Kanchanaburi Province (and beyond) motorbike trip plan

Kanchanburi province in Thailand lies west of Bangkok and butts up against the Burmese border. The province (similar to a state) gets few tourists compared with the rest of the country, but reputedly had beautiful mountains, rivers and waterfalls and, the further west one travels, a “wild west” kind of feel. So I rented a motorbike (what else?!) to explore. A quick note of gratitude is in order to Couchsurfer Melly-Mel who gave me the idea to take this fabulous trip. Thanks Mel!

The city of Kanchanburi (not to be confused with the province of the same name) is known worldwide for its famous Kwai River and even more famous bridge that crosses it. The town was the hellish home for a number of Allied POWs and conscripted Southeast Asians during World War II. From this base, thousands of prisoners built the railroad known as the Death Railway linking Thailand to Burma/Myanmar to provide an alternate supply route for the Japanese. More than 100,000 of those prisoners died because of the cruel, brutal treatment they received at the hands of their captors. A small number of those are buried at the Allied War Cemetary also located in Kanchanburi.

The day I arrived in the town of Kanchanburi (Kanch for short), it was raining so I didn’t get to see much of anything. I had given a temporary home to a woman I met on the bus who’s wallet turned up missing (she thought she left it at her hotel back in Bangkok). She was quite sweet … but snored so I didn’t get much rest that night. The next morning, after seeing her to the bus station, I caught a quick nap so I wouldn’t snooze on my motorbike. When I woke up, I was more in the mood to get moving than to do much museum-type sightseeing so, other than stopping to take photos of the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai, I postponed the War Memorial sightseeing for my return to Kanch the next week and took off for Thong Pha Phum.

TPP is about 150 km from Kanch with many opportunities between the two to pull off to see waterfalls, hotsprings and tigers. Well, actually, there’s only one opportunity to see tigers. In the early 1990’s, monks at Wat Luang Ta Bua Yanna Sampanno (aka Tiger Temple) began taking in tiger cubs orphaned by poachers who killed their mothers. Word spread about the monk’s unusual collection and now they have many adult tigers (babies do grow up!) roaming the property … supervised, of course.

THE Bridge over the River Kwai

I had enjoyed playing with the tigers in Chiang Mai last month and was curious to visit the Tiger Temple. I remembered the severe allergies I had to those tigers, however, and decided it was best to visit on my way back as the Tiger Temple is just on the outskirts of Kanch. Better to have a sneezing fit 30 minutes from my hotel rather than 2.5 hours away was my way of thinking.

I did plan to stop at some of the waterfalls though but the rain must have followed me from Kanch. It caught up with me about an hour into my drive and stayed with me for a full hour as well. My growling stomach made me finally call “Uncle” and I pulled over to an open-air roadside restaurant. The owner hospitably let me pull my bike under the covered area by the tables so that I didn’t have to unload all my gear which had previously been covered by my oversized, stylishly-challenged rain poncho.

My jeans and tennis shoes were completely soaked. I was famished. I was cold and feeling pretty miserable. A family already seated at one of the two tables took pity and invited me to join them. I waited and waited but no menus were brought. The owner, since inviting me to keep my bike dry, had disappeared. “Gin?” I asked. I forget if that means food or eat, but my tablemates got the point. They shouted something (to the invisible restaurant owner?) and held up their hands, signaling me to be patient.

I tried to be patient, but I had skipped breakfast that morning and needed something in my cold, wet tummy at that moment. As many Thai restaurants do, this one also had snacks in handy packages so I grabbed a few and passed them around the table. That took the edge off while we waited for who knew what. Well, to be accurate, my dining companions knew what we were waiting for but because of the language barrier, I had no idea.  It was pouring out and I wasn’t going anywhere anyway.

Four kids were sitting at the next table watching what appeared to be a knockoff version of “Little Mermaid” in Thai. Or maybe it was a sequel. In this version, it seemed that instead of being a mermaid who wanted to be human, Ariel was a human wanting to be a mermaid. A skinny version of the underwater octupus witch was busy trying to capture her soul. It was amusing. Since none of us adults could communicate with each other beyond smiling and sharing some snacks, we were engrossed in the shoddy cartoon as much as the kids were.

Finally, out of the blue, the restaurant owner appeared again with two bowls of hot steaming broth-based soup which she handed to the couple sharing my table. The woman kindly passed hers to me. I guess this soup was all that was on the menu for the day as the owner immediately returned with another bowl for the woman. The kids all got the same thing too. Fine with me. Hot soup is just what I would have ordered anyway.

They all watched in eager anticipation as I took my first bite, concerned it would be too spicy for me and ready to fall out of their seats laughing if indeed that was the case. But I love spicy food. So far, nothing I’ve eaten in Thailand has been too spicy for me, which has surprised and delighted me. So the soup was fabulous. Although my feet and legs were still cold and wet (why hadn’t I worn my quick dry clothes that day?) I was warm and toasty inside. Before Little Mermaid’s Thai sister was over, the rain stopped. The family and I all took that opportunity to leave. We hadn’t shared conversation, but we had shared food, shelter in a storm and bad cartoons so hugs were exchanged before we each motored on in opposite directions.

