I was invited to join the '2 Nights 3 Days Amazing Kanchanaburi' activity from Pantip. I didn't know much about it, but I agreed to go as I'm easily persuaded. If they were trying to trick me into going to sell me, they would have succeeded (but I probably wouldn't sell well). I later found out that the Tourism Authority of Thailand was co-organizing this event, and they chose me to go see the natural wonders of caves and waterfalls. This was perfect for me, as I love hiking and visiting national parks. Plus, there were some places I had never even heard of before. I'm sure I'll see Kanchanaburi in a whole new light during this activity.

**The trip took place on July 16-18, 2016, and I did not pay any expenses myself.
***The photos in this post were taken with an iPhone 6 & SE and a Sony a5000 + 35f1.8. I used the LR application to edit the photos slightly.

You can see pictures of this activity by following these hashtags:
#TATPantip #TravelAroundThailandWithPantip #UniqueThaiTravelExperience

The first day will be an introduction to the tourist attractions of Kanchanaburi province and a workshop on photography and writing reviews. We really enjoyed this activity and will use what we learned to improve our writing reviews. ^^

The evening buffet was set up by the Kwai Yai River with a beautiful atmosphere. There was live music and lots of prizes to be won. What impressed me most was that this meal brought people I knew from social media, people whose work I follow, together in the real world. Even though it was only a short time, it was a special opportunity for people who like the same things to talk to each other. The night ended with a feeling of satisfaction.

We slept at the Felix River Kwai Resort. The room was beautiful and very spacious.
Usually we sleep in tents, homestays, or hostels, so sleeping in a beautiful room like this made it hard to sleep.

Amenities

Back of the room

On the second morning of the trip, we had to go our separate ways. The guide from the young tour group greeted us at breakfast. When he found out that we were going on route 3, he told us to eat a lot, or we would run out of energy before we reached our destination. Hmmm... Are we going to the Twilight Zone???
Oh... I forgot to mention that besides our team from Pantip and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, we also had a lovely guide from the young tour group. Our trip to Kanchanaburi was informative and convenient thanks to the guide who accompanied us throughout the trip.
We had a heavy breakfast as the guide suggested, fearing that we wouldn't be full. We ordered another plate of rice each, worried that we wouldn't be able to reach our destination because we were too full.

The first place is Tham Thara Lod Cave, Chalermphrakiet National Park.

Travel
From Kanchanaburi Bus Terminal, take the Bor Ploy - Nong Prue bus, route number 325.
Buses depart from the bus terminal from 06:15 to 15:30. In the morning, buses depart every hour. After noon, buses depart every 30 minutes.
The closest point on the bus route to Tham Than Lot is the intersection of Tha Lam Yai. There are three buses per day that stop there: 08:15, 12:00, and 14:00. These three buses will wait for passengers at Nong Prue for about 1 hour before continuing to Tha Lam Yai. Once you get off the bus at Tha Lam Yai, you will need to walk another 2 km to reach Tham Than Lot (there are no taxis available).
If you don't want to wait another hour, you can take a motorcycle taxi from Nong Prue Market to Tham Than Lot (distance is about 18 km).
***Thank you for the travel information from the TAT Kanchanaburi Office.***

The nature trail is 2.5 kilometers long (round trip about 5 kilometers). This trail will allow you to see the beauty of Tham Than Lod Noi, Trai Trueng Waterfall, and Tham Than Lod Yai. Recommendations for walking are: bring drinking water, wear tight shoes, walk only on the designated paths, and do not litter, write, or do anything that damages or disturbs nature. However, for this nature walk, we will walk to Wat Pa Than Lod Yai (a little further than Tham Than Lod Yai) because the team's car is parked at the temple, so we don't have to walk back. Easy going.

Not long after leaving the starting point, we arrived at Tham Than Lot Noi. The walkway was very comfortable and well-lit. The air in the cave was cool, and a stream flowed through it, so we could hear the sound of water flowing all the time we were inside. I didn't take many photos because the light was dim, and most of them are blurry because I was walking and taking photos at the same time.

The animals found inside the cave include the Giant-faced Bat.

