Nam Tok

March 29, 2019

Our trip to SE Asia is starting to wind down. We have only one week left and there are still a few things to do before we leave. Over the next few days we have a few things planned further up the Death Railway. Starting off with a look at the Sai Yok Noi Waterfall, then a visit to Hellfire Pass, for both historical as well as birding reasons followed by the Mueang Sing Historical Park, a fourteenth century Khmer ruin two thirds of the way back to Kanachanaburi.

Today started with a gentle ride to the railway station in Kanachanaburi to catch the 10:35 train to Nam Tok. Thailand Railways being what they are the 10:35 turned out to be the 11:05 but we weren't in any rush. After we had bought our tickets, a station official told us we needed to wait for the goods carriage outside the toilets. So that is what we did. The goods carriage was that in name only so getting the bicycles in and out was a bit of a challenge.

The route was much as I remembered it from eight years ago. The train was quite empty but at Tham Krasae Bridge busloads of Thai tourists boarded the train for the section over the Wang Pho Viaducts. They all got off at the next stop and we had the train to ourselves again until Nam Tok.

The viaducts - impossible to show how difficult it must have been to build these given the conditions that the PoW and the enslaved SE Asians had to work in.

The end of the line. Actually, the line continues for a while but is not open to passenger trains.

On our arrival at Nam Tok we hit the tourist trap restaurant opposite the station to grab some lunch before heading for our digs at the Baanrai Saiyok Noi Resort a few hundred meters further down the road.

We cycled up to the falls late this afternoon. They really are quite pretty, even now at the driest time of the year. Unfortunately, we had forgotten our camera mobile phones behind so we couldn't take any pictures. I'll stop in here on the way up to Hellfire pass tomorrow.

All the tourists had left by the time we got there but there were quite a few locals swimming. In Thai terms they were quite uninhibited and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I guess its a great place to cool off and relax at the end of a hot day.

Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 1,545 km (959 miles)

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