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Kanchanaburi, 2,625 kms Hot Hot and even Hotter

Got on the bikes this morning just as it got light enough to see and it really hit home. At this time of year in Thailand there is no such thing as a "good time" to cycle. It is all way, way too hot. We've really enjoyed this part of the trip but from a pure cycling perspective, we are looking to leave as the cycling is more of a chore than enjoyment. And it will only get worse.

Yesterday was a bit of a shmozzle for a whole bunch of reasons. We had hoped to get up to the last town before you enter Burma and the original intent had been to take a bus but that appeared to be problematic with the bikes. We looked at the map and at our remaining time and decided that we would try to cycle it. The total distance was, according to the maps, about 110 kms and in this heat that would be more than enough.

We were on the road almost a half hour before day light and the first thing that really struck home was the heat. Even well before 6 a.m. it was HOT. The route, rather than being flat as we had been lead to believe, was rather hilly and that slowed things down. We got about 10 kms out of town and there was a sign indicating that the town was still 145 kms away! Couldn't figure that out and we knew that that distance was impossible in the heat. We wondered if the map (a Michelin which are usually very accurate) was in miles, no, it was metric (not surprisingly). I'm sure that the distance pilons were accurate, all the ones that we have seen today have been dead on the money.

So, a quick re-think and we decide to head to the penultimate town before the border, still another 75 kms away. However, I managed to come down with a doozy of a cold (in this climate? am I really that talented!!!) so was fighting the flu, fever, chills, sweats and so on. You know this type of cold, it is the type that all males get, the one that knocks the stuffing out of all the real he-man. After a few more kms I realized that I wouldn't make even this target. So, another re-think and we decide to proceed a total of about 20 kms up the road, turn around and visit the "hellfire canyon" memorial after which we would then proceed back to Nam Tok or beyond.

This whole area experiences a lot of Australian and British tourism because of the war time building of the Thai Burmese railway that cost so many lives. Part of the rail line included one section cut (mostly by hand) through a rock outcropping. Work was some 18 hours a day and the way was lit with fires. Apparently the shadows from the fire light and the conditions motivated the men to call the stretch "the hellfire canyon". The rail line was abandoned after the war and the jungle took over the line. A number of years ago the line was re-opened as far as Nam Tok and a part further up was cleared with the assistance of the Australian Government and used as a memorial to the victims and survivors.

So, down we went to the hellfire canyon memorial. Most of the visitors come on package tours that are tied in with a short ride on the raiway (the part where all the people got on and got off from our trip up). So, early in the morning (we were there before the musem opened) there is no one there except tired cyclists. We wandered along the trail for a bit, through the "canyon" and to a small rest area/lookout point and sat and enjoyed looking across the valley in to Burma.

It is a very serene spot and I can't even imagine the work that was involved in building the railway. All the bore holes for the blasting powder were done by hand, the rock removed by hand and so on. A very labour intensive project.

We got back on the bikes and made it back to Nam Tok. The distance to Soi Yok was about 15 kms and, we assumed, mostly downhill so after a soda break started off. Turns out that the distance is about 20 kms and has a long, but reasonably gentle hill. We knew that Soi Yok was just off the road but didn't know that the road was 5 kms long and straight down a very steep hill (which would have to be climbed the next morning to get back on the highway).

We had checked the accomodation and there are about 5 or 6 resorts in town. We assumed that that meant there would be other accomodations as well. However, we weren't too pleased to find out that that was all there was. While we were at the bottom of the hill deciding on our strategy, a fellow comes up to us on his motorbike and asks "what can I tell you about my little town". Turns out that he is from Oregon and retired here. He told us about the hotel situation noting that the resorts were "quite expensive".

We chatted with him for a bit but in the end couldn't get away fast enough. He started off by telling us that he moved here because of the taxes and that it was too expensive to live in the States. Later on he mentioned that he doesn't mind paying taxes, or higher taxes, as long as every thing worked. It was such a clear contradition to his reason for being here. But then he got on to the Thai election this week. Clearly he is very much in favour of the ruling party. Part of the issue in this election is that the leader of the party changed the tax laws so his family could sell a company and avoid paying some one billion in taxes. This fellow's line of reasoning was "we need businessmen in power so that they can make the country work, if the fellow takes a little bit along the way, well, so be it". One billion is a little??? I think that that was the line of reasoning that brought down Enron and World Com. We'll overlook the improprieties as long as people are making money. It is a line of reasoning that I have never been able to accept.

Anyway, we were broiling in the sun listening to this gentleman rant and rave and finally said that we have to find a place to stay. He says, no problem, follow me and I'll get my friend to help. We go to the edge of town and ask his friend. He "thinks" there is a guest house at the other end of town so off we go. Went up and down a whole series of roads (this is not a big town) and found nothing. By this point it is well after noon and I am at the end of my rope. I crash on the grass in the main square and Wendy takes off looking for a spot to spend the night. She rounds up a "deal" in one of the resorts at almost the highest we have paid for a room in SE Asia. But a deal it was as it was considerably less than the full price. Once we got there, I even wondered if they were open as there didn't appear to be anyone else there.

As for me, I headed for bed and basically stayed there for the duration. Wendy was in and out a bit, picked up a bit of food and hid in the room it was just too stinking hot to do anything else.

This morning we decided to head for Kanchanaburi which is where the famous bridge is over the River Kwae. It is also the centre of this district and appears to have a number of things to do for a few days. We plan to stay here a couple of nights and hopefully I can get rid of this cold.

The cyle was faster than we thought. We had to climb back out of the valley and to do that we left as soon as it was light enough to see. While loading up the bikes I started to sweat, you knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. By the time that we got to the top of the hill, we were both sweating like there was no tomorrow.

Fortunately the rest of the cycle was more or less down hill or on the flat so we got to town faster than we had expected. Grabbed the first hotel that we found (a decent room at less than half the cost of the one the night before) and I headed for bed for a bit. Wendy did a bit of wandering around, bought a bit more food and spent the rest of the time hiding out from the heat. While she cooled down, I wandered around a bit but no point in trying to do too much this time of year.

Tomorrow we will wander around the area a bit and not much more. The heat really does drain you and we are not going to push it.

As it is getting late in the afternoon, I'll leave loading pictures for another time. I am assuming that I'll have lots of time tomorrow as it will be a quiet, catch up on reading, sort of day.

Cheers!

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