Starting from where I stopped in Part 1 ...Level 1 and 2 were easy. Something interesting is done in level 2 for conservation purposes - there is a counter where each visitor to the waterfall has to deposit 10 bahts for every water bottle ( plastic, disposable ) he/she carries; and on the way back show the bottles to get the deposit back. Though this method doesnot take care of polythene bags, chips covers and such, still its a good effort and works to some extent.
There is a distance of 100-500m between each tier of waterfall and its not plain concrete road walk , its a trek in a jungle path , but no one told us that. Didn't I mention before that Thais don't believe in giving extra info ! I in my hawaiian flower-printed flip-flops was already feeling like a flop, trying to tackle the hilly terrain in them. But nothing could be done about it , so we continued.Every type of steeple hurdle - ladders, steps , rickety wooden bridges, moss covered slippery rocks were encountered and crossed.The weather was hot and we were dripping wet in sweat ..some did take a dip in the cool water whenever they had half a chance. We on our part , barely had the energy to walk , let alone swim.
The part from 6th to 7th was really tricky and I had a good mind to give up. Asked a person on the return path if it was really worth going up there and she was like " yes yes, its wonderful ..you have to go ! its just 5 min away , go on". That did something and we completed the next stretch in a breath. And there it was - the final tier of the fall ...and it was awesome ! It was indeed worthwhile ... for a moment there, it felt like seventh heaven ..is this where they coined that phrase, by the way ?
Coming down wasn't as big an effort and we did it uneventfully and by the time we sat in the comfort of our AC car, all we wanted was to nurse our aching legs - foot, ankles, calf, thighs and all the other bits and pieces that I hadn't know existed until that moment. But wait ..we had just finished half of the day's trip !
The rest of it might have seemed interesting if it were not preceded by Erawan, but on that day they didn't hold any charm for us. Visited the Krasae cave, travelled a few stops in Death Railway ( whose name is apt for its condition ) and finally reached the renowned Bridge on the River Kwai. My suggestion for all who have watched the movie , don't bother to see the real bridge ; for all who have heard about it , watch the movie and for all who haven't a clue of what I am talking about, read about it AND watch the movie.
For all the legend and hype around the bridge, its a sad sight. It has been reconstructed in patches and the architecture, is well...non-existent. There again, one of the main attractions of our Kanchanaburi trip failed our expectations - but some exceeded expectations ..so it balanced out.
After buying a few souvenirs for friends, we were driven back to the guesthouse. Needless to say, we crashed.
Left for Bangkok early the next day , hoping to stretch the pleasantness of the last two days ..but then one can't stretch one's good luck too far. The bus that was supposed to reach Bangkok in 2 hrs, took an extra hour , stopping every km or so, we let out our frustrations on each other, half-heartedly saw the temple of the Emerald Buddha - the temple is exquisite and deserves more respect, am still regretting for not being in the right frame of mind to enjoy it then .. finally flew back.
Little discomforts apart, it was a wonderful trip and in the absence of mails , calls , t.v , radio ... a whole lot was seen, done and learnt.
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