River Kwai Jungle Rafts Hotel Kanchanaburi

This has got to be one of the most special places I ever stayed in and it certainly was one of the highlights of my trip to Thailand. Imagine going upstream of the River Kwai until you suddenly arrive at a series of floating huts, covered by complete darkness. Lack of electricity makes it necessary to use oillamps, resulting in a very idyllic and romantic atmosphere. Every room comes with its own oillamp, a small hammock outside (right next to the river) and a simple bathroom. These simple facilities are more than made up for by the atmosphere, the enormously kind staff and the fine food and drinks (check out the cocktail bar).

Talking about the staff, the floatel is operated by the people of the nearby Mon village, one of the minorities living in this region of Thailand. They seem to be very intelligent, quickly picking up words in other languages and offering you a cup of coffee in whatever way you may refer to it at home (in our case, not the regular Dutch 'kopje koffie?' but the slang 'bakkie pleur?'). In the nearby village of the Mon the kids are happy to play some soccer with the guests and you can also see their elephants. And as you can imagine, this remote location offers you wonderful peace and tranquility, only to be broken by the performance of the traditional Mon dance by the children of the village. The latter might not be everybody's cup of tea. ;-)

If you're near Kanchanaburi, for instance to see the 'bridge over the River Kwai' or the war cemetary, make sure you stay here for at least two nights. You won't regret it, and to be completely honest it's a whole lot more interesting and entertaining than the aforementioned bridge.