Kanchanaburi

Traveling has become much easier. Saturday morning I headed to Bangkok's Northern Bus Station- Mochit- via taxi. Got on the bus and headed northwest. Getting out of the capital city is the hardest part. Felt like we sat in traffic for hours. It took four hours to get to Kanchanaburi on that bus. Pretty sure it takes two in a car.

I stayed at Sam's River Raft House. It was literally sitting on a raft on the river. Not the nicest place in the world but better than the guesthouse in Lopburi. I am moving up! Kanchanaburi is small, quiet town that sits on the Mae Nam Kwae river. Anyone remember the film, "The Bridge over the River Kwae"? This is the place! But the river is actually pronounced k-way, not k-why. Kwai means buffalo. Thais laugh when you say it wrong.

Since I am in Thailand, I feel like I have to try new things and do things that I would not do at home. So I rented a bicycle to ride around the town. If you knew little Mary, you may remember my father forcing me to learn how to ride a bike. I am pretty sure that I learned at the same time as Stephen. As a child I was plenty content playing with my American Girl dolls and reading my books. But back then I knew I had to forced myself to get out of my comfort zone so on Saturday afternoon, I mounted that 20 year old bike that was a little bit too big and definitely too wobbly and hit the streets. Well, the man I rented the bike from walked along with me and held the seat for about 100 feet until I got steady. Then I hit the streets!

As steered the bike past food stalls and stray dogs trying to stay clear of the motorcycles and cars, all while staying on the left side of the road I viewed field after field of corn, tapioca and bananas. The fields were framed by the mountains. It was relaxing just riding along taking in all the sites along the countryside. On my stroll I stumbled upon the famous, "Bridge over the River Kwae". During WWII, the Japanese forced POWs to build a railway connecting Siam (now Thailand) to Burma (now Mynmar) Thousands died. The bridge that I viewed was not the actually bridge but special still. You can pay 100 baht to take the "tourist train" across the river or you can spend the money on lunch and dinner and a coconut water and just walk across. The view of the river was spectacular.

On Sunday, I headed to the famous Erawan National Park. There I hiked up to see the "7 tiered waterfall". Basically, there are 7 different waterfalls as you go up the mountain. They were incredible. Level 5 looked like something created at a beach resort. The water was clear and cool. You know how the latest craze are those fish spas? You stick your feet in a tub of water full of little fish that eat away at the dead skin. There is a free fish spa in the waters of the waterfall. I wasn't into it. After swimming, sliding and slipping through the different waterfalls, I headed back to Kanchanaburi to enjoy a Western meal and a beer.

Monday morning, I donned the ancient bike once again and headed to a temple inside a cave. The ride was a little treacherous. I had to walk my bike up one huge hill but I made it in one piece. As I descended into the temple cave I was immediately brought back to Israel. Several of the churches I visited were actually caves or the holiest parts of the churches were underground. Seems that perhaps several different cultures believe that caves are scared, holy places. After the visit to the cave it was time to head back to a very cool, breezy Bangkok.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -Lao Tzu (Or a couples pedals on a bicycle!)

Top Photo: Mary on her bike. Bottom Photo: Mary at Erawan National Park, Waterfall Five.