Tours - out of the city, Bangkok

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Although western style supermarkets are growing in number, there are still many traditional Thai markets to be found in every town. One of the more unusal is the market at Mae Klong which is about 150kms out of Bangkok and a trip to it can be combined with a visit to the floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Morning is the best time to visit the markets as Thais will buy their food etc for the day, they love to use fresh ingredients in their cooking. What makes Mae Klong unusual is that the train line from Bangkok runs right through and the stall holders have to make way for the passing trains, luckily it is not a busy line!

Day trips outside of Bangkok:
Ayutthaya: wonderful temples, some old ones beautifully restored, reminiding of the Angkor Wat area.

Damnoen Saduak, the swimming market: go as early as possible, the market starts officialy around 6 o'clock, the tourists with the big buses start to fall in after 9-10 o'clock. Maybe you use a taxi or private driver to avoid this.

Bridge over river Kwai and Kanchanaburi: there are excursions and boat trips that are worth taking.

Erawan Ntl. Park: behind Kanchanaburi: a wonderful place for a walk in the jungle like forest, you follow a small river up. There are 7 waterfalls, one after the other. In the pools under the waterfalls you can go swimminf/bathing, so take your swim suits. I highly recomend this one! Go in the morning, when it's not too hot.

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This is our first excursion we did when we arrived in Thailand. It´s perfect because it´s not so far from Bangkok and you get to see some beautiful nature. You also learn something about the history of the region.

I would really recommend this excursion.

I need to find the address for this place to put on here because without it this tip is worthless.

The coconut farm is nothing spectacular but is in a beautiful tropical setting and, well, the coconuts are rather tasty! Cool, thirst quenching coconut milk from a freshly picked, freshly slice open coconut. It's not far from Bangkok and en route to Damnoen Saduak floating market.

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Attractions include the 415km Death Railway built by Allied Prisoners of War (PoW) in World War II under horrific and inhumane conditions; River Kwai Bridge; JEATH war museum; Allied War Cemetery and Hellfire Pass.

For more information on Kanchanaburi, please visit: http://www.kanchanaburi-info.com/en/index.html

I went there by train and returned by bus. I stopped at the ‘Thamkrasae’ train station (a few stops after River Kwai Bridge station) to have lunch and take photos. After that, I took the train back to River Kwai Bridge, and then a taxi to JEATH war museum.

Getting there:

1. Take a boat from Sathorn pier to Thonburi pier, then take a taxi to Thonburi (Bangkok Noi) Railway Station (fare = 35B). Then, take the train to Namtok (fare = 100B).
2. Take a bus from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (4.00am - 9.30pm, every 15 min).

Returning to Bangkok:

1. Take a bus from Kanchanaburi Bus Terminal (4.00am - 8.00pm, every 15 min).

Tips:

1. The best way to get to Kanchanburi is by train, using the Death Railway itself.

2. Buy the train ticket all the way to Namtok (the fare, 100B, is the same whether you stop at Kanchanaburi, River Kwai Bridge or Namtok). For the train timetable, please visit: http://www.railway.co.th/English/index.asp.

3. If you are travelling by train, do not get down at the River Kwai Bridge station. Otherwise, you would miss the best part of the train ride i.e. crossing the River Kwai Bridge (the start of the infamous Death Railway to Myanmar).

4. You may want to have dinner in Kanchanaburi before heading back to Bangkok. There is a Food Market near the bus station (from 6:00pm daily) serving a variety of delicious local Thai food.

5. There is a Night Market in Kanchanaburi. On Mon, Thurs, Sat and Sun, it is located near the train station. On Tues, Wed and Fri, it is located near the bus station.

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One morning, we headed to the Kanchanaburi region where the Bridge over the River Kwai is located. The bridge itself is nothing spectacular but the story behind it and the memorial cemeteries are what make visiting Kanchanaburi a must when one is visiting Thailand.

The bridge spans the Kwai Yai River and was brought to Thailand by the Japanese to be part of the Death Railway to Burma. Some 16,000 war prisoners and 49,000 forced laborers died while assembling the bridge at the River Kwai. Because the bridge was bombed several times in 1945 only the curved spans are remaining from the original structure.

