The Waterfall Circuit of Erawan

Manda writes:

To get to Erawan Waterfall, you have to trek for 2km through Erawan National Park all the way up to the seventh level of waterfall. This includes going through winding and twisting paths that take you through numerous azure blue pools, falls, bridges, jungle, boulders and shingle. I wish I knew this before we joined our tour today. Being a last minute decision (i.e. minibus was due to arrive at 7.45am and we booked at 7am!), I was ill-prepared and wore my shoes instead of taking a pair of sensible walking boots with me. This made the 4km round trip, in 34 degrees Celsius heat, even more tiring! Still, I kept chanting my mantra: "If I managed Samaria Gorge, I can do this...I can do this...", over and over again. Ian and I did a 16km trek through Samaria Gorge last year in the height of summer on one of our holidays to Crete.

Even though the trek itself was difficult in places, we were treated to beautiful views of the waterfall at various stages of descent. The water was crystal clear and the blue at the bottom of the pools looked like the colour of a turquoise gem. People and fish were swimming in the water - it was very alluring - but our guide, whose name sounded like "No more" (quite an appropriate name considering our exhausting task!), had a timetable to stick to and the swimmers were promised a ten minute dip right at the end.

Erawan Waterfall viewed from one of the many levels in the park.

By the time we reached the seventh level, we all slumped ourselves on the rocks to rest our feet. All of us were looking red in the face and had been sweating profusely. I don't know how our guide can do this every other day. Taking a dip in the pool to cool down was definitely on everyone's mind but our guide ushered us on.

The journey down was easier than going up. When we made it back down to level 2 again, Ian joined a few others and took a dip in the pool. He, like me, hadn't brought along any swimming gear but decided that a refreshing dip would outweigh the discomfort of sitting in wet clothes. A few harmless fish swam up to him and took testing nibbles at his feet before deciding he wasn't fish food. The round trip took two and a half hours to complete in the end, which was good timing I thought.

Hellfire Pass

The Death Railway between Burma and Thailand was built during the Second World War by Allied prisoners of war and Asian labourers. During the construction, there was a section that was particularly difficult to get through - a series of 1000m mountain cuttings through solid rock using the most basic of tools. The men worked sixteen hour days for twelve weeks to cut through this range and by the end of it, seventy percent of the work force had died. The largest cutting, the Konyu cutting, was named 'Hellfire Pass' by the prisoners because of the hellish-looking image of the emaciated men forced to work through the night lit only by bonfire lights.

As our tour group walked gingerly through the Konyu cutting, it became apparent how difficult this section must have been to cut through. The black and white movie clip shown in the Museum also reinforced this fact. Like Ian mentioned in a recent post ('The Bridge on the River Kwai' post), it is a strange concept to think of all those people who had slaved away to meet some strategic Japanese vision, yet now the area is used for tourism purposes.

Hellfire Pass (or Konyu Cutting), which was cut out without machinery.

Sai Yok Noi Waterfall

Our next stop was at Sai Yok Noi Waterfall. Fortunately, we didn't have to clamber for 2km to see the falls this time - after our earlier experience, I made sure to check with our guide first! Sai Yok Noi is another nice waterfall and maybe as a result of the time of day, it was busy with local tourists. Kids were splashing around in the water - it reminded me of a swimming pool with a tropical theme.

Kids enjoying the water at Sai Yok Noi Waterfall.

Krasae Cave

Next to Namtok Station, where we would soon be boarding the Death Railway train back to Kanchanaburi, is a small cave set slightly back from the railway line that overlooks the river. Inside Krasae cave, as it is known, sits a Buddha image, offering a cool place for a spot of worship. Looking at the wooden construction of the railway line, perhaps a quiet prayer might be wise before boarding the ominously-named Death Railway.

The train journey itself was an eye-opener. Going through the rice fields and various small towns, I kept thinking about the movie clip we watched in the museum. Even though we didn't travel the full length of the Death Railway (only travelled from Namtok to the River Kwai Bridge), this one and a half hour journey gave a further sense of scale.

The Death Railway, as viewed from our start point, Namtok Station (by Krasae Cave).

The sunset looked lovely to the West and by the time we reached the River Kwai Bridge, we were almost sitting in darkness. We had a quick ten minute photo stop before we were dropped back at our hotels. This was an educational trip and one which made us all reflect on the past - a fitting way to end our stay at Kanchanaburi.