Thailand: Sangkhalaburi: Mon Bridge

I learnt about Mon Bridge that located in Sangkhalaburi from Discovery, a photo of foggy Mon Bridge in the early morning. 

The 400m wooden bridge is the longest handmade wooden bridge in Thailand, it is also the second longest wooden bridge in the world.

However, a storm destroyed a section of the bridge in July 2013, a few months before our departure to the place. We only got to see the broken wooden bridge in December, but it was still a charming place. 

I wouldn't say much in this post, just scroll down for the breathtaking bridge's photos in one fogging morning that John took. 

I must say, John is a talented photographer, if you appreciate his skills and would like to use his photos, don't steal it, contact me or credit him. Every freelance photographer not all need money, but respect and encouragement.  

Here you go!

Always, shot without my notice. 5am in the morning. 

wooden bridge broke in the middle, villagers built a temporary bamboo bridge just beside Mon Bridge. 

and there, started to be foggy

thicker fog 

one of my favorite. 

For this scene, we would go thru the 6 hours train ride and 4 hours bus ride again.

same angle, different atmosphere. 

The man behind all these beautiful photos. 

Sun was rising. 7am. 

but still foggy

peace, and lovely.

my favorite in the whole album. 

my personal photographer. 

beautiful bridge lamp

and there, the broken section. 

where we enjoyed our morning tea and overlook the bridge. 

reflection.

kids and dog.

village dog.

Sun still shined with thick fog. Taken in Samprasob Resort, the best spot to take bridge and sunrise. 

last but not least, us. Another place we had been.

Next will be a little bit of Mon Bridge in day time and sunken temple.

Target to update - Hopefully within this month. Well, hopefully. 

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!






Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
20150517, 1000
Rach in yeah Sunday! mood.

Thailand: Sangkhalaburi: How to go and Samprasob Resort Review

Ok i know it might be the longest post delay that i ever had. 

April was crazy, new company is having a big project and it is still going on. I know busy working is a lame excuse but unfortunately this is the truth :(

Alright so after a night-stay in floating hotel at River Kwai, we went to Sangkhalaburi in the next day.

There are only two buses per day from Nam Tok station to Sangkhalaburi (as in Dec 2013) - 930am and 130pm.

We bought two 930am bus tickets via hotel. The host sent us to bus station (which is 5 minutes driving distance) after our breakfast.

That was four hours ride, road condition is good although very narrow (well we had seen the worse one, in Nepal). Bus condition was pretty good, new and fresh. We were the only two foreigners in the bus, the rest were either from Myanmar or local.

Before scroll down for photos, just to let you know this gonna be a short post + Sangkhalaburi's hotel review. The main attractions of Sangkhalaburi will be in next post. (Trust me, i'll try my best to update as soon as i can)   

the bus from Nam Tok station to Sangkhalaburi, new and clean

As you can see. 

4 hours ride wasn't bored at all with these beautiful scenery. 

Finally, the bus stop of Sangkhalaburi, just in front of a local grocery shop. Almost the most un-obvious stop that i had seen in Thailand. 

Sangkhalaburi is a very very small town (well it is bigger than Nam Tok though), there are only four commercial streets to serve a few surrounded villages.

This is definitely not some travel destination hotspot that you can see China Chinese everywhere, but volunteers from different countries and local tourists.

If you want to visit this place, do not expect it has variety choices of eatery, massage center, shopping place or tuk tuk everywhere. All Sangkhalaburi offers are peaceful, purity and wonderful view.

For Sangkhalaburi, we had chosen to Samprasob Resort as our stop for 3 nights.

Although there are a few cheap but nice backpacker around, but this is the only one on the peak of hill which can overlook the wooden bridge - Mon Bridge that i dreamed for a visit in the past few years.

Well as i said, i will keep more Mon Bridge for the next post.

Samprasob Resort is one of the most established accommodation in the area (I believe it is the most actually). It was built on the top of a hill where you can overlook Mon Bridge and cool breeze (FYI Sangkhalaburi has winter and Dec is winter time)

It is 5 to 10 minutes away from the main streets where the bus station were, but do take note that it was mostly a uphill road. It is walkable but you better fit enough. Alternatively, call to the resort and they will send someone to pick up for free, like what we did.

Right after we checked-in, John paid for hotel staff to rent him a motorbike, If not mistaken, it was 300bath per day. Trust me, motorbike in Sangkhalaburi is very important (if you dont know how to ride one, rent a scooter and learn, you dont need to present driving license to rent one)

Red for bus station, green for resort. 

                                          

A short clip taken from the main lobby of the hotel

Mon Bridge view. 

Our room was right in front of the refreshing swimming pool

This is the view. 

                                      

 Short clip to show room condition

Samprasob Resort has rooms in main building and individual cottages. I had booked cottage but was assigned to room in building (well thats always happen in Thai), we took it anyway as the view is spectacular. 

