Jon's Thailand Blog

When we were planning the trip up north to Kanchanaburi, we had definite plans of what we wanted to see and a fairly good idea about how we would fit it all in. However, if there is anything to be learned by traveling, plans should be taken only as rough guidelines of both what to do and when to do it.

We left for Kanchanaburi Thursday afternoon, deciding to take a bus to the small town about 2 hours northwest of Bangkok. The bus was actually really nice, with air-conditioning, reclining seats and curtains over the windows so we could try to get a little sleep. We were traveling in a smaller group this time, just Brian, Brad, Abby and I, with others planning to meet up with us the next day on Friday. When we arrived we made our way to the riverfront to find a hostel. We took the first one we found with two available rooms, Sugar Cane. Our rooms turned out to be literally on the water, built out over the river on a floating dock. Although it was pretty well anchored down, every now and then we felt the sway of the water underneath us. The only downside to staying right on the water was the all-night floating karaoke boats that travel up and down the river, blasting Thai pop songs with seemingly obscene base.

Once we dropped off our bags we went out to the main street to walk around and see the area. We went over to the night market first, which was pretty much like any other market we had encountered in Thailand so far, t-shirts, fake jewelry and handbags, sunglasses and a plethora of other goods. As we walked back up the street toward our hostel, we were stopped and persuaded by the owner of a little garden bar to come in and have a drink, promising to extend his happy hour on our account. Feeling that we couldn’t pass up a good happy hour, we decided to go in and have a drink before going to bed. Yet when we got in there, we started talking to the bar owner and met two other girls from Denmark that were backpacking through Thailand for the next three weeks. One drink turned into a few more, and then someone brought out a Jenga set, or “Tumbling Tower” as the box called it. A few hours later through our conversation, it turned out that the girls from Denmark were staying at a guesthouse that was actually owned by the same man that owned the bar that we were at, and the best part was that it had a pool. Now usually, as most mischievous teens know, if you are going to break into a pool late at night to swim, you usually don’t let the owner know. However, the owner of this guesthouse over heard us and was all about it. So much so that he even offered to drive us there, packing the six of us into his pickup truck at taking us over there. We did make one small stop along the way, moving a turtle off the road not so it didn’t get run over, but so the locals wouldn’t eat it. That night we swam in the slightly cold pool, and hung out with a few more of the local guys that stopped by later, Jolly and Saen.

The next day, or afternoon I should say considering we slept in till well past noon, we headed off to the Tiger Temple. The Tiger Temple wasn’t really a temple, more of an open animal preserve with boars, bison, roosters, peacocks and other animals roaming freely about. We were careful not to wear red, yellow or any bright colors, as apparently they attract the attention of the tigers. Seeing the tigers so close was really incredible. The deal was that you could either be guided through the tiger area by one of the handlers, who would take your camera and take pictures of you petting the tigers, for free, or you could “donate” 1000baht to have two tiger’s heads placed on your lap for a special photo. We decided that it wasn’t really worth that much money for a special picture, which in the end didn’t really matter because due to the relatively cool weather, the tigers were more active than normal, and therefore no one was allowed to do the special photo. It seemed like the majority of the tigers were either asleep or close to it when I was walking through the tiger area; it’s also very possible that they were drugged as well. Petting these giant cats was a pretty wild experience, knowing that I was actually touching an animal that could easily kill me given the desire. Yet everything seemed extremely safe, and the handlers were on top of safely guiding everyone around, and avoiding the tigers that seemed a little too active for human attention.

It turned out that since we got to the temple close to closing, around 4pm, we were able to walk up with the tigers as they were placed back in their cages. Here was an opportunity for more pictures, as well as the chance to get peed on by the walking tiger, which apparently is considered good luck. Brad had extremely good luck that afternoon, as he took a few direct shots. When we reached the main area of the preserve, a few of the tigers were let loose to play with each other, and one of the trainers let one chase him around. Then out of nowhere we saw all the animals rushing toward the main dirt road that ran across the grounds. We finally saw what the big deal was; a truck was driving down the road with the back full of gourds or some other type of vegetable/ food substance. It was feeding time, and all the animals knew it, and we were right in the middle of all of it. It was pretty crazy being in the middle of a massive feeding frenzy. We definitely came at the right time.

