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Day Three: We headed up to the jungle, six hours travelling to get there! We stopped along the way to see the POW Cemetery which was a very moving experience. We also walked across the famous bridge over the river Kwai. We got to our accommodation for the night which seemed a far cry from luxurious.
Day Four: Travelled in the back of a truck to the bottom of a very big mountain, this is where the real hard work began! Started our ascent up the mountain through the jungle. It was soon time to get our torches out to crawl through a cave and meet the bats!! Half way up we stopped for lunch, Thai rice wrapped in banana leaves, this was a welcome break in the shade of the trees. We were all exhausted from the steep climb and covered in mud and sweat...we were only half way! After hours more of climbing we arrived at camp where our first challenge was to wash in a cold fast flowing river before it got dark.
Day Five: After an uncomfortable and noisy night we were awoken early by our guides throwing stones at the roof (not impressed!). After breakfast - bread toasted on a fire, we had to load our rucksacks and ourselves onto carts pulled by oxen. After a short journey, thankfully, we began our days trek. Although this day we trekked along the flat it was an incredibly hard journey as we were climbing along river banks and wading through rivers. We made a stop in a village of Burmese refugees, where we took supplies of warm clothes and blankets. We finished the day with a cold wash in the river and as we sat around a bonfire our thoughts were back home wondering what all our friends and family were doing for Bonfire Night.
Day Six: After another uncomfortable and noisy night we got dressed in wet clothes ready for another days trek. We set off from camp and although it was early it was already extremely hot. We trekked through a rubber plantation and then our thai guides decided to take us on a 'short' cut! This involved climbing up and down steep river banks with our guides using their machetes to cut out a path through the thick vegetation. Joanne's biggest challenge was to walk under a massive cobweb with a huge spider sat in the middle - thank goodness she had her hat on! By the end of it we were thoroughly fed up of walking. We rafted down the river and stopped at huts along the riverside for lunch. After lunch we got in our truck and travelled to the Burmese border known as Three Pagoda's Pass and then back to our accomodation from Day Three which now seemed like a Five Star hotel!
Day Seven: Up early this morning to pack our bags to get ready to travel further up. We had a boat ride around the man made waterways and arrived at a Buddhist temple. It felt a very spiritual and peaceful place. We had time to do a quick shop in the local market before we trekked back through a refugee village. Again this really made us think about how lucky we are to live in homes with clean running water. We walked across the longest bridge in Thailand which also happens to be across the river Kwai. It certainly felt like a very long bridge, luckily a cold drink was waiting for us at the other end! We travelled on this evening around the winding roads to the next part of our adventure.
Day Eight: After spending the night in little chalets and eating vietnamese food we got ready for the next part of our trek. After a long journey on an open sided bus down a very dusty track we arrived in the middle of the jungle! We trekked up and along the off the beaten track part of the Death Railway, three hours later we reached the tidy tourist bit looking the worse for wear. It was a very humbling experience as no matter how tired we were from walking the POW who constructed the railway had to walk this distance and more and work for 16 hours a day with little food or clothes. After lunch we were off to the shore of the river Kwai to get in our canoes. Although we never fell out of our canoes, with all the splashing going on we were all soaked! It was also the point at which we found out who worked well together. Sarah and I made a good team!
Day Nine: At the end of day eight we arrived at our night's accomodation by crossing the river on a rafts pulled along by a boat. We did have a good night's sleep as we were all shattered from the canoeing! This morning we had to cross back over the river and went to the elephant sanctuary. Here we rode on elephants. It was an amazing experience, meeting the elephants, we even got chance to sit on her neck where her 'mahoot' or master sits. Our elephant named Gin de La had an attitude, she decided quite early on that she didn't want to walk in the river like the other elephants so she simply turned around and walked out! After our elephant ride we had to put our life jackets on and get canoeing again! Today we saw Kingfisher's flying alongside us. We also realised that no matter how much training in the gym we had done, canoeing is really hard work!
Day Ten: After spending the night back in Bangkok where we started, we spent the morning zooming around on tuktuks and visiting the sights: The Grand Palace, The Emerald Buddha and the Reclining Buddha. We then visited the ChakutChak market which is supposed to be the largest market in the world! We could believe it! We got totally lost, it was an absolute maze of stalls selling everything and anything! We did manage to get back to our hotel ready for our last meal together before travelling to the airport to go home.
Day Eleven: After twelve hours on the plane, two hours at the airport and five hours on the coach we finally arrived back in Plymouth. We have to confess that the first thing we did when we touched down in the UK was to go to Marks and Spencers and buy cheese sandwiches and crisps!
For more pictures see Jeremiah's Jungle Journey
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