The Asian toad, also known as the dog-faced toad or the water dog, is a species of toad found in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its warty skin and its loud, dog-like bark.

The binturong is a symbol on the emblem of the Chalerm Rattanakosin National Park.

Dazzling stalactites and stalagmites, a beautiful creation of nature.

At some points, we can see shimmering stalactites.

Tham Than Lot Noi is 300 meters long. It doesn't take long to walk through to the other side of the cave. From this point, it is another 2.5 kilometers to Tham Than Lot Yai.

After walking until I was sweating, I came across a distance marker. Hmm... I've only walked 200 meters so far.

Please capture more photos of the person wearing a purple hat with a bow. It's my younger sister, and it's her first time hiking, so she's been leading the way the whole time.

This nature walk taught me that "luk jark" and "luk chit" are not the same tree. The picture shows a "luk chit" tree.

This area also has champignons. If the forest is more humid, you will find more of them.

Reaching a small waterfall is a warning sign that the path ahead will no longer be flat. The uphill path that the park has provided is easy to walk on, but! Not comfortable at all! With the steepness and continuity of the steps, plus the heat at noon, as I mentioned earlier, 'water' is very important.
How steep it is, see for yourself!!!

The exhaustion was evident in his face and eyes. We told him to walk slowly, but he said, "Go ahead without me."

We took a break at Trai Trueng Waterfall. Actually, we had been taking breaks all along the way. There wasn't much water yet.

Don't think the hard work ends here! There's still a steep climb ahead.

We finally arrived at the viewpoint, where we took a final break before reaching the Tham Than Lot Yai cave.

From here on, it's a downhill and flat path, so you won't need to exert much effort. However, you might need to adjust your body a little after the steep climb. Walking on flat ground can make your legs shake.

Before reaching the large Tham Talot cave, we met a family walking in the opposite direction. There were four of them, including an uncle, an aunt, and two children. As we passed each other, the uncle and aunt said,
'Little girl, don't go any further, it's tiring.'
I paused for 3 seconds and then replied, 'It's just as tiring to walk back, you know.'
We all laughed. The uncle encouraged us with another sentence, 'Keep going, it's beautiful ahead.'
We overheard them challenging each other in the family, 'Whoever reaches the end last gets to buy dinner.' It was a lovely moment along the way.

The Tham Than Lot Yai Cave lives up to its name, being truly grand. It's a large, open chamber with a massive skylight in the center. My lens couldn't capture its entirety, and even phone photos don't do it justice. Nature truly intended for this to be experienced firsthand.

The cave contains Buddha statues, some of which are carved from wood, according to Mr. Somkwai.

This place is sometimes used by wandering monks to pitch their tents and stay. The long rows of stones are what Brother Somkhon calls a walking meditation path.

Inside the Tham Thara Lod Yai cave, burial pits and skeletons of ancient humans have been found. If you look closely, you will see fragments of tools and utensils in the cave area.

After exiting Tham Talot Yai Cave, we continued on a smooth path for a short distance before coming across Wat Pa Tham Talot Yai. We had our lunch here, which consisted of simple rice wraps.

The TAT staff treated us to ice cream. After a tiring walk, it was refreshing to have some. In my neighborhood, we call it "cut ice cream," which brings back memories.

The next stop is the Karen community of Ban Khao Lek, where there are homestays available for a few hundred baht.
If you come at the right time, there will be a Karen ceremony in the village for you to learn about.

The village is adorned with the vibrant colors of flowers.

This is a new piece of knowledge that Kanchanaburi has a car ferry service. The name may not be familiar, but if you say that it is a ferry that can carry cars across the river, you can imagine it, right? It also has a short name, 'tank', which means that taking a car on a car ferry can shorten the distance to the destination by almost 30 kilometers. Plus, you get to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Srinakarin Dam as well.

We had dinner at the Kwai Yai Restaurant. During this time, besides enjoying the food, we also had fun exchanging experiences with our fellow travelers. It was a time when we got to know each other better. The food was delicious, with the Tom Yum Pla Kang fish being particularly bouncy and flavorful. My favorite dish was the stir-fried Pak Koot.

