Monkeys and waterfalls

Royal Temple and stairs (happiness, love, wealth)
Giraffes!
Bridge over the River Kwai
Superpeople at level 7 of Erawan waterfall
Monkeys at the monkey temple

November 10, 2009

On Friday morning we went to Lopburi to see the monkey temple. The monkeys receive free food and can go wherever they want in the city although they tend to stay near the temple area. They will sometimes jump on you or try to steal your stuff but they were definitely nicer than the baboons in Livingstone.

After eating lunch at a local Thai restaurant (sitting on the floor) we went to yet another temple. This was one of the royal temples and was called Wat Phra Buddhabat, located in Saraburi province. To get up to the temple there were three sets of staircases. The first represented happiness, the second love and the third wealth. After picking a staircase you hold your breath and walk up. I picked happiness. This was one of the most beautiful temples we have seen and housed the Buddha’s footprint, although we could not see it because it had been covered in order to preserve it.

After getting back to the house we ate and went across the street to the bar. I had my typical two orange juices and we played cards. Around 9:30 a group of about twenty people from the other house showed up in cowboy and Indian costumes. I still wasn’t feeling that well and went to bed early.

Saturday morning eight of us got up early, got in a taxi and rode to Erawan National Park to see the waterfall. We were dropped off around 10:30 am and given until 4 pm to explore. The waterfall is gorgeous and has seven levels with hiking between each one. We took our time but eventually made it to the top. On the way up we stopped at level 5 to swim and besides being nibbled on by the fish it was quite fun. On the way down we stopped to swim at level 3 where you could go sit behind the waterfall. I really wanted to stop at level 4 where the rocks were used as waterslides but it was really busy so we skipped it.

That night we stayed at a fairly nice guesthouse. The showers were hot, there was a pool and the food was good. We wandered around a bit that night to explore the city of Kanchanaburi. Maryann and I stopped for a drink at the bar and then called it a night.

The next morning we woke up and drove to the bridge over the River Khwae. The railroad and bridge were built by POW's of the Japanese during WWII. Over 100,000 people died in the construction of the railroad thus leading to the name the Death Railway. Toward the end of the war the bridge was bombed and destroyed. Later the railway was sold to the Thailand government and eventually rebuilt.

For the afternoon they had told us that we were going on a safari, which sounded very exciting. Unfortunately in was just a ride through the zoo where you could feed the semi-tame animals. One exciting part was the giraffes that stick their heads in through the window looking for the food. After the “safari” we explored a bit more of the zoo and went to a couple of shows. They don’t treat the animals very well here. We went to a dog show where the man hit the dog in front of us because we wouldn’t do one of the tricks. And then there are the tigers that they keep chained up so you can take pictures with them. We ended our zoo trip with a crocodile wrestling show where I am almost certain the crocodiles were drugged. We then drove back to the house and chilled for the evening.

The next few days are devoted to learning about Buddhism. We will stay at a temple to learn about their beliefs and practices. I am excited to finally learn about the religion instead of just visiting the temples.