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January 11, 2007
I woke up and checked my options to stay in bed, since I can’t walk much because of the injury in my ankle. One hour later I started getting ready for breakfast. My walking shoes, Asolo Highland, are a reinforced leather block which gives a lot of support to the ankle. I tried to walk a little. It was still hard but possible. The shoe reminded me of an elastic bandage because of its support. After this positive development I went checking an option of renting a motorcycle. I usually don’t get along with motorbikes, and there’s a slight license problem, but some training in parking lots back at my country brought me to the point in which I’m only missing the official license. I do have an international driver’s license after all.
Around Kanchanaburi on a motorbike
A quick tour around some agencies and I’m already renting a nice Mio 110cc automatic. After a short explanation and saying to myself “left side, left side, left side” (in Thailand you have to drive on the left side like in the UK), I took the Mio and went looking for a gas station.
The rates for renting a motorbike for the entire day (24 hours) range from 150 baht for manual to 250 baht for automatic gear. Mostly for light 100-200cc motorcycles . At the same time I separated from my passport for a deposit.
At the gas station I fueled for 50 baht, an action that made the gauge go from 0 to 75 percents. Later on I fueled again for 30 baht. Total of 80 baht a day. The distance I drove that day was 100 kilometers.
Like with a new toy I took the Mio and just drove without any plan whatsoever. My first task was to acquire a map of the area, something that turned up to be not easy at all. The small toy reached only 60 km/h, but it was enough and even better to watch the view on the way properly.
Tha Muang
I went out of Kanchanaburi and found myself in a city called Tha Muang. It’s not a touristic city, but I was able to buy there a map of Kanchanaburi and the surrounding region. The map didn’t help at first, so I kept on driving. The feeling of the freedom and the wind while riding was even greater in light of the injury from yesterday, so I was very happy with my motorcycle. Almost the entire traffic in that region was of locals. Most vehicles on the road were motorcycles. I crossed the river Kwae numerous times so I will not forget how to go back, I reached places I didn’t know their name. The motorcycle enabled me to enter alleys, local markets and far away houses of peasants, near groves and rice fields by the river. I even reached a dam at some point.
At some point I saw a weird garden that looked like some kind of a shrine. There I met some students coming back from school on a motorcycle as well. They didn’t understand what I was doing in that no-tourists zone. I then appreciated even more the great mobility of this tool acquired for only a couple of dollars a day. There’s no need for organized tours, no need for guides or even maps. Just take your bike and ride to the place the road leads you.
I kept riding on that road. At another point I reached the other side of a river. There are many rivers in this region so I don’t know its name. On this river there was a floating house. It was tied to a boat. The boat pulled the house in a sight which looked as if it came out of a book. This was not the only floating house on that river. Some other houses were tied to the river bank.
I drove a lot but didn’t arrive anywhere. Therefore, after about 60 kilometers I went back to Kanchanaburi. On the way a nice farmer tried to explain in Thai and hand signals the way back to the city. It was another practice in sign language.
When I arrived in Kanchanaburi I felt much more secure riding a motorcycle on the roads. I also realized its advantages over a car. Its abilities to get into almost any place enabled me to go to many places. No matter how much traffic was on the road.
Jeath Museum
The first place I wanted to visit was the war museum. I knew there are two of them in town so I went looking for the first.
The Jeath museum perpetuates the bombing of the bridge over the river Kwae. The Japanese who ruled that area during World War II forced war prisoners to build that bridge in six months while working in slavery conditions. The bridge was being used for trains transporting equipment and artillery for the Japanese armed forces. When the allied forces wanted to bomb it, the Japanese soldiers positioned thousands of war prisoners on the bridge in an attempt to prevent its destruction. It didn’t help and many people have died. The museum itself is small so there’s not much to see. Entrance fee is 30 baht.
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
While looking for the second museum I arrived at the war cemetery. It’s a quiet and pastoral place which requires no more than a three minute visit. You will see there tombstones in memory of all those who died during the war.
Monkey School
Riding on the same road I discovered an interesting sign pointing to a Monkey School. The time was already 3:30 PM. A short ride brought me to another sign pointing to a dirt road.
Entrance fee to the monkey school is 200 baht. I was the only visitor so I got a special attention. The place is not big. There’s a number of cages at the front and some more at the back. Overall there are twenty nine pigtail monkeys and gibbons.
Since I was the only one, I got a private show. The trainer asked me where I’m from, and when she found out I’m from Israel, she showed me how broad her Hebrew vocabulary was. Near the entrance there’s a small monkey who seems to enjoy playing with visitors (and stealing their stuff while she’s at it). Unfortunately I found out that the rest of the monkeys are locked inside cages or tied with ropes.
The show started. One monkey shook my hand, another brought the correct number out of a series. One monkey on a bicycle and another who jumped into a pool to find a lost watch. Some were urged too much, but all in all it seemed to me that the locals like them and even spoil them like small kids. Interestingly enough, the show is only one part of the monkeys’ lives. They are also trained to pick coconuts off the trees, an action that was demonstrated during the show. After a year of training a monkey is able to pick one hundred coconuts a day. Grown monkeys can pick up to three hundred coconuts.
After the show I was invited to stay and feed the monkeys. They really like the coconut’s meat. Another interesting fact is they have pockets in their mouth to store food, just like hamsters.
You throw the food in the air and they catch it with two or one hand. I enjoyed this part much more than the show. One of the girls working there showed her special connection with a monkey as she gave him potato chips and he searched for fleas in her hair. This is common among monkeys.
I stayed till they told me it’s sleep time for monkeys. The people in this place are nice and it’s recommended to come with a small group of people.
Sunset on the bridge over the river Kwae
I came back to the center of the city near the bridge. There’s a small market. One of the things you must not miss is the sunset over the bridge. An additional train driving on the railways will make any picture you take into a perfect postcard.
Private Museum
At 6:00 PM I came to the Private Museum, which is the second war museum in town. The place is large. Two buildings. One of them is five floors high. I got there near closing time and didn’t see everything. Two little girls played inside. One of them (see picture) was the complete opposite of the melancholy atmosphere of the place. In the cellar there’s a display of the bombing showing bodies with missing parts under drawings of airplanes bombing them directly. The top floor, which become a playground for those girls, was only one floor over a place where original reconstructions of skeletons are shown. Entrance fee is 40 baht. You can spend there one hour.
Kanchanaburi Night Market
At 7:30 PM after dark I visited the night market of Kanchanaburi. The place is flooded with locals but no tourists at all.
Small fried potatoes and a shake was my dinner for that night. The market is bigger than the one near the bridge.
To summarize this day, I’ve seen so much for one day in light of my injured ankle. It’s a lot more than I ever thought I would see in one day even with a healthy ankle. Thank you motorcycle.
This article was originally written in Hebrew. It was translated to English at a later time.
English
