Erawan Falls

I'm traveling over the New Year holiday, but before I get ahead of myself, I should talk about last weekend.

I'd originally planned on traveling to see Erawan Falls (a 7-tiered waterfall near Kanchanaburi) during the three-day weekend when I got sick. Obviously, having a sore throat and a temperature tends to change plans. I was determined to see it before December ended, though, because I sometimes hear over Facebook what other people from orientation are doing and I feel like such a boring person.

Well, last weekend I made it. I was even pretty adventurous because I went on my own (after a friend cancelled on me), and figured out the bus system without going through Bangkok. The bus from Doembang to Suphanburi was easy and familiar--I caught the first one I could after school, and it just meant getting off at an unfamiliar stop instead of continuing to Bangkok. However, it did drop me off at the side of the road rather than the Suphanburi bus station, so I had to ask around about getting the bus to Kanchanaburi. I've found, however, that whenever I'm lost or confused Thai people will often go out of their way to help me (unless they're taxi drivers, in which case they just see an opportunity to charge me as much as they want). A woman who had been sitting on the bus behind me and got off at my stop took me under her wing. She found a songtaew (like a pickup truck with two benches in back) going to the bus station for just 7 baht, went there with me, got off and talked to the people at the bus station, and when we were told there weren't any more buses leaving for Kanchanaburi that evening, she took me around the corner to a hotel that was relatively cheap, spoke to the person at the front desk, made sure I was okay and knew when to catch the bus the next morning, then had her picture taken with me (on her camera first--I had to ask her to wait to take one on mine, too) and left. This is my Thai guardian angel from that weekend: 

I woke up obscenely early the next morning to get the bus to Kanchanaburi. From there, it was a matter of getting on the next bus at the bus station to get to Erawan Falls. At the entrance to Erawan National Park, I showed the person selling tickets my work permit, which got the normal 200 baht tourist fee reduced to the 40 baht Thai fee. And then I was off. 

The waterfalls involve quite a hike if you want to get to the top tier. I decided my chances of making it to all 7 would be better if I hiked to the top first and then swam at each level as I came back down. And I did it! I made it all the way to the top. There were tons of butterflies everywhere--it was a bit like being in the butterfly house at the Seattle science center. Here's just one of the many varieties I saw: 

In the Lonely Planet guidebook that everyone received just before coming to Thailand, there's a note about Erawan Falls that says to bring good walking shoes for the higher levels. The trail was difficult, but my "better walking shoes" gave me a blister before the second level, so I did the whole thing in flip-flops. Not ideal, but manageable. The other thing the guidebook said was to look out for monkeys that might steal your belongings if you leave them on the shore while you go swimming. Thankfully, no problems on that score. 

Here's my favorite picture that I got while hiking up the trail: 

Something quirky from the trip: Along the way, there were occasionally trees with cloth or other things tied around them (one even had a couple of shop window dummies). According to what I've heard, it's meant to show respect for the spirit that lives in that tree. 

Here's the top waterfall. A Thai woman was kind enough to take a photo for me. 

What the picture doesn't show is that I was being tickled to death by tiny fish that like to nibble your feet. 

On the way down, I ran into people from orientation. It was fun to catch up and go swimming together. Here are pictures from the fourth level of the falls, where we climbed on the rocks behind the waterfall. 

I lost them on the way back down and ended up swimming in the first and second levels on my own again. When I got down to the first level, I was swarmed by a mass of Thai people who all wanted to take photos with me. Then I caught the last bus back to Kanchanaburi at 4, stayed the night in Kanchanaburi and went back to Doembang at a leisurely pace the next day. All in all, a very satisfying trip. If you'd told me this time last year that I'd be in Thailand, hiking on a jungle trail and swimming in pools under a waterfall, I'd have said you were talking about a crazy wish, not reality. It's funny the places life takes you.