Khao Sok National Park

 Last weekend (December 10-12) I went with four other girls way down south to Khao Sok National Park. It is just north of Phuket if you look on a map and most Thais have never even heard of it. Lizzie and I took a bus after school on Friday to the Skytrain in BBK and took that to the MRT subway. We stopped and got dinner at au bon pain (bagel with cream cheese, lox and tomato) and then met up with Sarah on the subway going to Hualampo train station. This was the first time any of us had taken an over night train and it felt like something out of Harry Potter…except not magical at all. We weren’t able to book sleeper cars. For the next 12 hours we tried to sleep on the noisy train that kept making stops. They never turned the lights off and there were people selling stuff and yelling the whole night. I wrapped a scarf around my head and when I looked over Sarah had a pair of jeans around her face! We looked ridiculous. When we finally got to Surat Thani (3 hours late), we decided to go to the bathroom and brush our teeth before finding a bus to the park. Maybe we shouldn’t have done this because by the time we got there the seats were filled and we had a 2-hour ride standing up in the isle! Some Thai women offered us a place to squeeze, but that just made my butt fall asleep and it was almost easier to stand. They guy taking money was a jerk and kept making us move for no reason, I got pretty annoyed with him real fast! When we fiiiinally got off the trip instantly got way better. We got on a truck that took us to Our Jungle House where we had reservations. The place was definitely in the jungle; there was a main reception area with a restaurant upstairs looking into the trees and the river. It had a little bar where a buffet-style breakfast was served, a hammock and low tables with cushions. We were given a key and walked down a path to our own tree house. It was so cute with big bed and 2 bunk beds, a nice bathroom and a large porch. I caught my breath when I walked outside and looked up at these cliffs that must have been hundreds of feet tall. Everything was very green and lush and you could here birds and insects everywhere.

  

The first day we decided to go tubing down the river. It cost 350 baht for about 2 hours. The water was pretty cold, but you got used to it quickly. There were some rapids, but other parts were slow and relaxing. You can only do this during the wet season; otherwise the water is too low (we even hit our butts on some rocks). We saw a big snake in a tree, monkeys, and a king fisher bird (mom you would have been really into that!). By the end we were getting chilly and it looked like it was about to rain. We got back to take showers just in time. We went to eat dinner very early because we were starving. The menu was fairly small, but all the food we had was amazing. During the weekend I tried 3 different types of curry and tom kha soup. For breakfast they had eggs, German style potatoes, fried rice, toast, muesli, yogurt, fresh fruit, juice and coffee. We also had our fair share of banana and pineapple fritters with chocolate, they were to die for! We went to bed early the first night so we were refreshed and ready to go the next day!

On Saturday Erin and Kristin went on a half-day hike because they were going home earlier than the rest of us. Lizzie, Sarah and I really wanted to see the lake so we chose to do the full day lake tour and jungle trek.

After eating breakfast we took a songtaw for about an hour with 7 other tourists to the lake, we all got in a longboat for another hour leg of the trip. The lake was gorgeous, some people describe Khao Sok as being something like the setting for Jurassic Park and I agree. These cliffs rose out from the water on every side and our guide explained how people used to live on these islands many years ago. We got to these little wooden houses that were built out on the lake that had some cabins attached that people can rent who want to stay longer in the park or do a  night safari. Sarah and I took a kayak out for a spin while our lunch was being made, and then sat down for fresh fish, some stir fry  dishes, and fruit. I was excellent. 

Our hike was about an hour and a half until we got to the cave. Even though the trails were pretty flat, the going was slow because all of the slippery mud. Many times I nearly lost my shoes! It was very pretty in the jungle though. We learned about bamboo (it only grows to be about 8 years old before it dies, and when it's young it can grow about 4 centimeters a day), we say a massive black tarantula (I stayed far away), and we crossed some refreshing little streams that helped to clean our muddy shoes only temporarily.  When we got to the cave, we were given flashlights and told to leave anything outside that you didn't want to get wet. Sun put everyone's cameras into a waterproof bad that he had. The entrance to the cave was small, but it opened up right away, and you could stand up in it. What made it different than any other cave I've been in was that there was a river running through it. Not only did we have to do some rock climbing up some waterfalls, but at parts the water was so deep we actually had to swim! It was so dark that you could only see what was right ahead of you so had to be pretty cautious. 

When we got out Sun told us that during the dry season you can hike all the way through the cave because the river dries up, but it takes about an hour. He also told us (after we came out) that people have died in the cave because of rain storms coming and flash floods... but he said he would not have taken us in if he had thought it was going to rain. (It had been raining off and on our whole trip, just glad of no flash floods while we were in the cave!)

After that little adventure we made it back to the longboat, again with no falling in mud, and back to our hostel just in time for dinner. We had some curry and beer and when back to our little cottage for a good nights sleep. That night it really stormed and when we woke up the river was high and the color of red mud. I was very glad we had gone tubing when we had, but throughout the day we saw groups still going down, it actually probably would have been faster, but also much colder. 

We spent the day hanging out at the main house on the balcony, readying and journaling. It was great just to enjoy being there and not running off to do more things. At about 4 p.m. we were on our way back to the train station and home. This time we were in an air conditioned "express" train. There were only 2 cars when we got on and we weren't sure we were on the right train, but we were and it was much better than the first. They actually turned off the lights at one point. Since it had been a few hours late however, we had to call into work and tell them we were running late due to transportation issues...they weren't too pleased about that, but what can you do? We got off before getting into BKK and took a taxi (which only took about 30 minutes and about $6) to our apartment. We showered and jumped on a scooter as soon as we were ready. Since I don't have class till 10:40 on Monday, I ended up making it on time! I planned my lessons VERY fast and did not even have time to think about being tired. :)