Orientation has been a long process. Classes are helpful but resemble teeth pulling. After a week of sitting in classrooms learning how to be a good teacher everyone was excited to pack their bags and head up north for some down time in Kanchanaburi. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Bangkok if you don’t hit traffic or a downpour. The urban sprawl of Bangkok lasts almost two hours. Warehouses and bars and stores and 7/11s pop up one after another but as soon as you cross the Chao Phraya river the sprawl becomes cleaner and more cheerful, with old river alleys every few blocks and flowers cover the building eaves. It’s easy to understand why Bangkok was thought of as the Venice of Asia. Although, I’ve never seen Venice but I’m guessing it doesn’t smell as bad as these little channels.
We arrived in Kanchanaburi with a little daylight left. We were herded over to The Bridge over the River Kwai (yawn!) and had dinner at the floating restaurant next to the bridge. We took the buses about 15 minutes north into the middle of nowhere. Once I saw the hotel I didn’t care where we were. It’s something out of a the travel magazine where the rich farangs (white foreigner in Thai) stay during safari or holiday i.e., one of those places you know you'll never be able to afford. It was Mecca to 80 ex-college kids looking to relax. As all 80 of us stood in the entryway listening to our fearless leader, Phil, explain check in procedures I walked around to where I saw a cooler. The very bottom shelf of the cooler contain about 15 bottles of Leo, the Thai equivalent of PBR. 80 thirsty people surrounded by jungle with nothing for at least 3 miles; there was no need to do the math in my head. I walked calmly to my friend Leah and whispered,
“We need to buy beer immediately.” She grabbed Andy and Brenden and the four of us high tailed it to the cooler.
“Just keep ‘em coming, girl” Brenden told me and when I turned around I saw a line of people had abandoned Phil with the same thoughts as mine. The poor cashier woman didn’t speak any English and I think we scared the hell out of her.
The rest of the night was the most enjoyable of the trip so far. Everyone wandered the grounds where you were surrounded with sounds of the jungle; smoking in the pavilion, playing beer-pong with tea cups in the bar (the hotel staff eventually found more beer that they charged us way too much for), singing karaoke and not-so-sneaky sneaky skinny dipping where all on the agenda. It was heavenly.
And it can’t even begin to compare to the following day!
Disclaimer: I stole all these pictures off the internet. Don't sue me.
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