The day started at
08:00 o’clock with a one-hour drive north. Our target today was the
national park Khao Sok. Our first stop was at the canoe station, from
which we were paddled across the Sok river for about 1.5 hours. The
paddle guides always kept their eyes open and showed us every animal
they spotted. So we saw monkeys, some frogs, a black and yellow
mangrove snake, a monitor lizard and countless butterflies and birds
in the most beautiful colours. Smaller
rapids made
the trip
a memorable one.
After a short drive by
minibus we arrived at the cave temple in Khao Sok National Park. This
temple houses among others a mummified monk, who was very important
for the native inhabitants. There was also a large Buddha statue
inside the temple, as well as a few smaller ones on the outside. In
front of the temple were a lots of monkeys which we could feed with
bananas and peanuts. They were a little bit cheeky and tried to steal
the whole bag of peanuts from me, but other than that it was a great
experience to get so close to these still wild animals.
At midday we stoped at
the georgeous Rock and Treehouse Resort in Khao Sok National Park.
This newly opened resort offers accommodation in treehouse bungalows
that fit perfectly into the jungle environment. We had a very nice
buffet lunch in the resort with lots of Thai specialties such as the
delicious Massaman Curry (curry with chicken, potatoes and carrots),
fried vegetables, noodles and fried chicken.
After having fuelled
up with that delicious lunch, we got back onto the minibus to reach
our last stop of the day. Once we arrived at the elephant camp, we
went up the platform and sat down on the seats of our huge jungle
friends. I have to admit I was a bit scared when I saw, how high it
actually was. But the fear was overcome by excitement just a few
minutes after that. It was really a once in a lifetime experience to
sit up there and see how these gentle giants cross all kinds of
obstacles without making even one wrong step. After about half an
hour we got down from the elephants so we could walk / climb to a
small waterfall. Getting there was an adventure, but no problem with
the help of the mahouts. After having seen the waterfall, we got back
on top of our “jungle-taxi”. The mahouts offered us to sit right
on the neck of the elephant if we dared. This was probably my
highlight of the whole day. It was an unique opportunity to get as
close as possible to these amazing creatures and definitely an
unforgettable adventure.
To find out more about this tour visit our website or the Khao Sok tour page.
To find out more about this tour visit our website or the Khao Sok tour page.