That night, after a solid dinner, we were walking up the main road and ran into Saen, one of the local guys from the night before, who beckoned us into the Buddha Bar, where it turns out he worked at. Out came the infamous Jenga set, as well as a few hookahs. Saen then asked us if we liked reggae music, and offered to take us to a Thai reggae concert the next night, featuring his favorite reggae band, Job2Do. We all agreed, thinking it would be pretty sweet to hang out with more locals and get a more realistic taste of Thai life outside of the tourist perspective that we were used to.

The next day we met him at the Buddha Bar at around noon. We then rented a truck, hopped in the back and Saen and his girlfriend drove us outside of the town to a lake where the concert was going to be later that night. The lake had a few poorly made slides and platforms to jump off of, looking like a favorite vacation spot for the locals, as we were the only farangs (white people) there. Then we saw that there was a motocross race around the lake as part of this ongoing festival, which was pretty crazy. At this point we had learned not to expect anything, so we all kind of laughed like “man, what are we doing here??” but at the same time weren’t too terribly surprised. After swimming and watching the race for a little while, we decided to go back into town to take a nap and shower before coming back that night for the concert.

When we got back that evening, it turns out that the concert wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. It was at this point that we found out that Saen was actually part of the Thai biker gang, and that this reggae concert was actually not really just a concert, but a headliner for a giant biker gang festival. So there we were, four farangs and 2,000 Thai bikers dressed in full leathers and riding in on their choppers. Yet the atmosphere was far from what you would find at Sturgis or any biker rally in the States, where there is definite bad blood between the different biker gangs and fights are common. Here, one of the first songs we heard was a song that was about all the bikers loving each other and getting along, united by the love for riding and open roads. Even the embracing and pacifist Thai culture had permeated the biker gang mentality.

Job2Do was pretty good, and before we knew it we were all up dancing with all the locals, who were stoked that we were all having such a good time. I guess it is customary in Thai culture, or at least this setting, that when you meet someone you first offer him or her a sip from your drink, and then bow as a greeting. Considering we were the only white people up in the front dancing like everyone else, and the Rasta pants Brad bought made us stand out even more, everyone wanted to come say hi, and that meant a lot of drinks. Everyone was extremely nice, and kept asking us if we were having a good time, which of course we were. We ended up meeting the boss of Saen’s gang, who invited us over to his house the next day for dinner. He also told us that if we had any trouble at all, all we had to do was find him and he would “take care of it”. It’s a nice feeling being backed by a 30-man Thai biker gang.

Worn out from the night before, we didn’t get up the next day till well into the afternoon. We then rented motor scooters, and followed Saen out into the countryside to his boss’s house. He had a really nice plot of land, enough for a few ponds that he fished out of for food, as well as a large area of empty land where he is planning to build guesthouses and a restaurant within the next few years. A few of the other bikers from the night before were there, and it was really cool talking and hanging out with them again, even though most of their English was about as good as our Thai. We had an absolutely incredible meal cooked from scratch traditionally outside on charcoal, with rice, red curry, soup, and a few other dishes that I still don’t know what was in them. It was really cool to have an actual traditional Thai meal, and just to spend time with the locals and do what they would be doing. It gave a much better perspective on the culture and the people, and was quite a refreshing break from the tourist mentality that we had become somewhat accustomed to. It was one of those things that we couldn’t predict or plan on, but thoroughly enjoyed, perhaps even more than if we were able to see the waterfalls and caves. In my opinion, travel is almost less about the sights you see and more about the interaction with the local culture and other experiences gained though exposure to situations and cultures outside of one’s familiarity. This weekend was definitely one of those experiences.

The next day, Monday, Brian decided to go swimming with Saen and his girlfriend, while Brad and I hopped on our scooter to go visit the Bridge over River Kwai, which has been made famous though both print and film. American, British and Australian POWs captured by the Japanese built it during WWII. According to Allied engineers, the bridge would take about five years to complete. Yet due to extremely hard and long work hours, the bridge was completed in about 15 months. Soon after its completion, it was bombed by an Allied air strike. The bridge isn’t terribly impressive in person, yet the historical fame of the bridge made it worth seeing.