Bikes, Buses, Boats, Beaches and Beer, on a Budget - Noddy's (mis)Adventures in Asia

AWESOME KANCHANABURI SCOOTER JOURNEY pt 1

In Kanchanaburi we stayed in a floating rafthouse on the river but I was not impressed with the room at all, though it had a great balcony, which I intended to fish from when I made the booking, but never did.

We actually changed guesthouses this one was so bad, a first for me and also the first time I can say I would not go back there, due entirely to the pricing. I’d stay there for 400 baht a night, but not for 900.

I gave the place a fairly harsh review on Agoda, only to realize the next day that I’d left my expensive travel microfiber towel there! The lady was so helpful and had cleaned and neatly folded my towel when I turned up 2 days later to retrieve it. I almost felt bad about my Agoda review. Almost!

The place is Sam’s River Raft House, I wouldn’t normally use this blog for negative publicity, but it really was crappy for the price. There is another Sam’s Guesthouse in Kanchanaburi which does not have the floating rooms and I can’t comment on it as I did not check it out, so please don’t confuse the 2 if you visit.

It was time to make my own plans and this meant renting another trusty scooter, an old pink Honda Click with nearly 53,000 on the clock, but she served me well. I took this poor old girl on a near 350km mission one day. We saw Muang Singh, an old Khmer temple site – a definite one off visit but still good, plus we were passing by.

Then off to Hellfire Pass and the history museum there, scorching hot but well worth battling a bit of sun to pay respects and learn a bit more of my own nations history in greater depth. If you are not aware, Hellfire Pass was the name given to a section of mountain that was hand cut and blasted on a section of ‘The Death Railway’ by POW’s during the Second World War.

For Australians in particular visiting the area, it is a must visit destination. Though there were a few visitors at the museum, we were the only ones walking the Konyu Cutting at the time, which only added to the already quiet, sombre atmosphere as I could only picture the horrors these men had endured.

From here it was back on the bike and on to Sai Yok Yai waterfall in Sai Yok National Park, very quiet compared to Erawan falls but highly enjoyable. We had a swim in complete privacy and isolation in a running stream in a jungle setting, quite a different feeling after seeing so many people at Erawan.

A nice swim, some snaps, a walk around the park, lunch and a cold refreshing Leo on a floating restaurant before we hit the road again, off to another waterfall , Pha Tad or Pha That. It was a great ride on narrow, twisting mountain trails through lush jungle and passing tiny villages and farms.

The floating room's balcony, great view