I awoke to the sounds of the most annoying animal i've ever heard.
I thought the chinese bird outside my window or the man coughing up phlegm every morning was the worst, until I heard this thing. It would continue to pester me each morning in Kanchanaburi and regretfully I do not possess a firearm. Nature 1 Corey 0.
I stepped outside of our wooden hut to check out what was making this awful sound and was greeted by a wonderful little dog we afterwards nicknamed Buddha; Because he was wise beyond measure. It was then that I took notice of the 5 foot long lizard sitting on a rock beside our bungalow. Good start to a day so far.
We had our breakfast at our hostel on the terrace overlooking the lake. It was then that we met Craig from Vancouver. A 19 year old kid travelling through Thailand on his own and would later become me and Vanessa's adopted son. I left the two there and headed out into town to rent my motorbike.
At the rental place the man took my passport as a deposit and asked if I had ever driven one before.
"No, but i've ridden on the back of one in China many times." I said. This didn't seem to bother him in the slightest as he started up the engine and gave me a quick run down on the bikes controls. I left out the fact that I've crashed near every vehicle i've ever driven as well as have no balance whatsoever.
"Turn handle. Gas. Brake. Stay to the left. Go. Bye bye." He then quickly handed me the keys and sent me on my way.
I peeled out of the parking lot and wobbled my way slowly onto the street. I immediately regretted this decision. I was in ASIA for god sakes, with the craziest drivers in the world. Driving a vehicle with no experience, no insurance and no helmet. What the hell. You live once. I drove around town for a little bit to start to get the hang of driving, then headed back to the hostel before setting out.
Minutes later I was cruising the countryside, with the green mountains of Burma on my left and the jungles of Thailand on my right. It was a feeling of freedom hard to describe. After the first hour or so of driving my fear started to fade and I was becoming more confident on the bike. We even named the bike. Scoot Scoot.
Amazingly, I found my way there using the jumble of maps i'd picked up at the hostel and we finally pulled up to the Erawan 7-Step Waterfalls hiking trail entrance. On the way into the park I was surprised and shocked to bump into Ryan and Tyler; we had parted ways in Bangkok and I had no idea they would be there. It's weird how things like that happen and it wouldn't be the first time.
The Erawan waterfalls is about an hour hike up steep hills and rocks. There are seven tiers of the hike, each with an even better waterfall than the next until you reached the seventh. Which is the one the place is named after. As we made our way up the tiers I couldn't help to notice the abundance of fat old european men with incredibly attractive girlfriends. Oh how the hot ones cling to money. And i knew they were european because they were all wearing speedos. So. Many. Speedos. We made a game out of it. I probably saw at least 75 men hiking the trails or swimming in the waterfalls in speedos. All of which shouldn't, in ANY circumstance, ever consider wearing one in public. We were so distressed by the scenery in fact, we didn't even stick to the path at one point and went off on our own climbing up a waterfall. Doing so we didn't make it to the seventh waterfall before the park closed and had to go back the next day. After swimming in one of the pools and getting attacked by fish, a feeling I despised but everyone around me didn't seem to mind, we headed back down the trails. On the way down we came across a family of monkeys who laid claim to the steps leading down. I approached cautiously, as I was told the monkeys here sometimes attack people. The smaller ones moved away as I moved closer but the oldest and biggest one stood his ground, baring his teeth at me and staring me down.
If he could speak I was imagining him as Gandalf saying. "You shall not pass!"
I tried to find another way down the hill but they were all about a 20 foot drop. The stairs were the only way. It was do or die. Man or beast. As I was getting ready to challenge this primate to a duel over who may pass, a "Speedo" came by and threw a bag of peanuts at him. The monkey excitedly caught it and ripped the bag open, peanuts flying everywhere. Now was my chance! I quickly jolted around him and ran down the stairs.
Nature 1 Corey 1.
Back at the hostel we met up with Craig again and headed out for drinks for the night. After a random game of Jenga we found this bar sitting out on the street offering 10 baht shots. Which i believe is the equivalent of a few cents Canadian. We sat and met other backpackers from all over the world and enjoyed the end to a great day. Next, we would be heading to the Tiger temple.
The tiger temple in Thailand started out with one tiger cub. It's parents were killed by poachers and it was brought to a monastery near Kanchanaburi. After that many more tiger cubs were given to the temple to be raised by monks and the numbers quickly grew. It became a sanctuary for the declining numbers of tigers and eventually a tourist attraction, today, they have about 90 tigers. We were initially debating going or not because we had heard rumours of mistreatment and generally hated tourist traps, but when we got there we were proven wrong. All the tourist activities there are not intrusive. You are only allowed to help with or be part of natural daily activities such as walking them, exercises, feeding and playing. The part where you can take pictures with the bigger ones is during a point in the day where they generally nap. In half the pictures I have with the big guys they are asleep. But nevertheless, as I crouched down beside this 500 pound animal and pat him on the head, I couldn't help to be just a little scared knowing it could end my life instantly.
After escorting one of the big tigers on their walk to their resting area, we headed up a hill and through a random herd of water buffalo to the cub pen. We had payed a little extra to be part of the feeding. Luckily there were only about 3 other people with us and we had the little guys all to ourselves. There were 9 cubs, from only few weeks old to about a month. When we got there most of them were sleeping but they soon woke up for play time and were running all around us. Or trying to, the newborns could barely walk. I was playing with one of the younger ones when I noticed out of the corner of my eye one of the older cubs stalking around a corner. Next thing I knew he was charging at me full speed and pounced on my back, digging his new teeth into my side. He may have only been a month old but he had new teeth and was eager to use them. I was bleeding through my shirt as I chased him down and picked him up. "No mauling!" I said to him. Little bastard. Nature 2 Corey 1. But yes, now I can truthfully say I have tiger mauling wounds. It was such an amazing opportunity to be so close to these endangered animals. I can't think of too many places in Canada i'd get the chance to do that. After a quick feeding we said our goodbyes and headed home. It was one of my favourite memories from Thailand.
On the way home, just to add some more excitement to the day, I pulled sharply around a corner in town, lost control and rammed the bike into a bench. I flew off the side and scraped myself up bad on the sidewalk. Good job Corey. Almost two days without crashing and it had to happen at the end. Luckily, Scoot Scoot was okay but I ended up having to pay for the bench that I destroyed. I left it there but I'll have you know i'm the proud owner of the nicest, slightly broken, hand-made bench in town.
The next day we left Kanchanaburi, said goodbye to Craig and boarded another minivan for Bangkok. We would be taking a 13 hour overnight train up to the northern province of Chiang Mai. Where there was thick jungles and the southern tip of the Himalayas. As the bus pulled away I knew I would miss this little town, the waterfalls, the monkeys and tigers.
But I was looking forward to the next part of the trip.
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