The Mini Bus to Khachanaburi picked us up for 2hour ride out to the Kwai River guesthouse we chose called the Jolly Frog. The were out of double rooms with AC so we settled for a fan. The guest house entrance is into the restaurant which is all open air. This opens up onto the garden/cortyard which has lounge chairs and hammocks overlooking the Kwai River. Down the steps to river is a floating landing with chairs and tables. This would become home for the next three days. Chris and I immediately rolled into the hammocks and within minutes was chatting up a traveler from London. She had just finished a 7 month volunteer stint in Pattaya, on Gulf of Thailand and had found her way here. As we spoke i noticed a young Thai girl cradling a small animal so i meandered over to investigate. On closer inspection i see that she is holding a baby rabbit of two weeks. The small grey rabbit is adorable and she pulls my hand over for me to take it. I m holding this baby rabbit and its as tiny as a hamster. She gets up and soon returns with another and immediately 3 others come by for a look. We are all so entranced by how docile and cute thses rabbits are and I can't help but smile. I am on the coast of the Kwai River, holding a baby rabbit less than 24 hours into my trip and cant help but be amazed at hoe serendipidous life can be.
Our day was spent on the floating deck, taking in the breeze and sun, visiting with fellow travelers waiting for the sun to set. Its been a long time since I've swum in a river and watching the fast moving current i was glad that we had a small protected cove to jump into. Chris and I had the same idea so we changed into to swim wear and cannonballed in! The water is both dark and clear and completely refreshing. there seems to be no bottom to this area as we float around. Soon the sun will be setting so we climb back on board just as a our volunteer shows up. Along with her and a new arrival, also from Florida, we take in a pretty glowing sunset over the Kwai river . It was interseting to share stories and take in this wonderful night with like minded people. Hunger has set in so its time to catch some dinner in the restaurant before we make our way to the streets to investigate the area. This is a meca for travels with tens of guesthouses, bars, stores and restaurants. We decided to walk the streets for a bit .Everyone is so nice and inviting. Each place we pass we are greeted with hellos . Eventually we make our way to where live music can be heard spilling into the streets. Its called Johns Bar and a Thai cowboy is singing Keith Whitley, very well. We decided to stay so we find a table The bar is tiny with a dirt and gravel floor, 6 tables, a tiny bar and a small stage where our entertainer has moved into a little On the Road again by Wille Nelson. Having just begun a long journey its seems very fitting. He was quite good, hitting all the right notes and playing to a fun and lively crowd of seven. We made request which he played and also toasted us . He may not be a cowboy by birth but he was a cowboy in his heart and I was happy to sing along. Sitting there with my closest friend, enjoying live music and good stories could happen anywhere, but tonight we are in Thailand, and theres a two year in the bar and life seems to be very peaceful.
Eventually we make our way back the guesthouse and decide to sleep out on the hammocks. Its just to hot in the room and the breeze is too inviting so we bring our pilllows and blankets out and set up to sleep. The night security guard came by and he and i began to converse. His english is decent and we begin to get along. This evolves into an impromptu lesson in Thai language and for the nest 2 hours he gives me Thai words and an English translation as I slowly copy them down. Im not sure , no I know, my spelling isnt right but phonics is good enough. The Thai language is simple and complex at the same time. The structure is easy but the tones are varied. You have male a nd female variations for words and greetings as well as inflections. Im goin to try to do my best as I learn more but I am eternally grateful to Ta for trying, he laughed at me quite a bit as I struggled to say the simplest things but his patience was immeasurable. The Thai people are kind and good natured. I find myself feeling grateful for this lesson, as he says his good bye to make his rounds as dawn begins to break. I realize that Ive been up for 24 hours, and this is just day two.
I slept in until noon, well because I was exhausted. I found Chris out in the restaurant finishing luch so I joined him and ordered. Ive been very impressed by the quality of food and inexpensive cost. Ive been getting full very easily for less than 3 dollars and thats not even the value menu! After we were both full we meandered down to the river again, to , well, do nothing! Its hot out and the breeze is nice so we spend some time swimming and sunning before we make our walk over the River Kwai Bridge. Its quite a ways there and we were both surprised at how long it took to walk. The Bridge is a still used Metal Rail Bridge built during World War II by prisoners of the pacific war. The Japanese forced them to build a railway through the jungles of Burma and Thailand and this became a very strategic bridge. The bridge was bombarded by the Allies and eventually was damaged. The war ended and was given to the British who then repaired it and it remains used today. That we didnt find out until after we had walked over it and back. Imagine how shocked and surprised these to guys would have been had we suddenly heard a trains whistle and seen the headlamp of an Iron Horse speeding our way! I dont know about you but Im glad I m a runner! Chris wouldve been on his own, but i surely wouldve been yelling encouragements to him over my shoulder!
After such a long walk there we hired motor bike taxis to take us back. This was my first ride on one of the street missiles and it definately gave me a different perspective. The streets here are filled with motor bikes who dodge in and out of each others way. I saw many small children driving these things and Im glad for the experienced driver. I will not be renting one of these things. (I seemed to have locked the italics and cant get out)
That night we made our way to the night market for browsing and of course some food. There were many stalls affering all the wares you would expect in an American mall. Tons of clothes and electronics but by this time food was most important. We stumbled across a Thai barbeque stall. Its set up in buffett style so that you can choose what you want, except everything is raw. We were shown to a table where we were able to place our food on. I thought they were going to cook for us but soon a young man came over. He showed us that the menacing cooking apparatus in the center of the table was for use to cook on. imagine a wok with a round barbeque pit in the middle. He placed a small piece of pork fat on the grill to season it and the we were intructed to fill the lower bowl with hot water. The grill would be used to cook our veggies, eggs and shrimp while the center domed grill would cook our meats. This seemed like such a great idea. Chris and I immediated loaded the grill with everything we could find. Pork, chicken, beef, etc and filled the wok with veggies and. noodles and cracked eggs. Soon we were devouring our own Thai concoctions. We ate grilled meats with rice noodles and veggies over rice. And even tried our hand at steaming clams and boiling shrimp. The first dish was great , the second didnt turn out so well. We overdid the shrimp and the clams never opened. Oh well, what can you expect from your first Thai barbeque! Both fat and happy we made our way back to the guesthouse to relax and read. Tomorrow is going to be an adventurous day. We are going to figure out how to catch the bus out to Erawans 7 tiered waterfalls and we will need all the rest we can get!