Today is our last day in Kanchanaburi before we set off for Bangkok and then an overnight bus to Koh Samui. We hadn't quite realised how much there was to do here but have managed to fit quite a bit in!

Yesterday we went on a day trip that we had booked through apple guesthouse where we are staying (a definite must if you're in this part of the world!). Our guide was one of the girls that had greeted us at reception when we arrived, her name is Top! After collecting another couple of people we were off on our way to our first destination.

Our first stop was the elephant camp. We got up onto this huge platform and our lovely big elephant Ms Vassana came walking towards us for us to climb on. As gorgeous as they all were the whole time we were up there we couldn't help but think it was wrong and the poor big things should be in the wild but from what we were told and from what we saw they were very well looked after and it was better for them to be there than tied up outside people's houses and used to attract tourists in the middle of towns like we have seen before.

We wobbled around on top of Ms Vassana around the camp and past the houses where the trainers live with the elephants and down into the river. As we crossed the river another trainer was walking two baby elephants letting them swim and play. When we got out of the river our guide jumped off with our camera to take some photos and being brave, Jen moved from the nice safe seat with a seatbelt to the elephants head where the guide had been sitting! It was a little scary at first because it was hard to keep balance as the elephant swayed from side to side but it was an amazing experience! We headed back to the beginning of our trek for us to climb off. Easier said than done when you're on an elephants head!!!! To say the dismount was a tad undignified is a slight understatement but we eventually got there! We were allowed to feed the elephants and met a 70 year old one with huge tusks and who isn't allowed to carry people because of his old age but he was gorgeous. Then it was over to the babies, the two of them just milling around looking for someone to give them attention!!! When we were with the smallest the bigger one actually climbed under the fence to us! The funniest thing ever! Then the small one sneezed on David...brilliant!!

Then it was off for some river rafting. We were driven up a small slope to the river and down some steps to our bamboo raft. It was amazing; we just floated along for an hour around the river taking in the views and the sounds of the wildlife around us. We decided not to swim just yet as we were heading to Erawan waterfalls once we'd got back to the elephant camp and were on the move again.

After meeting up with Top, our driver Yud and the other couple on the trip Andy and Kerry, we headed to the waterfall. It's in the national park we were going to stay in but after the climb we're glad we had a guide instead of doing it on our own! We may have got a little lost! Once we arrived at the park Top advised us to have a big lunch because of the climb so we stuffed our faces with what was on offer and then we were off!

There were seven tiers to the waterfall and the total height is 2095 metres high. It is the most amazing thing ever! You can swim in all seven tiers in the crystal clear but freezing water and although it was a climb rather than a nice stroll up a hill, it was well and truly worth it! The waterfall is the place most of the locals come to swim and every tier also has fish swimming around in it as well! The second tier is the most popular and there are rubber rings for hire and life guards as well as a place where you have to leave a deposit for the number of bottles of water you will be taking to the top of the trek. In order to ensure you bring them back down with you, they note how many bottles you have and refund you the money when you show them again at the bottom!

As we climbed, each tier was more amazing than the next and because we decided not to swim until we got to the top tier when we got there and saw the pool we all got in there as quickly as we could! It was freezing but it was exactly what we needed because it was so hot and if we stayed still for too long, the fish would nip at our feet. We swam around for a while and our guide left us to head to the bottom so we could make our own way down in our own time. Surprisingly we even made it back down to the bottom again without getting lost! Even though it was 2095 metres and was made up of just rocks and dodgy ladders it still wasn't half as hard as the climb up that bloody mountain in Cat Ba!

After the waterfall on our way back to the bus we saw our first wild monkeys of the trip! Four of them starring at us starring at them - I think they were as intrigued as we were!

From the waterfalls we went to the death railway for a two hour train journey along the railway that so many P.O.W.'s died on and we could definitely see why. They had to build it around a cliff edge quite a distance in the air and although that was only a short part of the line, 30000 men died building it. Along the way there were thirteen short stops to signify the camps that the P.O.W. stayed at, some of which were 17 days walk away from the work place because of the terrain and distance. Actually riding on it and seeing what they had to overcome certainly made it all more real. Finally we took the train over the bridge over the river Kwai and after a few photos we headed back to the guesthouse for more amazing food and some much needed sleep!