We expected a cramped taxi for the three-hour journey from Phuket to the Surat Thani province in the mid-region of the Thai peninsula, but we were pleasantly surprised when a huge fourteen-passenger van pulled up in front of the hotel. Our driver, Mr. Shai, confirmed that we had the champagne-colored, air-conditioned van all to ourselves, so we spread out and hit the road. It took an hour to get through traffic and leave Phuket island, and Mr. Shai stopped along the way to pick up his buddy, Mr. Truk, to accompany him on the journey. Mr. Shai told us that he and his friend were school mates when they were children, and after losing touch for thirty years, they met again and renewed their friendship. They enjoyed each other’s company and seemed to enjoy ours as they went out of their way to point out interesting things as we drove higher into the mountains. Our destination was the Tree Top River Huts company located about fifty meters from the entrance to Khao Sok National Park where we had a bungalow reserved for one night.
After he delivered us safely, Mr. Shai wished us well in our travels and we met Supranee, the tiny, no-nonsense manager of Tree Top, who quickly checked us in for the evening. The bungalows were located at the end of the main road right by the sign for the national park with the rushing Sok river bubbling over large boulders with dense green jungle just beyond. At 4:00 PM, we had two hours to trek into the jungle before the park closed at 6:00; so we filled our water bottles, bought park tickets, and set off down a muddy trail. Almost immediately it seemed like we were transported to the set of Honey I Shrunk the Kids as we walked past huge stands of bamboo as high as a three-story building with trunks as thick as fire poles. Palm trees with branches the size of bedsheets and trunks covered with thick leafy vines rose in every direction from the hillsides and blocked any breeze that might have been nearby. After walking only a kilometer, we were soaked, and every time I stopped for a drink of water, my glasses steamed up within seconds.
We had hoped to make it to a waterfall, but time was running out, and the jungle blocked the low angle of the sun, which made it seem almost twilight along the path. We took our time walking back to the trailhead and spent a few minutes splashing in the river to cool off before heading back to the Tree Top common area where I ordered iced coffee, and my crew had cokes, which we enjoyed sitting at a rustic table overlooking the swift stream. Since our bungalow wasn’t equipped with air conditioning, we stayed in the common area most of the evening and used the wifi while we had steaming plates of flavorful fried rice for supper. When bedtime came, we marched toward our bungalow through the courtyard planted with all sorts of flowers and broad leafed shrubs and did our best to avoid stepping on the shells of the many snails along the concrete walkway. We discovered that the large oscillating fan mounted to the wall in our quarters was sufficient for cooling the room; so we took quick showers and bedded down for the night anticipating an early wake up at 6:00 AM.
Backpacking through Thailand
By 7:00 the next morning, we had dressed, packed, and checked out of the Tree Tops River Huts, and were hiking down the road about a kilometer to the headquarters of Smiley Bungalows. One cannot enter the lake area of Khao Sok National Park without a hired guide. We had reserved two nights in the park through the auspices of the folks at Smiley who greeted us warmly as we arrived at their compound. Breakfast was included on the first morning, so we feasted on eggs, bacon, and fruit while we took care of the money and the rest of the details, and at mid morning, we loaded our gear into a large van with several other travelers and drove toward the main area of the park forty kilometers away, skirting the jungle boundary finally arriving at the dock where rangers dressed in camouflage checked our tickets and intentions. There were still heavy clouds in the area, but thankfully the rains stayed in the heavens as we got our first glimpse of one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.
We boarded longtail boats and Kai, our guide for the weekend, gave us brief instructions as we fastened our life vests under the watchful eyes of the rangers, and the huge engine rumbled to life churning a propellor that pulled us into deep water. We shared the boat with eight Thai students from Koh Samui; Megan, a thirty-something single traveler from Sydney, Australia; and Lee Anne and Mike, a young, delightful couple from Nottingham Forest in England. For the next hour, everyone on the boat was silent as we traveled deep into the park on the sea green water of the lake and stared all around in wonder at the jungle-covered limestone karsts in front of low mountain ranges with ridges that resembled an erratic line on a sales chart. The Khao Sok region became a national park in 1980, and the construction of the one-hundred-meter high Ratchaprapha Dam two years later blocked the flow of the Khlong Saeng River which flooded the valley and created the stunning 165 square meter Cheow Lan Lake. In addition to the bounty of natural beauty, the park is packed with wildlife including tigers, wild boar, elephants, bears, and several species of monkeys. I secretly hoped that staying on a bungalow over the water would prevent encounters with some of the larger park residents.
