25.01 Day 10 Erawan
Day 10 - Thu 25th Jan - Erawan Waterfalls
At dinner the night before I’d asked about breakfast, having taken a little stroll earlier to see what was about at the top of the road - nothing, and via google translate we were offered egg and bread for 50 baht. So it was pleasantly surprising to see a small spread of toast with jams, coffee, juice and water out prepared for us in the morning, and then served up a baked eggs with sausage, carrot, mince, spring onion.
This sets us up for the day ahead visiting Erawan Waterfalls. To get there, we need to stand at the top of the drive and flag down the bus when it passes, with only knowledge of when it was supposed to leave Kanchanaburi. In the end we wait 20 minutes before it chugs around the corner at 9:20 and we hop on.
Prime seats at the front, albeit sitting sideways against the window facing the driver. Today’s transport, although it looks the same from outside as yesterday’s bus, seems to be closer in relation to a tractor. The driver turns the steering from left to right like a 1960’s Hollywood car to keep the bus straight on the road. It’s condition is such that rumble strips on the road are avoided by passing to the other side - I presume more because he’s worried about the engine falling out as opposed to his concern for the comfort of his passengers.
After 20 minutes we arrive at Erawan National Park and pay our tourist fee of 300 / 150 baht (adult / child, $14 / $7) to the Forest Ranger and are deposited by the start of the waterfall trail. It's a huge car park barely full at this time of the morning, the tour buses out of Kanchanaburi will arrive later. Various maps show the route of 2,000 metres one way from bottom to the top, with the first waterfall after 500 metres and spread evenly after.
We march up the pavement and arrive alongside running water bigger-than-a-stream-but-smaller-than-a-river. It’s a long series of drops from 10 cm to 10 metres surrounded on all sides by thick forest, with occasional monkey scouting for unattended bags to raid for food. The slowly ever moving limestone rock and sediment dripping from waterfall lips creates an almost unnatural look. Combined with the oh so blue water it almost feels as though it's been built by people based upon what they think nature should look like.
The first waterfall is more a series of babbling brooks under dappled sunlight. After this we collect life-jackets - “no life-jacket, no swim” - the sight of illuminous orange and yellow blobs in this environment is definitely man made.
Level 2 is where we first dip our feet in. And then very quickly extract them. Not for the cold, but for the hundreds of fish lying in wait who attach themselves to your skin with very light suction. It doesn’t hurt in any way, it tickles and its initially unnerving enough to make it tricky to hold your feet under water.
We take the plunge though and float off towards the base of the waterfall, the only ones in this pool. The nibbling fish are only interested in stationary limbs so congregate at the edge. We’re ignored then paddling around under the waterfall enjoying the serenity and madness of it all.
After some snacks and then declaring our water bottles - each bottle and lid is numbered with permanent marker by a ranger and you leave a 20 baht deposit for each bottle, refunded on your way down on producing the same bottle and it being cross checked against the handwritten register - simple but effective.
We opt to head straight-ish to the top from here with a plan to visit each of our favoured pools on the way back down. Though that doesn’t stop Sienna from trying to catch a fish, unsuccessfully, in her hand for 5 minutes at level 3. After level 3, the pavement ceases and becomes more of a trail as well as getting very steep in places. There is a further detour on level 6 which Sienna likes because of the boardwalk which allows you to dangle your feet into the water below for more dead skin eating.
Finally we emerge victorious at level 7 where we do hop straight in the water (now without life jackets) for a well deserved soak. Seb particularly enjoying the small loop you can take behind the waterfall in a low cave. Even though we’re officially at the top and the end of the trail, this has the tallest waterfall extending much further up into the valley.
And still there are skin sucking fish - how do they get into every pool? Do the forest rangers drop eggs at the top every year and they gradually fall down? After arriving at the base at 9:30am it's now 1:00pm which means we only have 3 more buses to possibly catch for the remainder of the day.
We head back down, in the end only stopping for another swim at level 3, one of the larger pools and although there far more people milling about, plenty are just here for the walk and the views and the photos so the pool itself only contains a handful of people, and we’re the only ones reenacting shampoo adverts under the waterfall.
And with that we troop back for a bus leaving at 3:00pm filled with other happy satisfied tired trekkers. Both kids did really well on the walk getting all the way to the top and back.
We alight, only somewhat smugly, after just 20 minutes at Chateau de Erawan and meet the mum at the top of the drive on her motorbike. The ever popular Seb - on the walk today for example, locals occasionally patted his head or squeezed his bare arms - is offered a lift down the drive on the motorbike. Without hesitation, he’s on, leaving us in his wake.
After the day’s exertion it's a surprise that Sienna asks to go out in the kayak again, but she and I and potter to the other side of the river and back, also practising 360 degree spins.
Dinner is up on dry land again, and as usual, Sienna is tasked, as she is at most meals with reciting Mai pet - no spice. But sometimes like tonight, you’re left wondering what would have happened if you hadn’t asked for no spice as this was already on the cusp of enjoyment vs struggle. After some more card games it's off to bed for a well earned rest.