Although Kanchanaburi was one of my favorite places to visit back in the day with my host family, I have to admit it is at the bottom of my list of stops so far this trip. We had arranged what we expected to be a very nice hotel on the river with a pool and a gym (Perry was very excited . . .), thinking we again deserved a little “backpacker break”. When we arrived, the accommodation turned out to be less than expected. Much less. Very loud and terrible music in the restaurant, a pool that was truly only about 2 feet deep and very tiny, and a gym straight out of the 70’s with small and broken machines. The lack of power in our room and the ants all over the toilet seat the night we checked in didn’t help either. The only good things about this hotel were the quite beautiful setting along the River Kwae Noi, the free and fast wifi, and the fairly cheap and super tasty dinner and breakfast buffets. So much for our plans to get some exercise and get healthy after gorging ourselves with my host family in Bangkok!Accommodation aside though, for the average backpacker, Kanchanaburi mostly entails visiting WWII museums. While interesting and informative, this was not entirely our cup of tea at the moment. Perry, always up for a little scooter action, scoffed at advice on travelfish that Kanchanaburi’s sights were quite far spread and a tour, while normally not the best choice, would be advisable in this case. Long story short, I think I spent about 6 to 7 hours on the back of a bike the day we went to Hellfire Pass. I finally got my first sunburn and couldn’t feel my ass again until the next morning . . .
So, with the downs outweighing the ups in Kanchanaburi, we decided to get out and finally start our journey north. Not too far north though. First stop Ayutthaya, the former Thai capital, which is just a short hour or so train ride from Bangkok. My traveler bliss was immediately restored. The people in Ayutthaya are so, so friendly. The town is cute with great markets, and our guesthouse was super comfy and clean. And since Ayutthaya is not too busy or big, we were able to pedal around town for the 3 days we spent there. (Granted, the bikes were a little old and squeaky, but what can you expect for 40 baht per day?) The ruins of the many ancient temples we visited were amazing. Amazing enough to keep us going, even in the 38-ish degree heat. Not an easy feat! It is incredible to imagine these structures in use nearly 700 years ago.
We thoroughly enjoyed Ayutthaya, staying a few days longer than planned. A perfect stepping stone on our journey north. For photos, as usual, visit http://gallery.me.com/adamschen.
Love to everybody at home, Jen & Perry
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