Camping in Erawan National Park

I spent another weekend in paradise, but this paradise was surrounded by mountains, tropical forests, and gorgeous waterfalls. We had another three day weekend and Eric and I spent our first weekend going somewhere just the two of us, which was a good thing since our tent proved to be for 1 1/2 people! We invested a whopping 400 bath ($12) in a tent and headed off Saturday morning for a weekend in Kanchanaburi, a neighboring province to Suphanburi.

We had a false start Friday night where, unfortunately, we learned that buses to Kanchanaburi stop running at 5 (we got there at 5:30). We were told that they start running early in the morning and leave every half hour. Saturday morning we got to the bus station at 8:20 thinking we had perfectly timed it to catch the 8:30 bus. We got on the bus and at...9:25 we were off! (turns out when they say buses leave every half hour they mean when the bus fills up) The ride was a bit painfully long, but luckily (meaning unluckily) they started blasting some beautiful (meaning awful) Thai music the last hour of the 3 hour bus ride to Kanchanaburi city. Erawan National Park is another 2 hour bus ride from Kanchanaburi city so we ate some lunch at the bus station and hopped on another bus. This ride was much more enjoyable as we drove to and through the mountains, along rivers and beautiful country roads. We were also fortunate enough to stop half an hour in to pick up an entire freshly roasted pig (head, tail and all) in a  a bag to later drop off at a resort outside the national park.

We got to the camping area of the national park, set up our tent near the river, and headed out to see the lower sections on Erawan water falls before they closed. Erawan Waterfall is very well known i Thailand and did not disappoint. On Saturday we were only able to see the first two levels of the seven level falls, but were still very impressed with the bright blue water and surrounding scenery. Eric went for a swim with the Thai kids and adults (who were fully clothed) and the Europeans (who I wish were fully clothed). We then walked to the little town outside of the park to eat some dinner that was cheaper than what was sold within the park and watch some kids fly kites. When we got back to the camp site we made friends with a couple from Belgium that are vacationing in Thailand for 7 weeks.

Campsite

The river next to our campsite.

Level 2

After a night with very little sleep (due to our lack of sleeping pads, partying Thais, howeling dogs, and noisy birds) we got up and woke our Belgium friends up in order to be the first ones to get to the top of the falls, which opened at 8. It was an amazing little hike and we were more and more in awe of the beauty of the 7 waterfalls which each step. The falls were so beautiful and perfect it seemed like they had to be fake, but it turns out natural beauty really does trump any artificial beauty. We saw one other group (a family of Thais) on the way up and that was it. We had each section to ourselves to photograph and appreciate. At the top, we swam in the cool water and let the fish nibble on our toes.

Level 1

Level 2 (with the lack of sleep showing on our faces)

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Fish nibbling my toes!

I was very grateful we were able to enjoy the falls alone for a while because a little after we got to the top more and more tourists and Thais started showing up and by the time we got back down to levels 1-3, there were huge crowds swimming, picnicing, and enjoying the falls in a much less serene way. We had some lunch and read under a gazebo next to the river and said goodbye to our Belgium friends. Eric and I then went on a hike on a "nature interpretive trail." The trail eventually led to a very nice lookout point and Eric may or may not have seen a cougar or some other large animal (we weren't sure, but there was definitely some movement in the trees). We finished the day with another swim in the falls and a delicious dinner near the campsite.

Eric's Jungle Trek Part 2

View from the end of our little hike.

We rented sleeping pads so the evening was a little more enjoyable and we spent Monday morning getting breakfast and reading on the river. At noon we got on the bus and made the journey (which was a little faster this time) back to Suphan. I was so refreshing to get away from cities and relax in nature. I am still recovering from two somewhat sleepness nights, but will be ready for another adventure to paradise starting Thursday when Eric's mom and sister get here!