Elephants and Bamboo Rafts

On Thursday we visited River Kwae and the notorious Burma-Siam railway. It was raining when we arrived, which seemed all too appropriate. The railway was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. It was built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project due to forced labor and malnutrition. After about a 30 minute photo op, we headed back to the bus to get out of the rain. Our orientation directors had a very special surprise in store for us later that evening.

20 minutes down the river were two large wooden restaurant platforms neatly arranged with tables, chairs, and buffet style dinner. In front of the platforms was a little tugboat attached by rope. As soon as the group found their seats, the tugboat pulled us further and further from land. Our dinner was going to be enjoyed floating down River Kwae! What an enchanting experience! And once dinner ended, the DJ turned up the tunes, turned down the lights and a full on dance party began! The group took the time to just let loose and have fun. Later in the night we arrived at the 3^rd hotel which happened to be a beautiful jungle-like resort. The best day was yet to come.

The greatest day so far was Friday, the trip to Kanchanaburi. When we got there, we unloaded the buses and were immediately surrounded by elephants. We fed them tons of bananas and pineapple which they would snatch right from your hands as soon as you were a trunk’s length away. We interacted with them for a while and then hopped on their backs for a ride down to the river. The guide let me steer most of the way!

Bamboo rafts awaited us at the water’s edge. We eagerly jumped aboard. A guide paddled us into the center of the river where the current picked us up. We were then motioned to dive off the side to enjoy the rest of the float fully immersed in the water. Such a fantastic feeling after a long, hot day! Tuktuks picked us up on the side of the river and drove us back to the elephant camp. Before leaving we played with the baby elephant. He was such an energetic little bugger. He just pranced all around trying to steal our sandals from under the bars. We were so very grateful to all of those who helped arrange the day’s activities.

After we returned to the hotel, we took nice long showers and left Kanchanaburi. We headed back to Bangkok to meet with our school coordinators. It was time to say goodbye to the big city and to all of the friends we made. Jason and I were off to Kalasin, a 9 hour bus ride away where we would be picked up and taxied to our apartment.

We were glad to have had the opportunity to start this journey in Bangkok, its definitely like no other city in the world. There was so much to do and see but we are very happy to be leaving. Now we will get to see more of the country side and have a place to call home.