Jan 22, 2015 Thursday was quite a day. My Thai pal Siam Jeff took me north for the day to see Phratat Cave, Erawan Waterfall, and the Bridge on the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi. Jeffrey is always joking around so as we headed for the cave he told me it was 600meters up (think yards) and I said really?? never knowing if he is kidding. He pointed at a mountain on the drive up and says, Its at the top of the mountain. I still didnt believe him. We get to the park and pay entry fee then start climbing. I mean it wasnt actually scaling a mountain per se as the park service had built steps like mini switchbacks up the mountain. Still... it was pretty wicked! Some of the steps had maybe 6 inch risers, some 8, some 10!!! and they varied according to the terrain. I picked up a bamboo staff which helped quite a lot. When I was sure I was going to die we came upon a sign indicating we had gone 300 meters of the 600!!!!! OYYYYY I really wasnt sure I wanted to see the cave that badly!!! Jeff was the task master... hes also 15 years younger and not FAT! I managed to make it to the top with a lot of whining but no cheese! It took over an hour to reach the summit. Lazy Brutus stayed in the car and slept the entire time. There was a kid that was the ranger at the cave. He pumped up a Coleman Lantern and heads for the cave. Mind you... I havent done any of this camping/wilderness stuff for a VERY LONG time. SO... the entrance to the cave is NARROW space between two walls. I thought, OMG, Im not going to fit! WELLL... I tried to go in standing and got STUCK! I had to go back out a bit then slouch down and crawl in backwards. If only Jeff had the video rolling... wed be viral by now!!! ROFL Once I got through the rock and a hard place it was EZ PZ. Nicely constructed walkways as Ive seen in other caverns that Ive visited in the US. youtu.be/JSTFAlu2Wvs
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 12:13:21 +0000