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Kanchanaburi is another fantastic place in Thailand. Located only 3 hour drive (or in our case, given Friday afternoon traffic, a 6 hour drive) West of Bangkok, it is a great weekend escape. I compare it to Lake Tahoe for Bay Area people, or, um... well, I don't know where the rest of you fools go on the weekends for outdoor activities.

For those coming to Thailand for the first time, and who do not have enough time / money to go to Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi makes a lot of sense. Also - if you are a WW2 Pacific Arena buff, this is where "the bridge over the river Kwai" is located. I'd go on about the Japanese building a railway using POW labor, but you've probably seen the movie. Anyway, the railway is neat, as is the museum which follows the old rail line for about 4km - it's likely the best museum in Thailand.

Heaps of fun is the plethora of mountain bike riding in the area. There are few things more rewarding that tearing down some village path (READ: single track) and asking some villager where the trail goes (in Thai). Most just stare at you and tell you "no where" or "it just ends", then politely keep going onto the next little village which is another 4-5 km down the road.

Also in Kanchanaburi: floating down the river in a life jacket at sunset (or on a bamboo raft if you don't like chancing the water), elephant trekking, hiking around beautiful fwaterfalls (Erawan National Park), visiting a Buddhist temple where they have taken in Asiatic tigers (petting them is okay), etc., etc. Basically, it's as good as Chiang Mai in all aspects except food and temples (and a lot easier to get to).