There is a small train that goes back and forth across the bridge. I suppose if you want to see the other side the bridge, it's worth it to go on the trip but don't expect a long ride or anything :)

To the right of the bridge, there is a large floating barge restaurant. We had a fantastic seafood and traditional Thai lunch there. I also purchased four pairs of Thai pearl earrings for only $50 from the little counter near the entrance.

Touring Kanchanaburi will take an entire day so plan accordingly. I would recommend either taking a guided tour or possibly renting a driver/van for the day.

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If you are travelling to Bangkok and love animals i would put this on your list. I went there with my sister and we loved it.
Tiger cubs are dumped here after poachers have killed their parents or people who thought they could look after one realise they cannot.
The monks and volunteers look after these magnificent creatures and although for most of the day they are kept in cages until the afternoon when they are walked down to the man made canyon for a swim and photos, they are building an island with donations from tourists so the animals can be free all the time.
Although these are wild animals, the volunteers look after you and you feel completely safe at all times.
It is very hot here about 45 degrees celcius in the canyon on a good day so wear light clothing and do not wear bright colours like pink or blue or red, take plenty of water.
Cost at the temple was 100bht to pat about 6 tigers and 1000 bht to have one lay in your lap.
Water is provided in the canyon while you wait your turn.
Pick up from your hotel, we were at Grand China Princess and i think it cost us about $120 AUD, not including the tiger photos.

If you are using the train from bangkok to kwai bridge, i would advise you buy a pillow before you go,otherwise you are going to be bounced about for three hours on a very hard wooden seat.I had to drink lots of 40 baht beers to ease the pain.

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WHEN YOU COME AS FAR AS THAILAND AND ARE STAYING FOR A FEW DAYS IN BANGKOK I THINK IT IS A REAL SHAME IF YOU DONT TAKE A DAY OUT AND GO SEE THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. THIS IS AN ALL DAY TOUR STARTING WITH AN HOTEL PICK-UP ABOUT 7.00 AM
AND GETTING BACK ABOUT 4PM. WE HAD A VERY GOOD GUIDE AND ON THE DRIVE OUT OF BANGKOK HE POINTED OUT PLACES AND THINGS OF INTEREST. THE FIRST STOP ON THE TOUR IS THE WAR GRAVES AT KANCHANABURI. WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT BUT THIS PLACE IS VERY SPECIAL AND IS KEPT SO NEAT AND TIDY. THIS IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR 7600 ALLIED SOLDIERS. AFTER HERE YOU ARE TAKEN TO THE DEATH RAILWAY MUSEUM WHERE YOU ARE FREE TO WANDER ROUND BEFORE BOARDING A FAST BOAT FOR THE SHORT TRIP UP TO THE FAMOUS BRIDGE ON THE KWAI. IT WAS A REAL THRILL TO SEE AND TO WALK OVER THIS FAMOUS OLD BRIDGE AND AT THIS POINT I WAS REALLY GLAD WE MADE THE TRIP.
AFTER THE BRIDGE YOU ARE TAKEN BY BUS AGAIN TO A RESTAURANT FOR LUNCH, THIS IS DONE BUFFET STYLE AND IS VERY NICE. THEN IT WAS TIME TO BOARD A TRAIN AND RIDE THE DEATH RAILWAY, I MUST POINT OUT THAT THIS BIT OF THE TRIP IS A BIT HAP HAZZARD AND THE TRAIN DRIVERS A BIT TEMPERAMENTAL MEANING THEY MAY TURN UP LATE..OURS DID BY AN HOUR BUT IT WAS WORTH IT TO RIDE THIS FAMOUS STRETCH OF RAILWAY BUILT ON THE SWEAT OF MANY BRAVE MEN. MY TIP IS SIT BY A WINDOW ON THE RIGHT AS SHE GOES FOR THE BEST VIEWS..HAVE CAMERA'S AT THE READY. AFTER THIS YOU ARE TAKEN BY BUS BACK TO BANGKOK AND DROPPED BACK AT YOUR HOTEL..A REALLY FANTASTIC DAY OUT.

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we stopped at this place on our way to the Floating Market around 10am... We were shown the way how the local people transformed part of the coconut into sugar. The sugar was actually not in white color as we normally consumed, but was slightly in brown color as you can see in my photo. Besides that, there were also other handcrafts made by using the other part from coconut, such as their trunk, leaves, etc... every parts of coconut seems to be fully usable. The only thing that i think they dont have at this place is Coconut water! ^_^