I hate package tours, package travels, everything that has to do with package. And if someone would have asked me before my trip whether I would consider doing a package tour, I would most certainly have said something along the lines of “rather I would shoot myself in the head” or “never ever”. Now forgive me father, for I have sinned, I did a package tour yesterday and I do not even feel remorse. But let me explain:

I am staying in this beautiful guesthouse in Sangkhlaburi named “P Guesthouse” which also offers tours. I remember checking out there website before coming here and frowning at that offer. Now, after arriving I got my hands on one of their package tour flyers, and I was really impressed. They advertised this tour including a boat cruise to the famous Mon Bridge and the sunken temple of Sangkhlaburi, a 4×4 ride into the jungle, a ride through the river and the jungle on an elephants back and a bamboo raft down the river. Now that is all good, but I am sure its incredibly overpriced, right? 1000 Baht? Including one nights stay in my guesthouse? That is not expensive at all.

I mean, I wanted to stay in this place regardless, so if I deduct 125 Baht which would be the half of my room costs (its a weird calculation) the tour price is no more than 875 Baht, for a 5 hour trip. After researching this package tour online, I found out that everybody was very happy witht his tour, and also I learnt that the elephants that are included are treated well. I have seen an elephant camp when visiting Ayutthaya and I could never spent money there. The elephants get hit, they are kept on very very short chains and only get to walk in the same circles all day long. Its depressing and definitely nothing that I would like to support. But in this tour’s case, it seemed to be different, at least from what participants wrote. So I decided to give it a shot.

Passing through the Mon Bridge

The tour started at 9AM, we got picked up at our guesthouses shore, were given one life vest per person and were told to have a seat in the longboat. The tour led to the Mon Bridge, which was just perfect, as I was trying my best to find nice angles over the course of the past days, without luck. This perspective was just what I wanted, and the cloudy sky was on my side.

We continued  to the sunken temple (Wat Saam Prasob) that I only knew from images. Promising images. In reality it was almost cooler, as we, due to the low water level, had the chance to even walk into the buildings and really explore the area first hand.

The sunken temple

Watchtower close to the old temple

According to Wikitravel, the water level rises in the rainy season, and reaches its peak in September, when only the top 1-2m of the buildings are visible. It would definitely be interesting coming back then, to see it in flooded circumstances.

After that the longboat took us to a shore, very close to Chedi Buddhakhaya where we changed our means of transport and continued inside a 4×4 truck. After leaving Sangkhlaburi we quickly got off the asphalted roads and were driving through jungle, with only very rough “pathways” that the truck had to work through using all its power.

These ways led us to the highlight of the day, the Elephant place. We arrived and already saw an elephant walking through the grass, another one was passing the river and came closer and closer.

First sight of elephants

Elephants simply love their candy (sugar cane)

After a bit of meeting each other we mounted the beautiful giants and off we went. It was shaky, and quite high, and I enjoyed every second of it. At some point our Mahout jumped off the Elephant to do…something…and I had the chance to leave the saddle and sit on the elephants neck, with me feet behind his ears. That was crazy, feeling his skin and also realizing that he would turn his head to the left when softly kicking his right ear with my feet, and vice versa. It was incredible, we crossed the river several times, and the elephants, the weather, the surrounding nature, all this together created a magical atmosphere.

Sitting on the elephants neck

Me on the elephant

First obstacle, the river

After a small lunch (fried rice and water) and a short hike through the river and woods, we arrived at the last destination, the bamboo rafts. After the elephants I did not really care too much about these rafts, they could hardly get more exciting. I was pretty much right, still it was a nice and settle trip down the river. The raft did not accelerate too much and so we had much more time to really take in the nature.

Rafting down the river (in a few seconds)

After this probably hour long rafting experience we arrived back at the place where we mounted the elephants, boarded the 4×4 again and made our way back to the guesthouse. The whole trip lasted 6 hours in the end (1 hour more than promised) and was well worth the money.

I am still not a fan of package tours, but this one is definitely highly recommendable.

Yours

Crazy Ivory

Follow my photos, travel route and stories on the Asia Adventure Page.

After having spent 4 days in Kanchanaburi, where I was swallowed by a Dragon, explored an abandoned Temple and had my dead skin eaten off me by hungry fish, I decided it was time for a location change. Kanchanaburi has a lot of things to offer, but most of them are either quite far away or extremely touristic. Many of them are both.

In order to finally get a bit away from the usual backpacker path, I was recommended Sangkhlaburi, a small town which is surrounded by amazing nature. Its about 230km from Kanchanaburi, only a stones throw away from the burmese border. The bus ride from Kanchanaburi set me back 160 Baht, which is pretty fair considering the 4,5 hour expected travel time. In the end it took me around 6 hours to get there, so it was even cheaper per hour…somehow. The ride was long, the streets were winding up and down the mountains, and the views were spectacular. I did not have much entertainment material with me, so I was very glad to have this little sunshine in the seats before mine, who kept me busy during the ride.

I photographed her throughout the ride, showed her how to use the camera and played hide and seek. The bus ride flew by quickly.

What was also nice was the lottery at a small restaurant, where the bus took a break. For 2 Baht you could choose a lottery ticket, and with the right number you would win some booze or lemonade. I tried it, but wasnt lucky.

Board with lottery tickets

Almost all prices were booze

My (un)lucky number

Then we arrived in Sangkhlaburi.

My guesthouse (one of the few that are there to choose from) is situated only a hundred feet away from the cities lake, and its pretty neat. For 250 Baht I got my own Room with two beds and free wifi. Everything is made from stone which makes the room very noble and clean at the same time. Did I mention there is a freaking lake in front of my bungalow?

My Bungalow

My Room

The Lake

The showers look nice, just like I would imagine the showers in the playboy mansion. However, we only have cold water here, so showering is not as sweet as its there I guess.

My plans for the coming days include visiting the Sai Yok National Park (perhaps with an overnight stay), shooting the famous Mon Bridge (the longest wooden bridge in the whole of Thailand) and hiking through the mountains. I will see which of these things I will be able to tick off my list. And certainly there will be things that I have to include that I am not yet aware of.

So yeah, another place, another adventure. I will let you know how things play out.

Yours

Crazy Ivory

Follow my photos, travel route and stories on the Asia Adventure Page.