Kanchanaburi

Our rooms at the Tamarind Guest House in Kanchunaburi  sit low on the river, the walkway passages just wide enough for one. We sit on the deck in the solid wooden chairs, playing card games with the kids, and talking quietly while listening to the neighbors sing. Benji is still pleased from this morning's discovery. At breakfast he learned from the restaurant owner that he is actually the older twin. In Thailand the second born is older as he was polite enough to hold the door open for his younger sister while she came out first.

Tonight we visited the bridge over the river Kwai, where British and American POWs were forced to build a bridge during World War 2. They blew the bridge with dynamite in protest. it was rebuilt later and arches gracefully over the river like a big bird at sunset.

Erewan Falls  are a series of 7 cascades pouring down the jungle hillside. Before our hike, we stocked up on sticky rice and chopped pork, grilled chicken and cabbage to picnic along the way. Then we set off up  the humid hillside, looking forward to plunging into the turquoise pools enticing us below the waterfalls.

Marina was hesitant to follow when we jumped into the first pool because of the school of large fish that swam with us. But soon, she too succumbed to the beckoning water, which was cool and slippery against our skin. We swam beneath the raining waters, cooling our heads, laughing and playing.

We climbed farther, and by now we were all eager to jump in beneath the falls.  Steve was the first to get his feet in, but quickly jumped back out with a short shriek. "The fish just bit me!".

The skeptic in me didn't buy it, so I stuck a foot in the water. I screamed. "Those fish are biting!"  That's when we noticed plenty of tourists and Thai people sitting alongside the water's edge, getting a fishy pedicure. Their toes dangled in the water,as the fish nibbled and pruned away any dead skin. Gross! And weirdly ticklish in a strangely painful way.

At the next falls, we quickly scooted past the hungry fishies who  waited by the waters edge.  We flung our bodies out into deep waters. The fish still bit, but with a bit less frequency! By the time we reached the fifth of Seven Falls we were spent. Wet and happy, we caught the last bus back to our guest house, ate seafood stew in the open market and followed with chocolate cream crepes for dessert. YUM!