Day trips out of BKK

[Guest]

Hi all

I will be in BKK alone from the 19th until the 23rd of June and then meeting up with people. I want to spend one day out of the city, perhaps visit the Kwai Bridge.

Is it easy to get there? I see it is only about 80 miles out of BKK. Are there any other day trips worth doing?

I obviously don't want to cut out too much of my shagging time .

BN

[stogie bear]

http://www.asiatravel.com/bangkok_info/trip.html

http://www.world66.com/asia/southeastasia/thailand/bangkok/toursevents

http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/daytrips/

http://www.bangkok.com/tours/

http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/bangkok/general/around.html

http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/Journal.aspx?JournalID=63395

http://travelguides.lastminute.com/sisp....ursions

http://spiceroads.com/styles/day_trips

http://www.guidetothailand.com/bangkok-thailand/bangkok-day-trips.php

[Guest]

Thanks Stogie!

Some brilliant ideas there.

Anyone got any personal anecdotes about going to the Kwai Bridge?

Cheers

BN

[dommy6]

Hi

I have done the bridge on river Kwai tour.

Can't remember the cost. But not expensive.

6.30 am Pickup from your hotel by mini bus to take to transfer to coach.

I'm sure it's more than 80km. it did take a while to get there. It was a nice drive going through the city of bkk and Thornburii.

First stop is war museum in a small town. Very interesting. Walk around a bit. Then a boat ride up to the bridge. Walk around the bridge and nearby. Can also buy cheap souvenirs. Then on to the train station to take a tide on the Burma railway. This goes for 90 minutes and is actually a public transport plane so you are traveling with the locals. Good people watching. But stood all the way as all seats taken. Lots of school kids on the train and some even are a bit mischievous and hang out the door. Got a bit boring after a while and couldn't wait to get off.

When we got of we had a buffet lunch including beers. Very nice. Then on to the war cemetery. This was really moving. So many graves. The graves a divided in sections, the Australian, American and Dutch. I think there were others. My other Australian ladies and my self were the only aussies and we took a time out to reflect on a lot of young lives taken. It did leave a lump in my throat. I had to go back to the bus.

Then the drive back home. At one point saw a lot of monkeys on the highway. When we got into bkk the traffic was so bad a few of us got a BTS station and made our own way back to the hotel. The tour guide was cool about that.

On the whole I would recommend it. I was hanging out with a Brit and Canadian guy who were on the tour as well as the two Aussie ladies.

Hope this helps.

[Ladyboy_Loser!]

I did the trip to the River Kwai without the aid of a tour on my first visit way way back in 1997. I took a taxi from my hotel on Silom Road to the train depot on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phrya River. Got an ordinary train to Kanchanaburi and sat on wooden seats for the journey. About two hours into the train ride two Buddist Monks got on and sat across from me. I did the Wai thing to show respect and soon after one of the monks asked me where I was going, where I came from. He wanted to practice his English language skills and did I mind if he spoke with me? No problem for me, I welcomed the conversation. Later on the elder Monk spoke to him and showed him a watch and some instruction sheet. The younger Monk asked me if I would set the time and date for the older Monk as the instruction was in English and Chinese only.
On arrival, I walked to a recommended Guest House nearby the station, got a room with A/C and asked about a bicycle for rent. They had bikes there and no fee. Super, I thought. Off I went on this fifty pound monster for the ride the back way through the countryside to the Bridge. No problem for the first leg, stopped off at a War Cemetary across the River and just walked around looking at the grave markers. Back on the bike and off I went, it is now early afternoon and the heat and humidity are starting to take effect. Stupid me, I had forgot to hydrate before my ride or bring any water. Now I am getting the blind staggers and need some water. Finally after a few more miles of riding I find a small shop outside a home that has water, sodas and fruit for sale. Never in my life have I drank or eat so much fruit so damn quickly. The two Thai people there just looked at me as if I was crazy. I bought two big bottles of water to bring along as the bike had a basket on the handlebars and off I went again. Finally after three more miles of pedaling I got to the railroad bridge that crosses the River. I was on the far side of the River looking back toward Kanchanaburi and now thought it would be a good idea to ride my bike across the bridge while I was taking some video. Not a good idea it turned out to be. The bridge was narrow and off to the sides the wooden slats had gaps between them. I was unsteady trying to balance the bike and take some vidoe at the same time. About half way across i lost it, a tire drifted to the left and into one of the gaps. Down the bike went along with me trying to hang onto my camcorder. I ended up wedged in this hole with half of the bike hanging above the river and the rest supporting me. There was not shot of the bike or me falling into the river but getting myself and the bike upright took some manuvering. I just smiled and laughed at my stupidity and thought how cool this was to be in such a well know place and make an ass of myself. Made it across without further incident and went into the museum on the other side. Some amazing stuff to see and read about. All in all it was great time.

