Living in Thailand #3 : Visiting the Erawan waterfalls in Kanchanaburi

Hello Steemit friends!

My family came to visit me in Thailand. A perfect excuse to go and see all the beautiful places around town! The Erawan waterfalls were definitely the first spot on my list.

The Erawan waterfalls are located in the Kanchanaburi province in West Thailand. Erawan National Park is said to be one of the most populair national parks in Thailand, since it so close to the capital city Bangkok(3-4 hour drive) and open all year around.

Because the raining season has just began, it was the best time to go for us to see the waterfalls. They are certainly the most beautiful in this time of the year.

We made the choice to go with the bus, which takes you to the waterfalls in about 1,5 hours from Kanchanaburi bus station. It costs only 40 baht. The drive was a bit bumpy but it's great to see all the beautiful nature along the way.

The bus stops at the main parking lot, where you can choose to start walking emmediately to the waterfalls or drink some coffee and eat a Thai snack to prepare for the long journey.

We chose to start walking right away to avoid the big groups of tourist, since it disturbs the silent moments in nature.

From the parking lot, it takes about 10 minutes to get to the first waterfall.

Or you can chose to to be brought by the golf carts.

In these 10 minutes, you'll come across some signs, to inform tourists how to respect the surroundings and dress appropriate.

I especially love this sign, I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately some people still don't get it.

When you can hear the water fall, you made it to the first floor.

Although the waterfalls aren't as spectacular as the ones on higher levels, the water is incredibly clear and has a very bright blue color.

Leven 1 and 2 are the best for relaxation and enjoying your food and drinks. Many Thai people use the bamboo tables to lay down or eat with the whole family for example.

As you can see the journey is very long and reaching level 7 is for the real die-hards, who can stand the heat and like to climb at the same time. The higher you go, the more beautiful it gets. There actually is a level 8, which not a lot of people know about and therefore is completely private. It is forbidden to climb up there though, because it a very dangerous climb.

If you want to continue to reach the next levels, you'll have to let go of your food and drinks. We just put our waterbottles in the bag and made sure we took them back with us. Drinking water is extremely necessary in this warm humid weather.

At this point, the waterfalls become higher and more intense.

Seeing the beautiful color of the water makes everybody want to swim. We were sweating like crazy!

The fish are way bigger than it shows in the photo. Funny fact about the fish, they are able to jump up the waterfalls to reach other levels. Just like salmon do for example. They do so, to reach other food supplies and breed. Also they can escape a water pond that is drying out in the dry season this way.

We skipped level 3 and went directly to level 4.

The lianas are so intense to look at. I have so much respect for the rangers making sure all the nature stayes untouched.

Let the real climbing begin!

Luckely the climbing makes it totally worth it, since you'll be rewarded with an amazing view.

We climbed so high already!

For the real adventure seeker, there are trails you can follow which makes the chance to see wild animals more likely. Animals like wild boars, deer, elephants, gibbons and tigers live in the park. They are active and come to drink water early in the morning and in the evening, when there are no visitors in the park.

Level 4 is great for swimming. The water is deep enough to dive in and the round slippery rocks make a great slide.

For us it was too busy to relax and enjoy nature, so we went on searching for the perfect spot.

Along the way you'll see many trees wrapped with traditional clothing and other things next to it like waterbottles, incense, food and gifts.

The locals do this to respect the spirits of the forest, which is part of the culture.

We still had not found our perfect spot and my father became very tired of all the climbing. Despite it, my brother, boyfriend and I were not giving up. Luckely my brother and boyfriend are very adventurous persons and took the initiative to go of road to search. Yes we take it a little to serious :D

So we jumped of this bridge,

Climbed through the stones to the direction of the water

And found the most beautiful spot. The water was deep and no people to be found. Perfect!

The best part about the fish? They clean your feet for free!
Don't be scared, the big ones stay away ;)

Thank you so much for reading!
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