Last......Kanch......

"Is that crazy girls still making updates about a trip that happened over a month ago?"

"Why, yes, it appears to be so! What a crazy girl!"

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This is, finally, the last Kanch update.  And I really hope to not take this long with future trips!  Things here have been crazy hectic.  Who would have thought that being a full time teacher, a full time student, and a part-time tourist would keep you so busy?

Anyway, without further ado, here are some pictures of Erawan waterfall, and Death Railway.

Erawan falls was absolutely breathtaking.  It is a seven-tired water fall named after the three-headed white elephant of Hindu mythology.  We had four hours at the water fall, which was enough time to hike to the top then go swimming.

Some sites along the way:

Including some wild monkeys!  

There were three different levels that you could swim in as well.  Unfortunately...well.....remember those little fish that I let nibble on my feet?   The waterfalls had them too.

Only they were bigger at the waterfall....

Much bigger!!

Do you see how we are all crowded on that rock in this picture?  That's not because we thought it was a nice photo-op.  We are all trying to go swimming, but those huge-ass fish you see in the background keep chewing on us every time we get in the water.  I don't think any of the four of us went in the water at this tier, the fish were just too big, and too aggressive.  Look closely.  There is fear and apprehension in our eyes.

I mean really, full-grown fish as long as my forearm.  

This part of the waterfall was pretty neat.  You could slide down that place where the water is coming off of. To get up you had to climb up the left-hand side, which was difficult as it was slippery, but the slide down was a lot of fun.

Finally, we made it to the top tier, and had a lot of fun playing around on the rocks and in the water.  There was even a little cave that went behind the waterfall which you could swim into.

The fish at this tier still nibbled, but they were much, much smaller (and their nibbles were mostly shocking, and only sometimes hurt.)  (Click to enlarge any of the photos)

     

       

P.s., it is very hard hiking uphill in flip flops and a bikini. 

We also went to Death Railway, a track where thousands of Allied POWs died.  A beautiful site filled with so much history:

 And that's it for Kanch!!

Hugs,
Kelsey

Here's one for the 'rents!

Today Lertlah celebrated Canada Day for us Canadian teachers.  Most of the teachers and students dawned red or white tops for our nation's birthday, and our anthem was sung in the gymnasium by the student choir. Seeing red and white all day made me feel very patriotic!

The Canada umbrella hat my parents sent me in the mail was also put to good use.  Behold:

Some M1 (grade 7) students:

Kim, Jedi

Maylin, Tamtam

Joh, San

Ohm, Bon

Some M2 (grade 8) students:

Chin-jung

Arm, Kitty

Some M3 (grade 9) students:

Great

Eve, Raiwin

Honey, Grin

Prince, Matthew

Pong, Chappy

Kanch - Installment Five (Elephants)

It has been a long time since this trip, but I still have a few things that I haven't shared yet.

One of those things, and the best experience of that trip, was the elephants.

Firstly I would like to assure everyone that the handlers were fabulous, and I had a very good feeling about the treatment of the elephants there.  Nothing seemed "off" or sketchy, the commands they gave the elephants were mostly verbal with some light foot or hand tapping.  The area they were kept in was clean with a simple wooden fence and the handlers did not have the elephants chained up when they were not being used. In fact, they seemed to have a special bond with their elephants, and their kids were also playing with and riding on them.

The first thing we did when we got there was ride on the elephants through a trail on a farmer's
field.  The surroundings were beautiful, and it was interesting watching the farmers work as we rode by.  I forget my elephant's Thai name, but her English name was Honey.  Our handler was especially nice, and he let me ride on the elephants bare neck within the first few minutes of our trip!

It was actually quite difficult at times to stay balanced, especially when the elephant felt hungry.

The fields we rode through (click to enlarge)

The next and most exciting thing we got to do was play with the elephants in the water.  I truly feel like the elephants had a fun time with us as well.  They would wallow around in the water, and duck their heads under once in a while.  They also used their trunks to splash us, and would try to "buck", or shake, us off.

One of the elephants seemed like she was not in the mood for our frivolity, so she simply parked herself by the shore and wasn't made to come in the water with us any more than she wanted to.  Another good sign, I thought.

One thing I can't forget to mention: the wonderful smooches and hugs from the elephants!  The elephants seemed to love to (gently) wrap their trunks around you in a sort of embrace.  They would also give kisses. Two varieties in fact, a "blow" kiss on your cheek, and a "suck" kiss on your cheek.  The second picture below is taken right after a "blow" kiss.

Nothing beats an elephant hug.....

.....Except maybe an elephant kiss!

And that, finally, concludes the first day of our Kanchanaburi trip.  Will be updating the second day soon.

Love and miss you all,
Kelsey

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Here is a picture of me wearing a weird (and painful) hat that my parents sent me a while ago.  I hope you all have a great Canada Day!

P.s. Sorry that I have been so silent - we started our second university course and had to create exams for our students.  I have a lot of posting to catch up with, including the rest of Kanch and teacher day!