The Floating Market, Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Day 3)

We got up really early today because we availed of an organized tour at a travel agency in Khao San Road  yesterday.  The tour covers Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, the Bridge over the River Kwai, and Tiger Temple costing 2,000 baht with free lunch, exclusive of admission fees.  Now before you crucify me for taking a tour, hear me out.  DIY to the floating market is easy, but getting to Tiger Temple is really complicated because transportation options are almost non-existent.  It's very far from Bangkok, in a remote location and we would have had to take a combination of bus and long walk or hitchhiking.  As bad traveler karma to me, I didn't enjoy this day and here's what happened.

We were picked up at the hotel lobby by a Toyota Hi-Ace, and assembled with other tourists at Khao San Road.  It took us an hour and a half to get to the floating market thanks to our driver from hell.  Despite repeatedly being told by other passengers to slow down, the racer was undeterred and got us to the finish line crazy fast!  

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is the largest of Thailand's many floating markets, but also the biggest tourist trap.  The market is filled  with boat vendors clogging the artificial canals selling stuff from fresh fruits and vegetables to full meals.  Boat tour costs 400 baht per hour per person plus compulsory tip at the end of the tour.  The boat can fit four to five people.  The market is exclusively catered for tourists and the price of goods are exorbitantly high, so haggle hard (400% or more mark-up).  Aside from the boats, there are rows and rows of shops selling souvenirs, toys & fashion items; there's even a snake show booth!  A quick heads up, boat vendors have "partner" shops they take you to where they get commissions from your purchases.

Getting back to land, I decided to check out the adjacent dry market, and the canal side activity.  To be honest, aside from the beautiful pictures which you can brag to your friends, there isn't much to see.  To me the place feels fake, overly commercialized, and overrated.

If you will be commuting to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market from Bangkok, take a taxi to the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai) and ride Bus # 78 which will lead you directly to Damnoen Saduak Terminal for 50 baht taking 2 hours.  Alternatively, a taxi from Bangkok to the floating market costs 1,500 baht.  

Floating Market

Tinakot mo na sarili mo bayad ka pa

Di ko kinaya pakikipagbaratan kay ate

We were taken to a roadside restaurant for free lunch where we shared tasteless local food with a Euro group. Afterwards, the van led us to Kanchanaburi Province for our appointment with the Bridge Over the River Kwai and nearby JEATH War Museum.  The border to Myanmar is also located in the province.

The Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand and Holland (JEAATH?) War Museum displays items from the Death Railway with images & depictions of the condition of Prisoners of War (POW) during the construction of the Bridge.  Entrance costs 40 baht and includes admission to the Wat Chau Chumpon Temple inside.  The museum actually holds some insights about the war.  It is compact and offers a good view of the Bridge.  Sadly, it is in very bad condition.  Most of the stuff are fading and worn out, there is no semblance of order, and simply put:  Serious Maintenance is Needed!

To get to Kanchanaburi on your own, go to the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok then take the first class express A/C Bus (#81?) to Kanchanaburi Terminal.  Journey takes 2 hours costing 100 baht.  Most of the sights in the province are not accessible by public buses so your best bet will be hiring one of the few taxis at the terminal for a day.

May flag din Pilipinas dito, di lang nakuha

Chau Champon Temple

Grabe naman ang sinapit nila

A view of the Bridge & River Kwai

About a minute walk from the museum is the Bridge Over the River Kwai.  It's a bridge made famous by the 1957 Oscar winning film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" by David Lean.  The bridge is part of the Death Railway which stretches over in 250 miles and was completed in just a year.  The railway from Burma to Thailand is given such name because many lives were lost due to unfavorable working conditions during it's construction at the time of World War II.  The bridge is now a tourist attraction, where you can walk on foot, ride a tourist train and where local trains regularly pass through.  The significance of this place is a question of whether you have seen or read about it or not.  To me it's just a plain old bridge with a good backdrop scenery, because admittedly, I've never heard about it before and I don't have any attachment to it because this isn't part of my history.

Tourist train

Floating restaurants below the bridge

Coconut Ice Cream, nice!

The last stop of our tour is Tiger Temple, also known as Wat Pa Luang Bat.  Founded in 1994, it's as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals (mostly tigers) operated by Buddhist monks.  Admission to the temple costs 600 baht for the chance to get real close to these amazing creatures.  More of a zoo than temple, you can have your photo taken right beside an unnaturally tame (drugged?) tiger or play with them in their cages for an additional fee.  You are not allowed to wear bright colors and you will be accompanied by guides who will escort you to the tigers and take your photos using your camera.

To get here from the Kanchanaburi Terminal, take a local bus heading to Sai Yok then tell the driver you are going to Tiger Temple.  You will be dropped off at a place with a signboard indicating entrance to Tiger Temple.  From here it's 1 kilometer away from the main entrance, you can hitchhike with a tour bus going there or walk.  Still want to do-it-yourself in Kanchanaburi?  Didn't think so :D

Now, would you pay that money and waste half a day just for that?  I wish I had just gone to Ayutthaya instead but it already happened and I just roll with it and advise you not to make the mistake I did.  There are better ways to spend your days in Thailand; this just isn't one of them.

Inside Tiger Temple

Tapang no?!

Pay more, get to play with the tigers

It was already late when the van dropped us off at Khao San Road where had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall noodle house near the Tha Arthit pier.  They serve ok tasting noodles (not bad but didn't love it) at very cheap prices, and I think we were the only foreigners dinning.  Afterwards, we took a cab (Ferry Closes 5:30 pm) and headed back to the hotel to rest.

Khao San comes alive at night

Crowds gather at the street performers

The only item on the menu