After several days in Bangkok, we were weary of the pollution, noise, traffic and touts. We decided it might be a nice change of pace to leave the big city for a more serene New Year's Eve. We originally wanted to head north to Chiang Mai, but it was too difficult to book hotels at the last minute for New Year's Eve. We opted instead for a nearby town, Kanchanaburi, on the famous River Kwai.

Luckily Thailand's bus line is very efficient and reliable, unlike Malaysia's. We arrived at the bus station, hopped on the bus, and it left right on time. The 2-hour air-conditioned drive went by quickly as we had plenty of reading and journaling to do.

When the bus pulled into the station at Kanchanaburi (pronounced: gan-kan-AH-boo-ree) we were only approached by one rickshaw driver. It was a nice contrast to Bangkok, where you are immediately accosted by dozens of tuk-tuk and taxi drivers. He asked where we wanted to stay, and we told him our first choice was Sam's River Raft House. He found another rickshaw driver and the two of them transported Mike and I with all our baggage to Sam's. The ride was quiet; traffic was very light because of the holiday. The guys pointed out sights to us along the way. We arrived at Sam's House and checked in; the reception agent was friendly and cheerful. Our rickshaw guys offered to take us on an hour-long tour of some sights for a reasonable fee, and we gladly obliged.

Our first stop was the JEATH War Museum. In spite of the almost impenetrable terrain, Japanese military leaders chose the River Kwai basin as the route for the construction of the 415-kilometer Thai-Burma Railway, which was to be a crucial link between Japan's newly acquired territories in Singapore and Burma. Work began in June 1942, and Kanchanaburi became a POW camp and base for construction work on the railway. About 60,000 Allied POWs and 200,000 conscripted Asian laborers worked on the line. With only picks, shovels, dynamite, and pulleys as their tools, they shifted three million cubic meters of rock and built nine miles of bridges. The line was completed in a mere fifteen months and was dubbed the Death Railway, as roughly 16,000 POWs and 100,000 Asian laborers died while working on it. The JEATH War Museum consists of a replica POW bunk filled with photos, illustrations and newspaper clippings describing the gruesome conditions suffered by the POWs. JEATH stands for the six countries involved: Japan, England, Australia, America, Thailand and Holland.

Next we stopped at one of Kanchanaburi's war cemeteries, where many of the POWs are laid to rest. Thirty-eight POWs died for every kilometer of track laid on the Death Railway. Our last stop was the famous Bridge over the River Kwai. Mike and I walked partway across the bridge and took in the beautiful view. The walkway consists of wooden planks nailed down to the railway ties, between the train tracks. The bridge is basically open on either side of the tracks, with only the railway ties on which to walk; one false step and you fall to the river far below. Walking across the bridge was made even more difficult as busloads of Chinese tourists pushed their way past us on the narrow platform, oblivious to the potential danger. Luckily there are a few side platforms where one can step off the tracks and hang out for a while or take pictures. We walked back to solid ground and wandered through the food stalls and souvenir shops. To our amazement, a train suddenly came over the bridge; we wondered how the throngs of pushy tourists made it off the bridge in time for the train to pass over. (More on this later.)

We returned to our hotel to settle in and have some dinner. Sam's is the perfect place to stay and a great bargain at $14.00 a night. There is an open-air café with wooden furniture made by hand from gnarled tree trunks. There are a couple of rooms on solid ground, but we stayed in one of the freestanding raft houses on stilts in the marsh. A narrow walkway leads out to each house. There was a bedroom, a bathroom with heated water, and a back deck where the sink was situated. It was fun to brush our teeth outside overlooking the leafy vegetation and listening to the frogs croak. We rang in the New Year by watching a couple movies on the laptop, and then went to bed to the sounds of people celebrating. Our raft house felt homey and safe; it reminded me of the cabin of my childhood, which had simple wooden construction and an outdoor shower beneath the towering pine trees.

The next day we got up early and had a quick breakfast at the café. A minibus picked us up around 8:30 AM for a sightseeing trip around Kanchanaburi. As we made the 45-minute drive to Erawan National Park, our petite tour guide introduced herself to us. "My name is Kae, spelled k-a-e. It's pronounced gay, but gay is the English word for a man who loves another man. So if you don't want to call me gay, you can call me day instead, d-a-y. Okay?" Everyone had a good laugh, and the ice was officially broken. Next, Kae pointed out a spot next to the road where the dense vegetation had been mowed down by a large vehicle. "This is where a bus of lady-boys from Pattaya tried to make a shortcut," she joked. We all giggled; lady-boys are transvestites, found everywhere in the Thai sex-capitol of Pattaya. Thailand is very open to people of all sexual orientations. They say there is no "gay movement" because there is nothing to move against.

At Erawan National Park we trekked up a treacherous trail to view all seven steps of the magnificent waterfall. One step near the beginning is teeming with medium-sized friendly fish, and Kae said if you swim there "you get a fish massage". Several steps had good pools for swimming, while other steps had high waterfalls. We waited until the very top to take a dip in the cold mountain water, and then started our steep descent back down to the bottom. We ate lunch as a group, and enjoyed exchanging travel tips and stories with a nice couple our age from Holland.

Next on the tour agenda was elephant trekking. We were led on a long boat up the river to the elephant camp, where no one spoke any English. The elephants' jockeys were young boys, about eight years old, who sat just behind the elephant's head. We sat in a bench seat attached to the elephant's back. The jockey placed his bare feet on either side of the elephant's head, where the ears meet the head, and steered that way. He also communicated with the elephant with verbal commands. Our trek was slow and relaxing, until we had a steep hill to go down - I thought I was going to fall off! The elephants were amazingly sure-footed, though, so we were very safe. After that we all hopped on a handmade bamboo river raft (well, except for the elephants, of course) and floated back down the river. We felt like Tom Sawyer.

The last part of the tour was a ride on the Death Railway. We started about an hour outside of Kanchanaburi and rode the train towards town. Unfortunately we had to wait for over an hour at a small station outside of town because another train from Bangkok was delayed. A young, bohemian trio of Thais had brought along a guitar and some songbooks. They practiced some songs to help pass the time. It was nice listening to them.

Finally the other train arrived and we were allowed to proceed with our journey towards the single-track Bridge over the River Kwai. Kae went to find out the inside scoop on the long delay. As it turns out, three Chinese tourists from a big tour group were visiting the Bridge. They saw a train sitting there, and decided it would be fun to get on - probably for some pictures. When the train suddenly began to move, they panicked because they didn't want to get separated from their group. As the train continued gaining speed, each of the three jumped off the train. One guy sustained a broken arm and leg because of the stupid stunt. Idiots. They could have just waited until the next station, or told a conductor they wanted to get off!

Finally our train made it to the famous bridge, and the view was great. This concluded our tour, and we were whisked to the bus station to catch a bus back to Bangkok. Kae ran ahead and bought our tickets for us - what a great gal. I would definitely like to go back to Kanchanaburi someday. --Susanne