XML FeedsErawan & Sai Yok Noi, Kanchanaburi. On the Beaten Track, Part 2
By Paul Wilding 
Thursday 25th February, 2010 | 464 words | Category: General | 7 feedbacks »
Erawan
Erawan National Park
Often more resembling a bank holiday weekend at the public swimming pool than a tranquil beauty spot, Erawan is still one of most stunning places in Thailand. Each of the seven tiers of the waterfall are quite swimmable, complete with carnivorous fish, cooling turquoise colour waters and thronging masses of local sightseers. Avoiding going there on a bank holiday or weekend can be a good strategy.
The waterfall itself is well worth dedicating a whole day to, each tier of the waterfall is impressive in its own right and completely different giving the experience of seeing 7 waterfalls in a day. Roughly its a couple of hours walk to the top and back down plus stopping time.
Erawan
Plan to spend a day here as you have a dip in each of the tiers, Som Tum shops are thoughtfully placed at convenient pits stops to fulfil all your culinary needs or bring a picnic.
Getting here is easy as a bus goes every hour from Kanchanaburi bus station and takes 40 mins. If you leave around 5-6pm just hitch a ride back to town on top of one of the numerous pickups you see leaving as the park exodus occurs. Entrance to the Park is B200 for adults and B100 for children.
Erawan
NamTok
If you got drunk enough on your way to Kanchanaburi and missed your train stop, you would have had the serendipity to end up here. Located in just about the most convenient place of any waterfall in the whole history of the world, a 2 min walk from the train station slap bang in the middle of a tiny custom built park, Sai Yok Noi can be an impressive waterfall. Impressive is always a relative word when visiting Thai waterfalls as seasons come into play. In the hot season Thai waterfalls tend to dry up to a trickle but in the wet season become mini Niagaras.
The ‘Noi’ in Sai Yok means ‘little’. A few kilometres away and much harder to get to is Sai Yok Yai, ‘Yai’ meaning ‘large’. Don’t let this fool you as ‘Noi is the more impressive of the two and strangely much larger. Never really got that, then again the big guy in Robin Hood is called Little John, so perhaps it all makes sense somewhere.
Sai Yok Noi is located at Nam Tok, which means waterfall, and is the next station along from Kanchanaburi. It is best visited on the way back to Bangkok, picking up the train there instead of from Kanchanaburi. Nam Tok can be reached by local bus from the Kanchanaburi bus station. Get there an hour or so before the train departs and have the most scenic wait for a train of your life.
Sai Yok Noi
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7 comments
last year, food was prohibited beyond level 2. all bags were searched and food was taken away. water bottles could only be taken after paying a deposit.
> Getting here is easy as a bus goes every hour from Kanchanaburi bus station and takes 40 mins
it was more like 5 mins short of 2 hours. I remember because I only had 4 hours before catching the last bus back at 4.
> Sai Yok Noi is located at Nam Tok, which means waterfall, and is the next station along from Kanchanaburi. It is best visited on the way back to Bangkok, picking up the train there instead of from Kanchanaburi.
If I had not been there, from your description I would think it is between Kanchanaburi and Bangkok. I have been so I can read the location the way you intend, but it is confusing. It is 2 hours away from Kanchanaburi, even though it is the next train stop. though I remember seeing small stops along the way that are not in the timetable.
I like your photos.
I posted a blog about Erawan a year ago here at thai-blogs:
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php/2009/05/03/erawan-waterfalls-in-kanchanaburi?blog=27
You need to re-read the first sentence. Due to train schedules going on to Namtok from Bangkok is not a sensible thing to do.
"last year, food was prohibited beyond level 2."
The park hasn't allowed food or drink past tier two since the first time I went there eighteen years ago, so I'm not surprised they stopped you a year ago, next time you could try one of the designated picnic areas, there are several.
The local bus may be slower than the Songtaew, which was pretty quick. So was the hitched lift back. If so better to avoid the a bus.
all the somtam stalls etc are well OUTSIDE. there was no food inside last year. so the point about well-placed food stall stops does not stand up. I was not complaining about not being able to take food to the upper levels, I did not have any food with me apart from fruits, which were ok, but I saw what happened to others. I was merely stating something important that is essential for planning the day out there. you won't find a somtam stall at level 7 after a tiring 1-hour climb, and no water for sale either. this calls for planning ahead.
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| « Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi. On the Beaten Track, Part 3 | Bridge on the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi. On the Beaten Track, Part 1 » |
First arriving in LOS in 1991 and returning to live in Thailand and Lao a few years later. I Spent much of the nineties & noughties photographing the country and teaching the locals English and cynicism in equal measure.
