Khao Sok Jungle Exploration

A full day of adventure, fun, nature and culture. We were picked up at the hotel by a minivan which took us to the Khao Sok area. We made a short stop at Takuapa where we had the chance to visit an authentic Thai market with fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, meat, fish and clothes... On the way to Khao Sok National Park the guide gave us a lot of very interesting information about its history. First we visited an old temple located at the entry of a cave in the middle of the jungle. There we could see an ancient cave painting and the mummy of a monk.

Further we continued our trip to the “Sok River”. We went on canoes and were paddled through the great outdoors. Here and there we saw birds and we were lucky because we even saw three yellow-black colored snakes up in the trees. Being paddled through this picturesque landscape seemed very unrealistic to me and it was like a dream. About an hour later the minivan picked us up some kilometers down the stream.  After canoeing we went to the rock and tree house where we were served a variety of Thai food- it was “mai pet” (not spicy) and everyone liked it.  Next we went to the elephant camp. Here we were allowed to ride elephants.

The elephant carried us through the deepest forest, crossed small rivers and brought us back to the camp safely. It was good to see that the mahouts treated the elephants nicely. After the ride we fed the elephants with bananas and took amazing pictures. With a heavy heart we left the gentle elephants behind and returned to our hotels. 

If you want to know more about Khao Lak Land Discovery and the tours available visit us on our website.

An unforgettable day in the jungle of Khao Sok National Park

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.

Phangnga Bay - So much more than just James Bond Island

After plenty of days of summer, sun, beach and ocean I wanted to do something different. Therefore, I have decided to visit Phang Nga Bay with Khao Lak Land Discovery.

James Bond Rock

Phang Nga Bay is famous for the so-called James Bond Island from which Richard Moore, in the movie “The Man with the Golden Colt”, 1974, dramatically escaped the villains. But Phang Nga Bay has so much more to offer, which I would like to share with you.

Canoeing

Our trip has started with a 45 minute drive to the harbour where we have swopped the minivan with a typical Thai long-tail boat. We drove past limestone’s and mangrove forest on our way to our first stop – the kayaking station. Lightly drenched from the ride on the long-tail boat (the swell was slightly stronger than expected) we have made our way on a canoe into the mangrove forests.The best part was that we did not have to paddle ourselves, but were paddled by a nice Thai. Thus we were able to enjoy the view and to capture the memories on camera. There was plenty to see. For example, we have seen amazing limestone rocks which are partially protruding up to 300 meters high out of the bright green water. Also, we got to see stalactites and stalagmites along the way. To get into the lagoons we sometimes had to duck in the canoe to pass the narrow passages. 

 

After the canoe ride, we continued our journey with the long-tail boat to follow the footsteps of Roger Moore. The James Bond Island seemed to be drastically smaller than you would expect it from the movie. Moreover, the stunt of the action hero Richard Moore did not seem as dramatic and dangerous anymore. But still, it was very nice to look at.

Koh Panyee School

Koh Panyee village

Nobody had to go hungry, because our next stop was Koh Panyee, a gypsy village which was entirely built on stilts. Moreover, up to 2000 people life on this stilts village that also provides a school, a mosque and a soccer field which hosts a well known soccer team that is famous all over Thailand. After we walked through the "small town" and visited the Koh Panyee School, we had lunch with a variety of typical Thai-Muslim food. The treats that we had eaten have strengthened us for the rest of the day. This made it easy for us to enjoy the rest of the long-tail boat ride back to the pier.

Tuesday Buddha

Back on the mainland, our nice driver has taken us to the Suwanakuha temple. There, I decided to get blessed by a monk. A bit of luck never hurt anyone, right? After I have felt blessed I marvelled at the huge Buddha statue that can be seen in the temple. It is covered in gold. Our tour guide told us that this is the Tuesday Buddha, which is presented in a lying position. Furthermore, we were able to see and feed monkeys that chose the temple as their headquarters. Before we’ve left the temple I had to get a prophecy that will lead my future. Apparently, if your prophecy is bad you have to leave it behind in the temple. But as my prophecy was outstanding I took it with me outside the temple that it can become reality.

All in all, it was a great day with Khao Lak Land Discovery to explore the Phang Nga Bay. 

Written by Diana Schob

2 Days in pure nature - Khao Sok Lake Explorer

We got picked up at our hotel at 7.30 AM to go on a two days trip to the Khao Sok national park. We were about to spend the night at the Cheow Larn lake in a floating raft house.

After a short stop at a viewpoint, we visited the headquarters of the national park. Here we were welcomed by a big, fat python snake which was relaxing in the foliage. That surely gave us our first jungle experience. The next stop was at a small local market where we shopped for the last time before we were moving towards the solitude. From a small landing place we got onto a long tail boat and experienced the incredible landscape of those million years old limestone formations for the first time. The most impressive part about those huge cliffs is the brought variety and great development of vegetation that is growing on the limestone.

 

The boat stopped and we had the possibility to cool down by jumping into the green and most inviting water. We climbed the cliff, jumped into the water, swam around and relaxed in the sun, before we continued towards our raft house. Shortly before we reached the accommodation, one spotted a few monkeys along the waterside. While watching the monkeys, it slowly started raining and only 2 minutes later, when we reached the raft house, it was pouring.

Therefore we did not reach all dry, but had the best atmosphere for our first lunch at the lake. Soon we realized that rain will be our background music for the next two days. But not only that the calm lake was troubled by straight raindrops that fell into the water, the vegetation that was heated up by the sun, cooled down because of the rain and mist raised and surrounded the limestone formations. That was a beautiful natural spectacle that we were able to witness over and over again.

We realized that even that the rain was slightly cooling, the water temperature of the lake was still quite high and invited for a dip. One realized “it is not just raining from above; it is also raining from below, just like in Forest Gump”. So we spend the afternoon swimming and relaxing in front of our bamboo huts before we sat all together at the main hut to listen to some guitar play of the raft house owner. It was a very familial atmosphere and continued after dinner, when we sat on the floor, had some drinks and shared a few stories. A great surprise was the visit from a small fogy. At 11 PM the electric generator got switched off and the only light was given through a few small candles, we felt so close to nature than never before. Since it was still raining it was not possible to see a single star which is most probably the case when being in such a natural environment.

The next morning we woke up at 6.30 AM, grabbed some coffee and got onto our long tail boat to observe animals in the morning. Of cause it still rained so we did not see any. We only heard a hornbill but did not see one. I was quite disappointed about that, because that would have been my personal highlight. 

After breakfast we decided to still go onto the promised jungle walk, even if the rain would probably still continue. After half an hour walk, we sat onto a bamboo raft and crossed the lake. We than entered an incredible cave with fascinating stalagmites and stalactites. For a while we switch off all our torches and cameras and experienced the pure darkness. I thought that it was absolutely dark at the lake the night before, but in this cave you could see absolutely nothing. I never thought that darkness could fascinate me that much. On our way back through the jungle, we met quite a cheeky monkey, sitting high up in the tree and throwing fruits at us.

 

Back at the raft house, we showered, relaxed for a while, packed everything and enjoyed a last lunch in the lake atmosphere before we went back to the landing place. It were amazing two days with unforgettable impressions. The best part was living and experiencing the nature so closely and living only on basic supplements without much electricity, internet, hand phones or TV.


If you want to know more about our tours at Khao Sok National Park, please click here.

by Charlotte Franke