Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai

Caught the train last night in Surat Thani at about 7pm.
We had a top and bottom bunk that fold up into seats. People immediately around us started crashing in their bunks but me and Avery were up chatting till about 10pm. We broke down the beds and I crashed on the top bunk. It was comfy but the train was loud and jarring and often stopping. Avery woke me up at about 6:30am as we crawled into Bangkok. It was hard for me to wake up. We grabbed our stuff and exited the train. We checked for tickets north to Kanchanaburi but none left from that station. So we decided to take a city bus to the main bus station and catch a bus to Kanchanaburi.
We walked a bit and waited at a bus stop for 30 minutes before the 807 bus picked us up (15 baht). Got to the bus station and bought two tickets for 83 baht each. CHEAP!
Our bus head out almost immediately. It was a large old bus that bounced and banged with each bump. Avery and I both fell asleep... only to be awakened by screams. The bus was jarring back and forth and was traveling over the raised median of the road. It almost seemed the bus could tip over and I could feel things going under the bus. I was just grabbing hold of my seat as everyone looked to the sides as something went past. Clearly our bus had hit something and ran over it. We came to a stop and everyone was in shock.
I could see a motorcycle torn up on the ground underneath the bus.
Avery said she saw a guy rolling on her side of the bus.
Turns out a guy on a motorbike lost control and crashed right in front of our giant speeding bus. The driver swerved onto the center median (elevated with grass and plants) to avoid running over the tumbling man. His bike was not so lucky and went under our bus.



The man was very lucky. Though he had to be taken away in an ambulance (or something like it) he was ok and could walk.
We had to wait around for 30 minutes until a new bus could take us. That was our excitement for the day.

OMG, I just now witnessed the worst dog fight I have ever seen. One dog was attacking the other outside the internet cafe here and was biting and tearing at the others face as it screamed. Nobody was doing anything. I considered trying to break them apart but i am in sandals. Finally two people came up and after several very hard kicks and hits with a board, the attacking dog finally broke off screaming for minutes. Being a dog lover, I found the whole thing EXTREMELY unsettling. I miss Kutya. Dogs and cats in Thailand suffer.

ANYHOW... we arrived in Kanchanaburi and are taking it easy today. We have rented a motor bike (200 baht for 24 hours) for tomorrow and plan to head to an amazing waterfall swimming area in the morning. We will be driving over the Bridge over river Kwai. Might also head to a hot springs. Should be fun. We booked a nice room over the water for 450 baht (shown below). Its comfy and has a great shower with hot water but the walls are paper thin and people are loud. Things are cheaper here.



Im going to take a shower and I think me and Avery are going to go get a massage. My first on the trip. 150 baht for one hour. Not bad.

Saturday UPDATE: Got the massage. It was great. Think I will get another before we leave this town. Also had a big reminder last night that you need to always pay attention while walking in Thailand. Sidewalks will have random holes or steps or whatever. I was getting up from my chair last night after a tasty fire cooked pizza (my 2nd on the trip) and did not see a random 1ft tall concrete wall that has no reason to exist except to trip people like me. I tripped and cut my elbow and ankle. Smooth. Avery found it rather amusing. :) It is pretty clear that Thailand does not waste much time worrying about liability lawsuits and such. Best not to get injured here I guess. There are more Americans here then any other place I have been. Ive met probably 10 in the past 24 hours. Before that, I had met none (besides on my plane).

Saturday Night UPDATE: Back from long ride to the waterfall. Made it safely but internet is shutting down. Will post tomorrow.