning to Thailand through the south, and are leaving tomorrow to return home to Seattle. So, I got to catch up with the girls and say goodbye to so many friends with whom I began this incredible journey.
We took a metered taxi from Ekkomai, which was an incredibly, and unusually long ride. Many of the many streets and neighborhoods were closed due to the festivals that overtook most of Bangkok. The driver eventually dropped us off and said he could go no further. So we walked the rest of the way - maybe about 20 minutes. It wasn't so bad, as we got to walk through some of the festival and catch amazing firework displays. Then we met up with the girls, had a late night out, shared memories and stories of Thailand and talked about the future. It's always sad to say goodbye to so many friends at once, especially when you've shared such life-changing experiences with them.
Saturday afternoon, I alone left for Kanchanaburi - not without difficulty. I knew that I could catch a bus either from Mochit or the Southern bus terminal. I didn't really feel like dealing with crazy Mochit, so I headed to Ekkomai - NOT the southern bus terminal. I'm not sure where my head was, maybe a bit hungover, but I know that Ekkomai is the eastern bus terminal, and 150 baht motorbike taxi (45 minute long journey) later, at Ekkomai, I realized I was dead wrong, and should have known it. Without too much time to complain, I jumped into a metered taxi, that is, one that would agree to take me ALL THE WAY to the southern bus terminal, and an hour or so later, arrived at this bus terminal/ shopping mall - a place I had never been.
Once I was able to navigate my way through the shopping mall up to the ticket counters, and down the back to the buses, I boarded the bus, as my ticket said 16:00, and it was now 4:00 pm. The woman looked at my ticket and shooed me off the bus. A man nearby helped to translate that this was not my bus, but that it would come next, they are running late, and this is actually the 3:30 pm bus. The next bus arrived, I got on, and was again shooed off! Same situation, but this bus was the 3:45 pm, or something or other bus. Then the man, who did have a seat on this bus, got off, grabbed me and pulled me on - he said they had an extra seat. That was nice of him. So, I made it to Kanchanaburi by around 6:00 pm. Ahhh, Thailand and transportation - always an issue. This was only the first of a few bus problems I had this weekend.
I didn't know where I was going to stay in Kanchanaburi (I have been here twice before, but never overnight. The first time was to see the River Kwai, JEATH museum, and the Tiger Temple back in my first week in Thailand on a day tour. The second time was passing through at the bus station on my way back from Sangklaburi - Baan Dada Children's Home). So as not to get confused, the main city in every province is also the name of the province. So Kanchanaburi is the main city of Kanchanaburi Province.
I walked over to a bunch of sawngtao taxi drivers, asking all those getting off buses, "bi nigh, bi nigh" ("where are you going"). I asked if they knew of any cheap guesthouses/ hotels that was near the bus station, as tomorrow I want to go see Erawan Falls in Erawan National Park. The driver drove me around to a few different ones, one of which I finally agreed upon. P.S. Apartments, actually short-term housing for Thais. The places the driver took me around to are for Thais, as in no foreigner would know it was a guesthouse; the signs are all in Thai. It was only 300 baht, and very clean and had t.v. with English Channels. As I was traveling alone, this was a nice wanted bonus. The people were also extremely nice. I grabbed some dinner down the street, and called it an early night.
Woke up early the next morning, was driven to the bus station by one of the tennants in the building, and got on the bus to Erawan Falls - about an hour and a half drive for 50 baht. The bus broke down about half way through, but luckily we were able to pull into a mechanic's driveway, and the problem was fixed in 15 minutes.
At Erawan, I only had to pay 40 baht, the Thai price. You see, in Thailand, there are different prices for Thais and foreigners. Foreigners are charged 200 baht to see Erawan Falls!! I pulled out my Work Permit pass, so I'm not sure if I got to pay the 40 baht fee because of this or because she thought I was Thai. Erawan Falls is a 7-tiered waterfall, and is best seen in November and December, just after the rainy season. At the bottom of each tier, the water collects into turquoise blue pools, perfect for swimming. I hiked the 2 km up to Tier 7 and made some friends with a group of Thai University students. They study at a university in Bangkok, and were up here for the day. We swam at the top, and hiked down to Tier 5 and swam some more. I was then driven by hunger to make my way down, grab some delicious food - Somtom (papaya salad), sticky rice and grilled, marinated chicken.
I then caught the last bus back to Kanchanaburi. This bus was so packed full that people were not only standing squished side by side throughout the middle isle, but a girl was sitting up front next to the driver on his seat, and people were hanging out the doors. The other foreigners and I couldn't believe it each time when the driver stopped to pick up more passengers along the side of the road. Got back to the Guesthouse, and the owners invited me to dinner. Their two daughters study English at a university in Bangkok, so we had a nice chat. Again, I called it an early night and got to indulge in some Western t.v.
The next morning - today, Monday, December 7 - I got on a bus from Kanchanaburi headed to the southern terminal in Bangkok, where I knew I could catch a bus to Sri Racha. Unfortunately, and typically, the bus broke down on the side of the highway after about an hour of leaving Kanchanaburi. We were all informed to get off the bus, and the bus manager flagged down three other buses, and shuttled us onto them. I managed to find a seat, we took off, and then I realized that I had no idea where we were going! Bangkok is huge, and I could be going to any number of destinations. I asked the person sitting next to me, "Ekkomai?" She shook her head, "maichai" (no). Then I asked, "Mochit?" "Maichai". "Southern bus terminal?" "Maichai." She then mentioned some name that I've never heard of.
Well, we all got dropped off on the side of the raod somewhere in Bangkok that I have never been. It wasn't a bus terminal or anything for that matter, just some random corner in some neighborhood unknown to me. After hassling with nearby taxi drivers about how to get to Ekkomai, they finally gave me a public bus number to catch just down the street. Luckily, the bus came just as I was headed to the stop. I waved my arm, ran for the bus, as you do in Thailand, and paid the 20 baht to get to Ekkomai. I arrived about an hour later. With no bus hassles on this trip, I finally arrived home around 5:30 pm. It was a very successful and fun weekend.
Erawan Falls - Tier 1 or 2
At the top - Tier 7
Me and one of my new Thai waterfall friends at Tier 7
Me and new friends swimming at Tier 5
As usual, you are having amazing experiences...I foresee a book...
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