We went on an afternoon kayaking trip that was not included in our Intrepid trip. It cost 250 baht per person, which is about $6. We kayaked on the River Kwai for maybe two and a half hours, and we were accompanied by a guide the whole way.
The river was incredibly beautiful and clean. It was the first time in Thailand that we were seeing a lot of birds. We saw undeveloped areas along the river banks, as well as fancy resorts with beautifully manicured landscaping. We did not see any other kayaks and there weren’t any other boats until we reached the area near the bridge, so the trip was very peaceful and relaxing. Whenever we felt we were getting too warm, we just slid off the kayaks into the river. The water was warm but still refreshing.
Partway down the river, our guide asked, "Do you want to jump?"
"Jump?" I said. I had no idea what he was talking about. "Sure! I’ll jump!"
As we went farther down the river, he asked again, and I asked "How high is it?"
He didn’t speak English very well, but he understood my question, and explained that "it" was about 15 meters high. I tried to ask what "it" was, but he didn’t understand me. Again, I said "Yes! I’ll jump!"
Finally we reached the famous Bridge over River Kwai. Yes, it is a real bridge, but it looks nothing like the bridge in the movie. It is a large metal, not wood, bridge. The two sections nearest the riverbanks were still the original bridge. But the center section, which had been bombed, has been replaced.
The guide pointed to the bridge. "Are you ready to jump?"
My friend and I looked at each other. Then we looked at the security guards at both ends of the bridge. "Is is legal?" Of course he didn’t understand our English and didn’t answer the question. So we followed him to the bank, and we walked up onto the bridge (past the securtiy guards). Some tourists who had seen us kayaking asked what we were doing. We told them, and they thought we were crazy, but got their video cameras out anyway. Maybe they wanted to catch our deaths on tape so they could send it in to the "Incredible Vacation Videos" program that is on television.
My husband had taken the kayaks from the riverbank out to the area where we were jumping so we wouldn’t have to swim very far (and for a quick getaway if needed). We wouldn’t jump until the guide went first. When he surfaced out of the water, we thought we better go for it, so we did! It was scary but fun – definitely an adreniline rush. The audience loved it!
Then we kayaked the rest of the way to our pickup point. It was a great afternoon, and we didn’t even get arrested!