I passed a very tempting hot springs 30 km before Thong Pha Phum but knew I would only want to fall asleep after getting out. It was safer to drive on and spend the money for a hotel with a hot shower in town. I had a good imagination. A hot enough shower could easily be a hot spring.

view of the mountains driving into Thong Pha Phum

Between Kanch and TPP, the road was not curvy and mountainous as I had anticipated. It was straight and flat. The scenery was nice but nothing out of the ordinary either. All that changed when I arrived in TPP. TPP is a tiny town nestled in among some limestone mountains with jagged edges on top. There’s a lovely brown river (you’d have to see it to believe it) that flows through town, a golden pagoda sits on top of the mountain and the whole thing is just gorgeous.

Given my late start and the rain delay, I didn’t pull into TPP until 4pm. Although late October in Thailand generally feels more like August back home with its heat and humidity, the overcast skies and my still freezing feet reminded me of cold fall days when I just want to crawl under the covers. So that’s what I did. I found a hotel with hot water and tried to pretend I was in a hot spring while I showered. Unfortunately, the water didn’t get quite hot enough and the pressure left much to be desired so I toweled off, climbed into some clean dry clothes and burrowed under the covers in my bed. I napped a bit and journaled a bit until my stomach advised me it was time to stop being a hermit.

I headed for the night market anxious to meet some people and fill my tummy. I was successful in the latter but not the former. TPP doesn’t get many non-Thai tourists. One hotel owner was apparently so stunned to see me that she couldn’t comprehend that I wanted a room. I literally had to walk to a bungalow, point at myself, mime sleeping and point at the bungalow door before she caught on and opened the door for me to see. Alas, cold water. Mai pen rai.

border crossings and waterfalls ... all enroute to TPP

The folks of TPP, who I’m sure are lovely people, were no less stunned to see me. I was able to purchase food, but no one seemed to want to have anything to do with me otherwise. They didn’t even stare as often happens in less touristy places. They just looked away and ignored me. I didn’t get my feelings hurt, but neither did I have the energy that evening to try to break through this invisible barrier so I took my chicken back to my room and ate it there. Don’t feel bad for me! In the privacy of my room, I was able to lick my fingers and gnaw on the bone.  Yummy!

The next day, I was looking for internet access before heading out of town. It had been several days since I had checked in and I like to keep my family informed of my whereabouts and let them know I’m safe. The last they’d heard from me was that I was traveling by motorbike toward Burma in an area where few tourists go. Definitely needed to check in.

this view was about 1000 times more beautiful than I've managed to capture

I stopped at the Department of Tourism to ask about internet access. Here’s where the shiny happy people of TPP lived! They told me that the only internet cafe in town had closed, but that I was welcome to use their office computer to send email. When they discovered I had a laptop, they fixed me up with comfy space in their lobby and helped me tap into their WiFi. I had been there fifteen minutes happily downloading and reading the 600+ emails that had accumulated since I was last online when one of the employees turned on the fan behind me to make me more comfortable. Another fifteen minutes passed and a woman brought me a glass of ice water. Holy cow! These people were fabulous! They wanted to practice their English with me so between sending and receiving emails, I chatted with several of them. By the time I left, I felt I had a town full of friends. Since there was only one main road to the Burmese border and back, I knew I would have to pass through TPP again and looked forward to it.

The drive and views between TPP and Sangkhlaburi were stunning. Just outside of Sang, I stopped at a  “viewpoint overlook.” I accidentally walked up on a man using the overlook as a reststop so the view didn’t start out so great. After he was gone, however, the views took my breath away. They were nothing short of epic. There was a massive lake with many many bright green islands spread throughout. Mountains upon layers of mountains served as a steadily fading backdrop. For some reason, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings came to mind. I still can’t explain why because they didn’t show this kind of scenery there. I just keep coming back to the word epic. It’s a strange word to use to describe landscape and yet that’s what seems to fit. I did my best to photograph it and I’ll share that with you, but will also tell you up front that I utterly failed to capture the gloriousness of what I saw.

the valley just outside of Sangkhlaburi

The eye candy just kept getting better and better as I got closer to Sang. Further down the road on the same massive lake were floating villages. Further beyond that I came to the edge of the lake where it seemed to turn to rivers or smaller lakes running through a lush green valley that reminded me of photos I’d seen of Ireland. It was certainly green enough to be the home of leprechauns. I was moved to say “Wow!” out loud more than ten times during that drive. I was so glad I was on a motorbike and could stop and enjoy it all at my own pace. 

All of this was merely a prelude to the giant photo opp that was Sangkhlaburi. As I pulled into town, I was greeted by a reclining Buddha that was at least one hundred feet long. Across the road from him were nine more very large seated Buddhas with different hand positions. The temple next to the reclining Buddha was the most beautiful I’ve seen to date in Thailand. The style was different than others I’d seen. Perhaps this is the Burmese influence being so close to the border, I thought.

