First things first: we got on a bus at a different bus terminal this time called Sai Tai Mai. The ride was about three hours, and once we got to the station in Kanchanaburi, we met our new best friend, the taxi driver. He said that for 15B each he would take us to the street with the hostels and wait for us to make sure they had a room available, and then drive us to the next destination just in case we needed to check out a new place. He was a life saver. And, it turned out that the first hostel we tried was all booked, so we used his services to take us to Blue Star Guesthouse.
Blue Star was beautiful. Bungalows right on the river. The shrubs and trees and water plants made the place look like something out of a movie. The staff was super friendly and I shared a room with Huong and Shelly. The first night consisted of seeing a spooky lit up bridge and going to a local bar.
Erawan Waterfalls is also something I cannot easily put into words. We went to Erawan on day two, and after a two hour bus ride from Kanchanaburi, we made it to paradise. Erawan consists of a seven-tiered waterfall and a hike that leads you all the way up. Each waterfall was more unique and beautiful than the one that came before it, and the higher up we got, the less people there were (the hike got a little too strenuous for the tourists of the larger variety, of which there seemed to be quite a lot). We swam, we slid, we hiked, we took pictures, we reveled in the beauty. We also stayed past the last bus, which led to our use of our taxi driver friend again who drove 65km away from Kanchanaburi to Erawan to come get us.
Sunday we went to two temples as per a recommendation from Shelly and the same taxi man. The first, Wat Ban Tham, is a cave temple. Not really any other way to say it. You hike through a dragon's mouth into the first cave and then you hike up a long distance to a lookout point, and then even farther to the next cave. It was one of the most spectacular and interesting things I have ever done or seen. Real live bats in a real live cave with real live dripping stalactites. We then went to Wat Tham Sua, a temple nearby because the taxi man said it was "suay maak" (very beautiful). Just like Shakira's hips, he did not lie. It was stunning. There was a huge Buddha statue and beautiful architecture that looked similar to Wat Phra Khaeo (the Grand Palace).
After leaving Wat Tham Sua, we headed back to Blue Star to collect our belongings and then headed to the bus station. Even though the bus on the way back took a lot longer than expected, we made it home safe and sound.
This weekend, I fell in love with Thailand.
Thursday, I plan to fall in love with Cambodia at Angkor Wat.
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