Waterfalls & more

We skipped school again! We're such delinquents. The tour got underway early so we had a full morning at Erawan Park. It is a national park known for its waterfalls. It has seven tiers and Nadim and Roya climbed them all. Yasmin and I were tired after the fifth tier and decided swimming would be more fun, so we climbed back down to the second tier. Each one was gorgeous and of course the pictures don't do it justice. Along the way we saw a baby snake, and a couple of monkeys. Nadim found a walking stick to ward off danger and protect us, but didn't find reason to use it.

The water wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either. It was pretty refreshing after the hike. It took a bit to get in, not because of the cold, but because of the fish! There were a bunch of them swimming along the water's edge and they would nibble at your feet when you put them in. It didn't hurt, but it was too weird! Eventually we got in and Yasmin and I swam to the falls and back a couple of times. Nadim and Roya joined us and we had to cheer Nadim on, to get him in the water, but eventually he made a quick trip out to the falls too.

After lunch the tour took us elephant riding. The girls loved it, but after our first elephant ride in Bangkok, this really didn't seem much different. None the less, it was a fun way to spend part of the afternoon.

Bamboo rafting was next. The river was quite calm, so it was a quiet float down the river. I had an interesting chat with a fellow who was from Holland. We talked about his current trip and ours, and a previous trip he had taken through Brazil. Nadim flaked out and enjoyed the sun and the girls dipped their feet in the water and listened to a few stories that Nadim told.

When we got off the raft, we had to walk across this rickety old foot bridge. There were several places where planks were missing and Roya managed to fall between the boards! She only fell up to her thigh, but it gave us a scare and her a big scrape. She's okay though.

The next stop was the railway. We rode the train for about 20 minutes. It was similar to the one we had arrived on, but this part of the railway was part of the Death Railway. Parts of it went through rocky areas, and I could imagine the poor workers digging and blasting their way along.

The last stop of the day was the Bridge Over the River Kwai. It is fairly close to where we are staying so we will probably go back and take a closer look without so many tourists around.

It was an extremely busy day, and I think it's time to get the girls off to bed! We're all pleasantly tired.

CM