Bike Trip
Apr. 3 - 7, Kanjanaburi Town to Amphoe Sangklaburi and back.
I had initially planned to ride from my place in Bang Sue, Nontaburi, to Kanjanaburi (also spelled Kanchanaburi) and then onwards, but my school got out 2 days late. I took a train from Ton Buri station to Kan, but would I have had the extra day, my plan was to ride from Bang Sue, take the Rama 8 bridge across the river, head out to Salaya, and then taking some local highways a bit north of the Sang Chuto road to avoid the heavy traffic. The cars on this road, and the large amount of trucks, are not the nicest to have to constantly watch out for. I am actually not disappointed at all to have skipped this part…
So, TRAIN from Ton Buri Station to Kanjanaburi. 100 Baht for all tourists + 90 Baht for a bicycle. The trains are very comfortable, you can take pretty much as much luggage as you could carry, and the ride is actually full of nice views out the windows, very peaceful. I love the trains of Thailand, they are usually a bit late, but always comfortable, VERY cheap :), and again - its always the cultural experience that brings the highest chance for a great travel memory. Even for me, and I already live here!
The Ton Buri station is quite easy to find, it has quite a number of tourists heading to Kan for 1-2 day waterfall tours. This part of Thailand is gorgeous, so its no wonder that it has been popular with tourists for some time. After you get past the Kan main town, and then out to Sai Yok, the number of tourists drops off almost completely. The final destination of Sangklaburi will again have you seeing some tours (and many backpacking tourists as well), but nowhere near the amount when you’re closer to town. Actually most of the tourists were Chinese when I went this past time…
WATCH OUT* When you get on the train, you already have your ticket for 100 Baht, you need to know that they are expecting you to get off at Kanjanaburi station. If this is your intention, then it will be very easy, but if you are wanting to visit Sai Yok, you need to stay on the train to the end of the line. Sit there confidently (I assume you have been keeping some track of the stations), and when Kanjanaburi is announced, remember that it is referring to the central town of Kanjanaburi. You are in Kanjanaburi Province, also called Kan or Meaung Kan, named so because the largest town in that province is Kanjanaburi. Meuang means City, and in many cases “Meuang Kan” will be used when speaking so as to clarify.
You are already in Kan province, so everyone would assume that you understand there is kind of the great Kanjanaburi and the city/town of Kanjanaburi :) Confusing to travelers at first, but actually makes quite a lot of sense after awhile. If you are from the USA, its as if every state/capital was Oklahoma, Oklahoma City. Kansas, Kansas City (I know its not the capital)… I hope you get the idea.
IF* you get off the train accidentally - the trains are not very frequent, 3-4 per day. If you take the first train for example, get off prematurely in Kan town, you will have to wait 3 hours for the next train. Depending on your traveling confidence/bargaining ability, you might get back on without paying another 100 Baht, I am sure you could work it out. But stay cool! This place has many tourists, they will not be quiiiite as nice and easy going as the average Thai person. Still very nice of course, you are in Thailand, but yes, they will try to get another 100 out of you for sure! :)
If you don’t want to wait/can’t wait for the next train, taxis are very happy to take you to wherever you were trying to go. The two couples I assisted at the station for example,
I got off the train in Kan, immediately went to help not one, not two, but 3 couples who had gotten off 70km before their intended destination of Sai Yok/Nam Tok Station. They of course heard “Kanjanaburi Station,” and followed along in the line to get off, actually were hustled off of, the train, and then stood and wondered why the train continued right along still half full of passengers. If you are going to Nam Tok, wanting to see the waterfalls of Sai Yok, DO NOT get off in Kanjanaburi town. The provincial capital is named Kanjanaburi. The provinces are named after their capital cities. Check the train station list, and try to keep track. All of the stations have at least one black and white sign written in Thai and English showing the station name. They follow exactly on the train schedule that you can get for free at any station along the line (actually you can get the schedule for any line in Thailand from any station on any line in Thailand. All kiosks have all the schedules for all the other lines, they just might be a bit dusty sometimes :) ).
Should be 2.5-3.5 hours to Kanjanaburi town, and another hour North-West on to the final station of Nam Tok.
*All of these train line’s schedules are color coded as well, Northern Line Navy Blue, Esaan/NorthEastern Line is Green, and the Southern/SouthWestern Line are Brown (back and front). I think there is a Red and Gold one for the Bangkok Pattaya Rayong line, but I have yet to take that train…
On www.agoda.com, the cheapest option for a place to stay outside the city of Kan is called Sam’s Jungle Guesthouse. If I was riding a road bike, I would be annoyed, as the small road from the main road to the guesthouse is in bad condition, but on a mountain bike it was no problem. If you ride at night though, watch out for dogs. Every single family in this area had at least one dog, some of them pretty fierce. This area is very secluded, and they use dogs for house protection. Almost all Thai families have dogs already, but it seemed that the dogs were more fierce in this area.
The area between Kan town and the next large town of Sai Yok has 2 route options. The main road of course, the Sang Chuto road, wide road with medium to heavy traffic, and then the side route to the North, Local Highway 3199. I took this way, and there were still many small towns along the way, about 20km from Kanjanaburi town to Lad Ya. At Lad Ya you reach an intersection, you can head North to the Pu Toey National Park for what is sure to be a good trip in its own right.
In Lad Ya town there is a Tesco Lotus, and in front of the Tesco Lotus is a nice coffee shop, indoor seating with lovely A/C, and the name is "Doctor Caffeine," so perfect :) Have a rest, and enjoy the coffee! Kanchanaburi is the hottest province in Thailand (by yearly average temp), so even in the 'cool' season it can still be quite warm if the sun is out (which it usually is in Thailand! :) ) I love it here.
 |
| These soldiers were a cool bunch, one of them from Korat (I used to teach in a small Korat town called Chumpuang, the jersey I am wearing is from the town team. He recognized it, we had a good chat, they bought me coffee, and we exchanged LineIDs :) Good day in Thailand!) |
Continue on down 3199 for 20km and you will reach another intersection. Here you can head North to the town of Si Sawat (Sri Sawad), and this must be a great trip! I would love to come back and take this trip as well. If you’re up for it, please send me a message!
I continued through the intersection, and the road will turn West for a BEAUTIFUL 10km back until you reach the main road, Route 323. Awesome ride, slightly down hill, a slight tail wind, and the weather finally cooling off around 530pm, wow. Great, great section of almost totally forested road, some big hills on your left separating your view from any and all power lines/roads/houses/civilization and stretching plains on your right:) whew, for an all-too-brief 20 minutes of cruising, this section was wonderful!!
Ok, last but not least, enjoy some of the views from the ride. Kanchanaburi has wonderful road riding, but even better off-road. Much better. Much, much better :) check out another article on Kanchanaburi from 2017, one of my biggest trips yet!
 |
| Bananas come in so many different varieties when people are growing them for local consumption. This one is purple, and has seeds inside!! |