Some review said the room is overpriced from the hotel condition, to be honest i do think the hotel condition is good, room is basic but yea, not cleaning everyday, not sure if we asked for no disturb in the first day and the cleaner thought for the next two days also. 

But she sent new toilet roll, water and fresh towels everyday anyway.

Overall i'm happy with the hotel.

Why i would stay here again?

1. Amazing and exclusive view on the lake and bridge.
2. Refreshing swimming pool.
3. Spacious room.

Why i wouldn't stay here again? 
1. Room was basic, bed is too small for big guy like John.
2. Price (well its not very expensive but there are some other cheaper choice)
3. Awful food (we had dinner once and never go back but buffet breakfast was ok though)
4. Very difficult to communicate (Speak very very limited English)

For more information, just go to the office website as stated below, very comprehensive.

I made the booking via Agoda, not sure if anyone reply if you email them directly (well i had never gotten reply from them on my pick up request).

Samprosob Resort
122 Moo3 Nongloo,
Sangkhalaburi, Kanchanaburi
71240 Thailand
Tel: (034)595-050, (085)811-8711
Fax: (034)595-205
Email: samprasobresort@gmail.com
Website: www.samprasob.com/en/

Alright finally one off! Next will be Mon Bridge!


Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
20150504, 0508pm
Rach in Monday blue mood.

Thailand: Kanchanaburi: Boutique Raft River Kwai Hotel Review

My new job was started a month ago and that's the reason why my time was pretty occupied in familiar myself in new environment and job scope.

Everything seems getting better so i got more time to update my blog, which delayed like a year and 3 months hahahahahaha.

Alright so this is a hotel review, but this is not an ordinary hotel, but hotel on the river.

If you read my introduction of Sangkhalaburi post, you might found weird why i'd stop over Nam Tok, which is the last station of dead railway but not Kanchanaburi, the more developed town.

This hotel was the one of the reason.

I came across floating hotel in Thailand while researching the route, and as soon as i found the hotel, Boutique Raft River Kwai Hotel, i decided to stop over and experience the floating hotel almost immediately.

Boutique Raft River Kwai Hotel is not the only floating hotel along the River Kwai, yet this is the most affordable one, which cost use around RM250 (breakfast included) anyway, but well, experience is priceless.

So where is the hotel located? 

about 49 minutes driving distance from the Kanchanaburi, but just 5 to 10 minutes away from Nam Tok railway station. 

There are only 2 trains per day from Bangkok to Nam Tok station, aka the last stop of the route. I'm not sure the availability of pick up in Kanchanaburi station (well i read some comment and said it does), but free pick up is available from Nam Tok station to the hotel.

Our train reached slightly late than scheduled, about 2pm, and no one from the hotel welcoming us but some blood sucking taxi drivers, they ask for 200 bath to transport us to hotel. 

I just walked away to the small food stall and asked if the owner could help us to call the hotel, in return we bought 2 bottle of beverage which only cost us less than 50bath. 

The hotel jeep reaching in 10 minutes and guess what, the hotel is just 5 minutes away from the station, i think it is walkable thought. 

Check in was slow but we don't really mind, because the beautiful and peaceful surrounding caught our attention.

The hotel is pretty isolated, and Nam Tok is not really a town but small stop which famous with a few beautiful waterfalls nearby, people usually came here for day trip.

We had no plan to visit any waterfalls but just relax and enjoy the hotel after 6 hours train ride. 

the key and details of the hotel. 

not river, but a lovely garden!

well maintaining garden. 

view from the garden, we don't think the canopy is open though.  

room view from the river swimming pool 

Yes you see it right, there is a river swimming pool in this hotel.

Basically it just a floating platform with net underneath, it is safe to swim it although the river is moving really fast, especially when boats passing by (yes boat passing by so dont you swim in the free area).

River is chill and refreshing, but the cleanliness is questionable, i felt (yes felt, because the visibility was so bad) some bamboo, twigs, leaf and hmmm... probably water bottles clogged outside the net. But yea, i didn't felt stickiness after swam, so i suppose the cleanliness is not so bad.   

The unique and environment friendly swimming pool. 

And this is the how the rooms look like from the outside. 

You are wrong if you think the room conditions is basic, this hotel is a 4 star hotel (according to agoda) and room is really really cozy and comfortable. 

I'm not sure how many rooms in the building, but not more than 10 floating rooms in this hotel, every room come with big balcony which connected by a raft on the river, clean and comfy big beds, air-con, fridge and spacious bathroom. 

If you opt for the honeymoon suite, you can even enjoy private river pool in your room area.  

if you wonder how to moor the floating room, this is the way.

This is our room! super nice right!

This is our balcony view!

\

amazing sunset on the river. 

