Kanchanaburi- Lions and Tigers and Bears , Oh my

Okay, so maybe not lions and bears..but definitely Elephants, Tigers and Waterfalls!

We arrived in Kanchanaburi on Friday around 1pm. We got off the bus and were immediately bombarded by people asking if we wanted a taxi ride. Now the taxis that you might be actually thinking of are not the types of taxis in Kanchanaburi. In Kanchanaburi, they have trucks that are covered on all sides (except the back). You climb into the back of the truck and hold on to a railing on the ceiling while the the "taxi" is moving. Its pretty fantastic and was definitely a our mode of transportation for the day and a half that we were in Kachanaburi. We negotiated a price to 10 baht per person to take us to the hostel and around the city.

We first went to the Jolly Frog Hostel, which the owner at the Soi 1 Guesthouse recommended. It looked okay but it didn't have enough of the right kind of rooms for us so we went elsewhere. We ended up at a different guesthouse which was actually pretty nice (About 11 USD per night) and we checked in, paid and then decided that we were going to go ride an elephant at that moment.

While we were checking in, Tim decided to negotiate prices with the taxi driver. Each of us paid 200 USD per day for the taxi services. He took us absolutely everywhere during those two days. It was probably a fantastic deal for him and a not so good, but okay deal for us.

We set our stuff down, got back in the Taxi and then drove all the way out to the elephant riding area. It was so far away (probably around 45 minutes) but we definitely had a good time watching the scenery (rolling grasslands with mountain peaks around us!) and playing mind games until we got there.

We finally reached the elephants and I pretty much leaped out of the taxi I was so excited. We went down the hill, negotiated a elephant ride and a rafting adventure down the river for 600 (she wanted 600 baht or 18 USD for each at one point) and headed over to claim our elephants. Evan and I were on one elephant and it was definitely a lot of fun. It was bumpy ride but our guide was the coolest. He would sing Thai songs and talk to our elephant (I forgot the elephant's name). He sat towards the top of the elephant's head and would kinda guide him but putting slight pressure on the back of its ears. It was really nifty and I definitely have pictures, if you want to go look. The path took us down towards the water, where our lovely elephant tried to spray us with water. :) We took some pictures and then made our way up a hill towards another grassy area. Evan and I almost ran into some trees but after about 20-25 minutes on the elephant, we were taken back to the starting point, were given life jackets and then headed down to our bamboo raft.

We got on the raft, sat down and left the dock. There was a small tug boat that pulled us up the river and partially filled our bamboo raft up with water. It was tons of fun. I put my foot in the water on the side of the raft but after seeing baby alligator/crocodile (I am not sure which one) on the the shore, I decided that I probably shouldn't risk my foot being ripped off. After a certain point, the tug boat left us and our raft driver paddled us down the river. We got to see the beautiful sun setting on the river. When we passed the area where we saw the baby alligator/crocodile it was no longer there and we definitely did not put any more limbs into the water. Haha.

The raft trip was so fun and we got back to the dock in no time. We got off the boat and headed back up the hill. I talked to the lady that ran the establishment and I asked her if the elephants pick people up. She either didn't understand me or something because she said that they don't do that at this location. Tough luck. Oh well, I got to ride an elephant and feel its back and thats definitely an experience in itself.

We got back in our taxi and headed back into town and had a contest over who could take the best sunset picture. I personally liked mine but I think Ray might have had the overall best picture. Though, the boys cheated because they all have "sunset mode" on their cameras. Cheap, I tell you. Cheap.

y the time we got back to the hostel, it was dark. We quickly recouped and then went to go find somewhere to eat dinner. We found a restaurant that was pretty close to our hostel called the Tai Thai. We were all starving so we ate there and then wandered around that part of the city for some time. After a little while, Ray, Tim, Steve and Justin decided that they wanted to get massages so they left and Evan, Lisa and I went back to the hostel to hang out. We hung out for a little while and then decided to go swimming in the hostel pool. The rest of our group joined us and after a while (around 10) we were kicked out and headed to shower and get ready to walk around again.

We walked around the area again and found a little restaurant/bar thing that had a fooseball table so obviously we ended up hanging out there for awhile. The guys ate again (after about 4 hours since the last meal) but this time had spring rolls and pizza. Crazy people, I tell you. :) Ray even fell asleep at the table! It was so funny and we definitely have pictures.

We went back to the hostel and Evan and I went to the cyber cafe to book the next two nights in Bangkok. We found a hostel called Lub D. We booked it and then looked at the pictures. It looked pretty cool but the last place that looked okay (Soi 1) online ended up not being the best place to stay.

After paying for the rooms at Lub D, we went back to our hostel and pretty much immediately went to sleep. So tired. Such a fantastic, but long, day.