bangkok exodos

i'm well aware that i didn't write anything about my time in bangkok. this has just about as much to do with my laziness as my distaste for bangkok. don't get me wrong, it was definitely an experience and in no way was it all bad. but one can only take so much of taxi drivers taking you to completely different places halfway across the city in their own interest. or of constant harassment by "helpful" locals. (i just want to walk around..is that not alright?) or of having crappy souvenirs shoved in your face while your trying to eat or have a drink.
so i gave it a shot, and bangkok was not for me. i can see why meatheads, douchbags, and just generally those looking more for a party than a genuine experience would be content to remain on kho sahn road and drink themselves to oblivion. but that's not why i came here.
so i grabbed a train to the small city of kanchanaburi in the province of the same name. i made it to the train station only spending about 7 baht. just for a reference, one canadian dollar is worth roughly 30 thai baht.
after waiting an hour i boarded the train, and was delighted to find myself to be the only foreign face aboard. the trip afforded me my first view of the thai countryside. which was not at all what i expected. most of the way was completely flat and was peppered with little villages that consisted of nothing more than a series of shacks and shantys. all of which were made with corugated steel siding. it seems to me that the living conditions of the average thai family is rather slummy. however, nearly all of these shacks had either a fleet of motorcycles or one or two expensive cars under protective sheets parked next to them. so it can be ruled out that they live in poverty.
i suppose in a climate such as this one, one does not require much of a home.
it also seems that thais are always burning something. every two or three minutes the train would pass through a thick column of greasy smoke, usually originating from a fire started on the opposite track, or just inside a group of shacks.
about 20 minutes away from our destination the train stopped and stayed that way for about a half an hour. the heat was vicious, i stepped outside to try and escape it, but there was no respite. while i was outside a few thai girls from the next car waved at me "hello you!" they said nearly in chorus. when i waved back they started giggling amongst themselves...thai girls love the beard.
shortly after the train began to move, and we entered into an area that much more resembled the thai countryside that i had imagined. rolling green hills with rice patties occupying the valleys between them with people stooped over throughout them, working.
a rail worker walking the length of the car stopped when he saw me.
"where you go?" he asked me.
"kanchanaburi."
"you get off. next stop. five minutes."
I had already studied a map of the town, and had decided that the backpackers district was within walking distance. upon leaving the station i only had to wave off one tuk tuk driver, and he wasn't very persistent.
an improvement already.
i got a little lost, and after realizing that the street lined with scooter dealerships and garages was not where i wanted to be, i turned around and found my guesthouse fairly quickly.
i wish i could properly express how beautiful this place was. right on the river, the opposite bank all rich green foliage with a background of green mountains. the rooms were all huts made from bamboo and grass roofs. there were even a few more expensive rooms on floating barges off the river bank. the restaurant hung over the side of the bank, basically on posts, and from the bamboo tables was the best view of the river kwai, and at night you could sit and watch the thunder storms roll in from the horizon.
i should also mention that this city had some significance durring WWII, and there's a fantastic museum dedicated to all the POW's who were worked to death to construct a railway through to burma and the infamous bridge on the river kwai (nicknamed death railway). the Japanese army had hoped to expand the war into burma and india, and this was how they attempted to accomplish that.
i've now spent two days exploring the museums, and the countryside aboard a rented moped. but i'll have to come back later in my trip, because soon i have bigger fish to fry. mainly the northern thai border and laos. tomorrow will be my last day and i have a large dillema.
do i go to see the gorgeous seven tierd erwan waterfalls. or do i go to the tiger temple where they let you pet full grown tigers and play with tiger cubs. either way i'll have to come back for whichever i don't do tomorrow. i love cats, but i also really fancy a swim.
shit.