A short clip of our room.

We had a very good sleep in the night, the weather was chill and i can never forget the scenery i saw in the next morning, the river was calm and foggy, with bird singing and soft sunlight. I tried to dig out the photo but i really really cannot find it. 

Well, as i always said, if you wanna see more, go travel! =) 

Alright so next morning, we had our breakfast in the beautiful dining area. 

second floor of the mail building, amazing view. 

but breakfast hmmm.. well is pretty basic but i'm happy with the view. 

Last but not least, us =)

The hotel sent us to bus station after breakfast, to catch the only daily bus to Sangkhalaburi, so to be continued in next post!

If you couldn't find your answer in the above information, i guess might want to know....

Worth what i paid? 
In experience wise, yes it is.
If you just want to stay in Nam Tok, please keep in mind that Nam Tok is not even a town, unless you have your own transport or it is very inconvenience to eat or explore.
But yea, hotel provide some day trip packaging.

Will you go back? 
No, as i said, i just want to experience.
Hotel and staff are fine, food is bad, location (convenience-wise) is even worse. But the environment is superb.
If i travel with car in the future and the can get better deal in this hotel, maybe yes.

What is your suggestion if i want to stay to experience?
Day 1: Bangkok to Kanchanaburi by train or mini van, very frequent.
Day 2: Stay a night in Kanchanaburi to explore dead railway, hell fire pass and etc
Day 3: Check out and check in to floating hotel for a night (check if pick up available, or you can rent a mini van from Kanchanaburi)
Day 4: Check out and take mini van back to Bangkok.

Alright i hope that help, just leave your comment if you have further question!

Boutique Raft River Kwai Hotel 
103 Moo 3, T.Tha-sao, A.
Sai-yok, Sai Yok, Sai Yok (Kanchanaburi)
Thailand 71150
Website: http://www.boutiqueraft-riverkwai.com/main.html

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
220315, 1026pm
Rach in hating Monday mood.

Thailand: The Introduction of Death Railway

The reason of taking the southern line train from Bangkok to Nam Tok was the old train itself.

Although Thailand is the only country in SEA that was never colonized, but during WWII, Thailand was the state that every countries wanted to occupy because of its strategic location.

And that's one of the reason why Japan decided to construct a railway which 415km long, through jungle and mountain from Thailand to Burma. 

The railway now named Death Railway, because 310,000 of prisoners of war (POW) were scarified in building of the railway in very short period, like in one year. 

And I never knew such a place existing in the country of smile, Thailand. 

So i gave up other faster transportation options, and took the old historical train and the well-known Death Railway. 

Train from Bangkok to Nam Tok takes 6 hours, condition is old and simple, if you love train trip you will appreciate old train like this, i believe this is very rare around the world. 

Alright this post will be focusing on how to take the train and some introduction of the train, just give you a brief idea before the post of floating hotel on River Kwai. 

So how to take old train to Death Railway?

1. Take cab to Thon Buri Train Sation (not Thon Buri MRT!!), Bangkok
2. Buy ticket (no pre-booking, but plenty of tix so no worry) and hop on the train, enjoy!    

Thon Buri Railway Station is not Hua Lamphong Railway Station. 

This is the train schedule

We took 7.50am and est reaching by 12.35nn (but we reached after 1pm)

This is the train tix, dirt cheap, 100bath for 6 hours ride. 

short clip on the station.

Train in Thailand is never on time but we enjoyed the scenery of the station very much. 

old piece in the station

train is here but wasn't ours

we were asking around to confirm if we were on the right train.  

train condition is old but clean. 

greenery all the way. 

yea no air-con, not even fan nor window, so you can enjoy the natural breeze. 

love this the most

Short clip so you have better idea. 

I love train trip because you have more time being alone, and riding a train make you feel more like travelling compare to bus or mini van.

I enjoyed the train trip very much, seeing environment around you changing from concrete building to paddy field and blue sky made me smiled along the trip. 

Oh did i tell you we had our brunch on the train too? This is an interesting experience for me, i only had (and knew) Taiwan is famous with train bento (台铁便当) but never knew Thailand railway has bento too (泰铁便当).  

not much choice but every single of it are the best local taste!

some hawker hopping on the train and get off in next station, some stay on the station and wait for next train. 

and i got the yummiest Mocha milk tea :D 

The highlight of the railway the mountain edge part, imagine how POWs hanging themselves on the edge just to construct the railway for the convenience of Japanese military. 

I will post more photos in another post, now scroll down for some peak shot first. 

and we were entering into most dangerous part, railway on the edge.

left is rock mountain, and right is the edge.

taken on the opposite so now you see how amazing is the railway. 

amazing, aint?

Alright i got to go! Next post will be floating hotel review weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

20150227, 0929pm
Rach in goin to yum cha mood.