Khao Sok National Park

Our transportation to Khao Sok N.P. included pick-up truck, boat, 50 seater bus, pick-up truck with a roof and a mini-van and took a mind-boggling 11 hours (Thai time is so slow it even surpasses Irish time!).  When we arrived it was already dark so we could not take in and appreciate the beauty of the landscape that lay before us.  What was apparent was that we had booked some great accommodation at the Khao Sok Paradise Resort.  We were brought to our tree house lodgings for the next 3 nights which was cleverly built to incorporate four trees through and around its structure.  There was even a shower which was made with a tree and the water flowed through the trunk and out its branches.  We were also transported into the safari world of mosquito nets and lots and lots of deet!  The women who were in-charge of the resort were like mammies to us and provided us with great food every day, great laughs and conversation.  In fact we liked the place so much that we decided to stay a fourth night.

Rob enjoying a tree house shower

The Tree House

During our time at Khao Sok we did lots of different activities in order to get as much out of our time in the park as possible.  We went canoeing down the local river, which was a great way to take in the breathtaking scenery of the area. 

Canoe Trip

Taking a well deserved break!

 

We also went on a lake trip, which turned out to be one of the highlights of our holiday so far.  We travelled on a longtail boat across a beautiful lake, which was a man-made lake created back in the 1980’s to accommodate the building of a dam downstream.  Surrounding us on all sides, towering out of the lake were spectacular karst limestone mountains covered by the greenest of trees and plants.  Neither description nor photo do justice to the sheer beauty of this landscape but the floating mountains from the movie “Avatar” did spring into mind at one point.  After a swim and lunch on a floating raft house, we embarked on a jungle trek and hiked knee-deep through mud and waded stomach high through rivers and streams.  We also hiked into a cave but ended up swimming through most of it wearing head torches as the water was so high and the river current so strong due to the recent monsoon rains.  It was a real adventure and we both had the cuts and bruises to show for it!

One evening we decided that we would go on a night safari in the jungle.  For two hours we trekked through the jungle with head torches being our only source of light, while our guide Tuk showed us that the rainforest never sleeps but rather is more active at night.  Our guide had this amazing ability to spot even the smallest creature and as a result we saw a great deal of wildlife including snakes, scorpions, giant spiders, giant grasshoppers,  mouse deer and tree cats.  Rob also had a nasty encounter with some leeches.  By the time he discovered them, by way of a painful nip on his stomach, they were full, fat and slimy.  Not exactly the best way to round off what had been an exciting evening.  I can report that he did survive the ordeal!

Slithery Snake

Up close and personal

On our final day at Khao Sok we decided to go elephant trekking.  There, we discovered the benefits that giving a generous tip can bring (Rob had, the night before, given our night safari guide quite a substantial tip).  Lumbering towards us, on our arrival, was Jojo, a 20 year old bull elephant and quite clearly the largest elephant in the troupe and we were the lucky couple to be sitting on him.  Jojo was a gentle giant who strolled along through flowing rivers, muddy ground and rocky terrain with ease, despite the fact he had two grown people sitting on him.  His handler obliged us and took a number of photos of us enjoying the trek with Jojo and with the mere click of his tongue Jojo also obliged us and swung his trunk up and down and left to right for the benefit of the photos.  Definitely not camera shy to say the least!  Our trip to Khao Sok N.P. was a real eye opener and a truly memorable experience.  It also gave us a taste of what was to come in the following weeks when we would visit Borneo.

Elephant Tricks

Elephant Experience