7 waterfalls of Erawan, 7 wonders of the world - Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Early morning we left Bangkok for the city of Kanchanaburi on the north of Bangkok. We were driven there in a mini van with our fellow travelers an Argentinian man and a Croatian couple. The drive took around 3 hours and the closer we got the more beautiful the scenery with trees, rivers and images of rural every day Thai life. It was great to leave busy Bangkok behind for a day. We reached Erawan National Park in order to visit the majestic world famous Erawan waterfall. The Waterfall is in reality seven tiers of Water falls named after the 3- headed elephant of Hindu mythology. The trek from the first tier to the seventh is 2km long and is challenging as there is no man made path to the top tier apart from a few wooden staircases to help with the steepest parts. We started by walking into the park and we found ourselves surrounded by tall trees,bamboo forests and hundreds of friendly brightly-coloured butterflies. Soon we reached the first tier waterfall with clear bright blue water. I was amazed but little did I know of the beauty awaiting me in the further tiers. The hike ,guided by simple wooden signs indicating the direction of the next tier and the distance to it , continued into the second tier. This was a much bigger waterfall with blue water so bright that you thought there were lights hidden in it! There were also plenty of big fish lurking by the sides of the water pool away from the strong water stream. Many people could not resist the temptation and had already jumped in the water for a swim. We decided to continue trekking to the top and swim on our way back. The trek became steadily more difficult having to walk up steep slopes , use tree trunks to cross the water stream and balance on slippery rocks which have been polished by the hundreds of people that have stepped on them before us. The tall trees provided a nice shade and made it cooler and more bearable to walk. Every tier of waterfall was simply more magnificent than the previous one. The hike continued getting steeper and trickier having to hike inside the forest and use the trees and their branches to pull yourself over and up. We powered on for the top cooling ourselves with the cold water from the streams. To Dora's disappointment we did not meet any monkeys that live in the park and notoriously steal food from the tourists. The last few meters to the 7th tier were exhausting and we had to climb on rocks and jump over trees. The top waterfall , the one said to resemble Erawan, was breathtaking and made the difficult 2km hike worth it! On our way back we stopped in the naturally formed pools for a swim. The water was so clean and refreshing, clean enough to drink! Big fish cheekily tried multiple times to bite our feet but they were harmless. The water, the rocks , the surrounding trees made this place look so majestic it looked unreal. Exhausted we returned to the bus were we met the rest of the group all tired but exhilarated by the beauty just witnessed. On our way back to Bangkok we stopped at the river Kwai in order to have a look at its famous bridge the construction of which costed the lives of hundreds of British , Dutch and Australian soldiers ( watch the movie"The Bridge of River Kwai" " for more info). Soon we entered the busy streets of Bangkok at night. The streets of the Thai capital are packed with anything and everything you can imagine. Tourist shops, stalls selling food from noodles to fried scorpions and fresh juice smoothies. Places you can have a massage by the street side even bars made of old vans! Tourists from all over the world of all age ranges some with giant backpacks, some a little worse for wear , some with glowing tans and some newly arrived and confused. The many Thais that are a bit too eager to sell anything for any price "your price" , to make you eat at their restaurant , drink at their bar. And among all of us lots of stray dogs and cats and a few cockroaches. Bangkok smelled like the rest of Thailand like freshly made rice. And the sound of its nights the same as summer nights at home with the sound of geckos and crickets.Only difference in Bangkok this 'night noise' i often interjected with some r'n'b music from a bar . p.s. mummy I am ok!