The long line of brown and green bungalows at the edge of the water came into view, and Kai cut the engine and expertly guided the boat to the dock of the large floating pavillion of the Smiley Bungalow lake compound. We immediately felt at home as the place had the look and feel of summer camp, and the fact that the setting was deep in the jungle of southern Thailand made it all the more compelling. Once again, Kai gave us a schedule and instructions for the day, and the words that caught our attention were “free time,” so we stowed our gear in our assigned bungalows and spent the afternoon tooling around the cove in kayaks and splashing in the forty-meter deep, emerald green water stopping briefly for lunch under the pavilion. After late afternoon naps, we joined our fellow travelers for a longtail boat tour around some nearby islands followed by supper and an intense sunset over the mountains.
We spent the long evening laughing and telling stories. Some of the men on the Smiley staff got into a raucous game of beer pong with a group of Europeans who paid for the beer, which provided a night of free drinking for the Thais—pretty good racket they had going there. We sat at a table with our new young friends who were interested in our travels, and Deena and I sat back and listened to our children tell stories from our journey and give their unique perspectives. Megan had spent years traveling in southeast Asia and gave us some useful information for our upcoming trip to Koh Samui where she had lived for six months. Lee Anne and Mike were real characters with a passion for life and traveling, and Mike summed up their reasons for wandering every year with a sly smile and clipped British lilt: “We love traveling and exploring for a couple of months every year. Sometimes we spend a lot of money, but we go to nice places to learn new things. Then, all of a sudden, we’re back home to the same old rain, and I’m working me same old job, and I’m sitting in the same old pub on me same old stool with me same old mates, drinking beer and smoking fags. I feel like I’ve changed, but everything else continues the same, and I can’t wait to travel again.”
We slept hard that night and rose early for a pre-breakfast boat tour of another group of islands where we got close enough to shore to see long-tailed langur monkeys playing in the tree tops. The rounded tops of the mountains were partially visible through swirling mists and low clouds, and the dense leaves on the island shore were dripping with moisture that pooled in wide root buttresses below. We approached another shoreline across the cove where the jungle growth was so thick that there was no place for any more leaves or vines to grow. The minimal space between the high branches was filled with the wild whoop of gibbon monkeys as they scampered along the tree limbs.
After breakfast, Deena and Joseph left with our group to go jungle trekking while I stayed behind with Deveny, who had developed a stuffy nose during the night. They returned four hours later with tales of walking through a dark cave full of chest high water, squeaking bats, and spiders the size of saucers. Kai chopped sections of bamboo which contained fresh, naturally filtered water from which they all drank, and they descended a waterfall in the dark while holding onto a rope for support. While they were doing all that exploring, Deveny and I sat on lounge chairs in the pavilion and looked out at the lake while waves of rain passed through bringing a cool, refreshing breeze that we savored. I did a little writing until a small boy spied me with my open computer. He was the son of the kitchen manager. Although he didn’t speak English, but he pointed at my screen and said “Games” with a snaggletoothed grin. The only game on my computer is chess which came preloaded with the machine, but he sat in my lap, and we played chess for the next hour, which probably would have been a lot more fun if either one of us had known how to play.
My intrepid explorers returned with empty stomachs and remnants of jungle mud stuck all over, so they cleaned up, and we all enjoyed a big lunch together before boarding the longtail boats for the hour-long trip back to the national park dock. We bid farewell and safe travels to our friends and boarded a large van with the Thai students, who were also traveling to the island of Koh Samui. The two days we had in Khao Sok National Park seemed like a dream with good times and lush scenery all centered on a forty-meter deep lake that was so jewel green and engaging that it seemed to belong to another place and time where schedules and rules and expectations weren’t worthy of the slightest consideration. Many people claim that Khao Sok is the most beautiful national park in the world, and having seen the beauty of Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion, Kenai Fjords, and many others, I would certainly place it solidly in my top ten, and the fact that I experienced it with my favorite people makes it all the more memorable.
Nature's water bottle
Beginning of cave trek
Oh, My, I am SO WANTING TO GO THERE!!
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