Tonight we rested at Chandra Resort, a small, simple resort near the Kwai Yai River and Erawan Waterfall. The owner and staff were very friendly and helpful. However, the air conditioning in the room was very slow to cool down. We were cold in the late evening and had to sleep with blankets on.

Last night, I slept like a log, but I had a slight pain in my legs because I haven't exercised for a while. Today's program is to hike the nature trail at Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall in Srinakarin Dam National Park.

Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall is one of the waterfalls that we must visit. The pictures on the internet are very beautiful, especially the 4th level. There are a total of 7 levels. The parking lot, camping ground, and restaurant are located at the 4th level of the waterfall. We didn't have enough time to walk all 7 levels, so we had to choose whether to walk up or down. Of course, we chose to walk up.

First, let's go see the waterfall that we've been dreaming of.
Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall, Level 4 Chat Kaeo

We are heartbroken because there is a water shortage during this period. Only some layers have water. Traveling in Thailand is truly unique, but we always believe that nature is always beautiful and life must go on like now. We have to move on to the 5th floor.

Before entering the 5th floor waterfall, please refrain from bringing food and drinks.
The walkway is so convenient that I'm secretly afraid that history will repeat itself. I won't forget to keep my hopes up.

The 5th floor is flooded, I don't know where it all went ToT This floor is special because the water flows down into a sinkhole, a phenomenon called a "sinkhole".

The beauty along the way, small colors in the forest

The mushroom in this picture is a net mushroom, with a net-like skirt that changes shape every few hours. The white one is edible even though it smells unpleasant. It is also known as the bamboo mushroom. But! Not all net mushrooms are edible. The orange and yellow ones are not edible.

Floor 6, Butterfly Forest. This floor is full of water, so the tripod I brought along finally came in handy.

Continue to the top floor. Along the way, there are small stairs to make you excited. Since yesterday, where did you find the stairs and feel excited?

Floor 7 Romklao This floor has more water than any other floor we've passed. The water is a greenish-blue color.

Comparing Erawan Waterfall and Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall (levels 4-7), I would say Erawan Waterfall is more tiring to hike. You can read our previous review for more details.
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One-day trip to conquer Erawan Waterfall (you can travel alone, even without a private car)

https://en.readme.me/p/2802

We hurried back in case we had time to walk down to collect floors 1-3, but it was too late. There were several areas for pitching tents. The tent site near the sunrise viewpoint had a very beautiful view.

The food court requires you to exchange for coupons first. A la carte dishes with rice cost 35-40 baht on the day of visit. There are many shops, including fried food, smoothies, soft drinks, grilled chicken, sticky rice, and papaya salad.

Oh... Since the journey, the phone signal has been intermittent, but when we walked up the waterfall, the signal disappeared. We used the network with the green number, and my sister used the red network, but there was no signal. If we don't stick together, it might be difficult to contact each other.

At Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall, there was a slight disappointment for us. Nature is always beautiful, no matter what. Whether it's a lot or a little, you have to come at the right time and place.

End your trip by recharging at the Ruendara Restaurant.

Route 3: 3-hour cave-waterfall wonder, we found another 2 national parks ^^

We have been to Kanchanaburi many times before, each trip offering a unique experience, and this time was no different. We saw Kanchanaburi from a new perspective. If you enjoy nature-based tourism, this short, challenging nature trail is for you. You'll also get to witness the beauty that nature has created over time. There are cool waterfalls to play in, and the lack of crowds allows for a peaceful experience at Tham Than Lod Noi and Tham Than Lod Yai caves. If you prefer a more leisurely pace, you can pitch a tent and enjoy the stunning scenery of the waterfall near Mae Huai Khamin. Kanchanaburi has a plethora of tourist attractions waiting to be discovered. Even ten visits wouldn't be enough to see it all.

Finally, I would like to thank all the agencies involved in organizing this wonderful event. I had a lot of fun over the 2 nights and 3 days, and I gained new knowledge and perspectives on tourism. The friendship between my fellow travelers and the experiences I had on this trip will inspire me to continue traveling and writing reviews.