[moe666]

Boknaai, Hook up with a girl for a few days and take her with you. Go to the southern bus station across river, There is a bus leaving every 45 min. about 99 baht. you will have about a 3 hour ride no problem. Upon arrival at the bus station get a songthaew and go to the Ploy Inn you get a great room for 700 baht a day.
Stay a few days it is a great town with some good eating along the river. There is a great show to see. There is a place that trains monkeys to harvest coconuts they do a complete show about 45 min and fun to watch. The cemetary is a moving visit very well kept and a peaceful place to visit. The bridge is kind of a let down but should be seen at night. If you want you can rent a songthew for about 1000 baht a day and the driver knows all of the sites. If you have any more questions I will do my best to answer.
Erwan waterfalls are west of town about 1 hour this is the most visited park in Thailand.

[Guest]

I always try to soak in a little culture and history wherever I travel, and Kwai was on my itinerary several years ago. Bridge, river, jungle was OK, but did not have the same impact as watching the great movie. Visiting Kwai gave a sense of being in that place, sort of, but the cemetery is where the real significance lies. That really drove the point home and is an unforgettable memory.  

Personally River Kwai pales in comparison with the cultural insights and real Thai history available at Ayutthaya.

[kahuna]

Thank you all for sharing...Think I will have to try the River Kwai trip next visit...although don't think I am adventerous or young enough to try the PogueMahone adventure...however, it does sound as if you had a memorable trip PM...

[Guest]

Thanks so much everyone for your answers!

[divertwo]

..I did the public bus trip, walked to a guest house, then the numerous sites in Kanchanaburi..cemetaries, museums, etc during my first Thailand trip in 2005. Really easy used Lonely Planet Guide for a guest house 200baht I think. Plenty of GG's for entertainment and company. Next day took another public bus up to the Hell Fire Pass area....again, very easy. Only advice is to allow plenty of travel time as the buses make a few stops. To Hell Fire Pass it was about 1 hour one way I think, then I returned to Kanchanaburi for a return bus to BKK...did all this with one night stay in Kanchanaburi. A must for the Aussies as they did much of the slave labor on the various projects in the area during WWII.

[ShockToe]

Maybe consider Ayutthaya and Bang Pa In?

[MARKUK]

River Kwai is ok for a day out, cant coment on trips as i drive myself. Safari world is ok some girls enjoy it, same as the zoo's around Pattaya, The you have crocodile farm, dream world, and the three headed elephant thing!! loads to do all within short distance. Depends what your into.

[daveduke007]

I went to the River Kwai back in 2001 and hired a longboat to look around, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end
Well worth a visit

Dave...

[moe666]

Akso 2 hours north of Bangkok is a small town called Pak Chong this is the jumping off spot for Kwai Yai National park. There are lots of resorts on the road to the park, These offer daily tours which include a night trip to see what is out and about no LBs.
In Pak Chong there is a great rest. called the Riverside. This is more than a day trip at least 2 maybe 3 days. In the cool season it can actually be cold at night and early morning.
The bus leaves from Moo Chit, Bus to Korat.