Kanchanaburi

This weekend we were invited to go to the Principal's estate in Kanchanaburi.  It was a school trip, so we were all a bit skeptical about going.  

Usually, the school drives us around in big vans, but when we departed for the trip we were instructed to board a really cushy tour bus.  The drivers loaded our bags into the van and we didn't have to carry a single thing for the rest of the trip.  Spoiled!  

We arrived at the estate, and discovered that yes, estate is an appropriate word. The extensive grounds were lush with tropical greenery, fruit trees, and exquisite orchids.  

Part of the house we stayed in

The traditional Thai house that the boys stayed in.

Part of the grounds

The View from the Yard

We were served a scrumptious traditional Thai meal sitting under the stars.

The next day we embarked for Erawan National Park where we visited the waterfall again and I was brave enough to try the rock slide!  It was so fun!

Then we rode elephants.  The "Elephant Farm" we visited seemed to treat the animals well at first.  The area was tropical and the elephants roamed free amongst the trees, no chains.  Then after the rides, we watched a man force a baby elephant to perform tricks by stabbing it with a pin.  That was when I noticed the big hooks that the mahouts carried, hidden in their folds of clothing.  It was really upsetting, quite the tourist trap.  One elephant had a big hole in its ear, no doubt from one of the hooks.  The elephants were so sweet, they had beautiful big brown eyes.  Asian elephants are very docile and easily trained.  It was so sad to see them being mistreated, and I felt really really bad that I was contributing to this abuse.  I definitely will not be participating in any other activities involving animals.  We also saw a baby tiger and a baby lion, chained to a table with heavy links.  the chains could not have been more than a foot long.  People were paying 100 baht to take pictures with them.  Ugh.  HORRIBLE.

We rode this cool old train down the "death rail" that POWs built during WWII.  If you have seen the movie "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", its about this railway.  We also saw the actual bridge, well actually a remake because they blew up the real bridge for the movie.

On Sunday we went to a private island on a boat and were served lunch on a raft floating down the River Kwai.  Quite an experience!  Wonderful weekend!