River Kwai. Rest in Pattaya.
Excursion to the River Kwai brought us a lot of pleasure, despite the long journey, there will be a lot of impressions for a lifetime.
This was our first trip to Thailand, but we heard a lot about this country and the resort from our friends who are not the first to rest here. It was definitely decided to go to Kwai. We took excursions to Nika Travel, everything is organized by the guide Alexander by the name of Gromyko. Quite by accident I found the VKontakte agency, I went with them all the planned tours. Very pleased.
So the tour starts early in the morning. On the way to the first bus stop, everyone slept peacefully. After an early breakfast (stop somewhere in the Bangkok area) the guide starts the program. I want to immediately note the work of our guide: the tour is very voluminous and long, and his work plays an important role. We heard so much information in 2 days: about the country, traditions and sights along the way.
What is not included in the excursion program: we visited the floating market and went boating. At the floating market, food, souvenirs and every little thing is sold directly from the boats, and all the houses are right on the canals. True, the guide warns in advance that the market is expensive, but those who really wanted to buy souvenirs there. An interesting place, because Bangkok used to be called the Venice of the East, all life passed closer to fresh water.
Next, we went to the teak wood factory, where local craftsmen bring real teak masterpieces to life. Really impressive, the paintings are three-dimensional, handmade. Some cost tens of thousands of dollars! In many hotels they are used as interior decoration.
We visited the temple of the Cave Tirg, whose architecture is very impressive. And the temple itself is exquisite, a beautiful view of the surroundings opens from above. A huge statue of a seated Buddha of incredible size adorns it.
A visit to the national park and the Erawan waterfall will bring great pleasure. We stayed there for about three hours and were able to swim a lot in natural pools, where small fish do real pilling, and take pictures. This cascading waterfall consists of seven levels. A true masterpiece of nature.
We had rafting on the river on bamboo rafts, and we also rafted in vests. By the way, it is not at all difficult - the river carries you, and all that remains is to admire the beauties.
We also visited another waterfall called Saek. Also swam under it. It is quite large, about 8 meters high.
There was a stop at the radon springs, where they improved their health by plunging into pools with different temperatures. Nearby they tasted tea, whoever wished could buy local gulls with herbs there. We took blue tea and lemongrass. Now enjoy the tea.
We visited a healer's shop with Thai traditional medicine. We were not interested in dietary supplements, we took a couple of balms for ourselves and as a gift.
We talked and fed the monkeys (probably, they cannot be called wild, they are fed by tourist groups). True, with such close communication, it is necessary to follow the safety rules, because some of our gestures, for example, a smile, they regard as a grin, that is, aggression.
Of course, the elephant village left the most indelible impression. These funny animals showed a show performance, we rode along the river through the jungle on elephants. It was a little scary, but so cool. The most memorable moment was swimming. Yes, yes, swimming in the river with an elephant. This is an incredible positive and a lot of fun. I never thought that I could interact with these animals so closely.
There was a stop at the railway (a historical site left over from the war). We spent the night at a hotel on the river. The scenery here is picturesque, especially early in the morning. The hotel houses are located both on the shore and on the water. It's called Star Hill. Vacationers with children, for safety reasons, it is better to settle on the shore, and everyone else can take houses on the water, fall asleep and wake up to the sound of water is a pleasure.
So we spent 2 days of rest so brightly saturated. And do not believe that Kwai is not interesting. Kwai is great, it's a whole adventure. While relaxing in Thailand, be sure to visit this tour, getting out of noisy Pattaya, enjoy the tropical nature, listen to an interesting story about the country by the guide. After all, these are emotions, and the most positive ones.
In my photographs I will try to convey the atmosphere of this excursion.
