Today our backpacking trip really starts. We packed all our shopping and things we didn’t need in the suitcase and left it at the hotel, where we will pick it up when we get back. Inge and I left the hotel with our big backpacks, took the sky train to Saphan Pier. Here we took the water taxi (8 Baht) to stop 12 which is the closest to the Southern Bus Station. However we still needed a taxi to get there. After letting 2 go because we were not offering enough, we raised the price a bit and were taken to the bus station. Leaving the taxi we were immediately approached by people asking us where we were going, KFC was our answer. It was right on the square and after a drink we asked the waitress where the bus left to Kanchanaburi. After a bit of searching we found the right counter (stuck away in the back) and got 2 tickets for the 1^st class bus which left 5 minutes afterwards. The bus was well air-conditioned and we were even given some cold water. 2 hours later we arrived in Kanchanaburi, where we were immediately approached by taxi drivers. We first went to a small restaurant to have a drink, check the email, and call the Apple’s guest house we had read about in the Lonely planet, well known for the great pancakes. Unfortunately they couldn’t pick us up, so we had to take a taxi after all. Upon leaving the restaurant we were spotted by the same taxi driver who had approached us when we arrived 1 hour earlier. After some negotiations we settled on a fare of 40 Baht. He left us to get his taxi only the return with a rickshaw, a bicycle with a carriage where the 2 of us only barely fitted in. The backpacks were hung over a pole which stuck out from the back…. Inge was at first a bit reluctant to go, but he got us there.

The city of Kanchanaburi is very close to where the famous bridge across the river Kwai was built during the 2^nd World War. There are also a couple of war cemeteries there with many English, Australian and Dutch soldiers who died constructing the railway. For more info about Kanchanaburi: have a look at a website about the Kanchanaburi area.

The Apple guesthouse was nicely situated and very quiet. We got a room for 250 Baht, without airco and with only cold running water. They were also known for their excursions and after looking at the brochure we booked a 2 day tour with them. It included: Erawan waterfalls, rafting, Bridge on the River Kwai, Hell fire pass, and (it impossible to leave Thailand without having done it) Elephant riding…. Ah well, we’ll survive… We took a walk through the outskirts of the city and visited one of the war cemeteries. The cemetery is very clean and is visited by many people, also Thai. We watched the sun set sitting there on the grass. That evening we had a very nice dinner in the restaurant there and went to bed late.