Buddhist cemetery

Things like this are like a magnet for me and my camera. I easily get lost in them for hours. I forcibly tore myself away to go look for a hotel before it got dark. The Burmese Inn had reasonably priced bungalows right on the lake with a pretty view of bridge spanning the water. Sold. After dumping my bags at the Burmese Inn, I motored off to explore. I found another temple with beautiful structures I mistook for spirit houses and later learned they are a kind of Buddhist headstone holding the ashes of a deceased person. I had wandered into a Buddhist cemetery!

 While I was photographing the cemetery, a western woman walked past on the road and we waved hello to each other. On my way back down the hill, I came upon her and offered her a ride. Her name was Katrina and she was from Cleveland, Ohio. She was a nurse volunteering her time in the area for ten weeks. We immediately clicked.

We drove to the bridge viewable from my lakeside bungalow. From there, I could see more floating villages and also the longest wooden bridge in Thailand. I was inclined to stop and photograph, but was enjoying Katrina’s company so I kept my camera in my bag. That bridge isn’t going anywhere, I thought. After crossing the first bridge, we headed onto the second, longer wooden one. It was lovely in a quaint rustic way, but was also a twisted ankle waiting to happen. Each time I was tempted to look at the sights around me or at Katrina as we talked, I would be reminded by an ill-spaced board that my eyes needed to be fixed downward.

front view of the stunning temple

When we arrived on the other side of the bridge, men with solid color vests kept asking us “motorbike?” I thought they were offering to rent us a bike and started to decline since I already had one. Katrina knew better. She told me that these guys were moto-taxi drivers and were offering to take us to the top of the hill to see a temple. “We should do it,” she encouraged. “Sure! Let’s go!” I was happy to have some company after my last few days of solo travel.

We each hopped on the back of a motorbike and zipped off. The drivers took us to a different temple than the one Katrina had been expecting so it was a nice surprise for her too. The temple compound was huge and fantastic. Again, I noticed a different architectural style than I’d seen elsewhere in Thailand. We both snapped away with our cameras comparing notes about what we’d seen as we did.

At some point we wandered in different directions and I found a monk with a dozen or so temple boys. I chatted with the monk for a bit and then the boys asked me to take their photo. Sangkhlaburi, I love you! Their laughter caught Katrina’s attention who tickled them by also taking their photo.

energetic temple boys

The temple complex was so big there were actually three different temples in it. We made our way into the second temple which was still open. One man was praying so we looked around quietly. I was interested to find the tusk of a wooly mammoth on display. First, you just don’t see one of those every day. Secondly, why had they displayed it in a temple? Some of things I find in Buddhist temples amaze me … like large, plastic-wrapped Hello Kitty dolls sitting right up on the alter/shrine with Buddha. Strange. Comical.

Apparently the man praying was the temple custodian and was ready to retire for the evening so he chased us out and closed the doors. No problem. We found our way to the third temple where we both got tickled at a monk talking on his cell phone. After making the temple rounds for who knows how long, we were ready to head home but discovered our taxis were apparently only one-way as the guys had gone. On the walk back, we saw a number of taxis driving the many monks back to the monastery. We flagged one down as he came back down the hill and asked if he would take us to the bridge. He spoke no English, but motioned for us to climb aboard. It was the first time I’d seen a motorbike with a makeshift sidecar other than ones used by food vendors. Katrina and I hopped aboard.

I didn’t know my way around as I’d just arrived. Katrina felt that the taxi was heading in the wrong direction and kept trying to redirect him. We weren’t sure whether he understood that we wanted to go back to the bridge and at one point almost got off to find our way on our own rather than try to direct in a language that we didn’t speak or one that the driver didn’t understand. Out of nowhere, the bridge appeared. We cheered happily which pleased the driver. When we asked how much we owed him for the lift, he refused payment. Turns out, he wasn’t a taxi driver afterall; just a nice man who had said yes when two travelers had flagged him down and asked for a ride. Sangkhlaburi, you’re my kind of place!

Katrina and the "non taxi driver"

Katrina was about to finish up her 10 week stint shortly and was on the hunt for gifts to take back home. While she shopped, I chatted with one of the souvenir vendors who was closing up shop. I helped her put her things away and she gave me a cute little plastic ring. Good feelings were rolling all around.

I invited Katrina to join me for dinner and she in turn invited me to join her and her friend Kathy cook dinner at the team office where Kathy stayed. Girls’ night in! Excellent! Kathy pretty much had all the food cooked by the time we got there. Karma was definitely working in my favor. I had been craving roasted chicken (one of the flavors I miss from home) and that’s exactly what she was serving.

We made fruit shakes for dessert and then Katrina broke out some sweets from home. Her family had recently sent her a care package with flavors from the States that she had been missing. Apparently we think alike because she had a box of unopened Nutty Bars. That generous, generous woman sent me home that night with THREE of them, among other things (they didn’t make it through lunch the next day) justifying her gift by telling me that she would be enjoying those tastes a lot sooner than I would. What a gal!

We had a fun visit and I looked forward to my next day in Sangkhlaburi.

Additional photos for this and other blog entries can be found on the “Photos of Her Adventure” page of this blog.