After a much more comfortable bus ride, we arrived at Khao Sok Riverside Cottages on 27 March for a much-needed slower and quieter stay. Khao Sok National Park, located in southern Thailand, wasn’t a far trip for us from Phuket. We wanted to explore the vast rainforest–its wildlife, tranquility, and natural beauty. Our accommodation was a cute little cottage, perched on the riverside in Khao Sok, surrounded by lush greenery, some gecko friends, and lots of mosquitos. Luckily, we had a stylish mosquito net around the bed to protect us at night time. After eating a lovely Thai lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, we set up Pat’s iPad screen to watch the Souths game before venturing out for a night canoe ride! 

We piled into a ute tray (standard local Thai transportation) and arrived at the riverside where we were greeted by our local tour guides. We had a canoe to ourselves plus our guide, and we were armed with nothing except a bottle of water and a head torch. Off we went, gliding down the stream of water, keeping our eyes out for anything, really. At first, we were swarmed by thousands of bugs and I wanted to die right there and then, and then after a while, all was quiet. I spotted a green python sleeping in a tree (I had no idea that snakes actually sleep in trees, like in the Jungle Book). We also got to see a few gigantic frogs which were a little too close for my liking, a snake swimming in the water, a lobster, and a Rufous-Collared Kingfisher which are a spectacular blue colour. I won’t lie… I was SO scared the whole time, but I’m glad we went.

Hiking!

The next morning, we were collected from our cottages and taken to the entry point of Khao Sok National Park where we began our hike! We spent the day with a local tour guide who helped us spot all sorts of wildlife and shared many stories about the park, its nature, and inhabitants (which include wild elephants and tigers). Usually, the park is also full of streaming water and waterfalls, but the dry season drastically changes the landscape. It was very, very, very hot. We spotted a tarantula sleeping in its perfectly webbed nest, lots of monkeys and their babies, beautiful butterflies, a Great Hornbill, and a lot of Wagler’s palm pit vipers sleeping in trees (which are apparently endemic to Southeast Asia). We stopped for an hour and relaxed by the very low-tide stream, and then slowly headed back to the entrance. After about six hours of hiking (which wasn’t actually very far, just lots of stoppages), we enjoyed lunch back at the cottages, and played Bananagrams all afternoon.

New-ish Location

While we were still staying in Khao Sok National Park, we relocated 45-minutes down the road to Ban Ta Khun district for a slight change of scenery. Here, we stayed at our most favourite accommodation yet, nestled off the beaten track and literally in the thick of the jungle. We had a cosy room at Toh Tao Homestay, hosted by Don and his family, who treated us with delicious Thai food, breakfast, fruit after every meal, tea and coffee, and complimentary drop-offs to the main road to be collected for our tours. We were spoilt.

We arranged a sunset hike to explore a different park of Khao Sok National Park. We set off, with long sticks in hand to steady us, and learned so much from the local guide, who knew the park inside and out. We explored lots of caves, saw lots of huntsman spiders, frogs, tarantula nests, fossils which buried themselves in the limestone hundreds of years ago, and gigantic elderly trees (those that are softwood, because the hardwood trees have been deforested). Hundreds of bats were sleeping in all the caves, all of which would wake up and fly around our heads trying to avoid our flashlights. I was SO terrified. After a while, we were caught in torrential rain and sheltered in a cave waiting for the storm to pass. It seemed to rain forever, and we were finally rescued by one of Don’s sons, who was armed with ponchos and umbrellas. Before returning home for a shower, we stopped off at Khao Tor lookout, where we admired the valley and Cheow Lan Lake, which was blanketed by the post-storm mist. It was so quiet and serene–a very memorable hiking experience.

Cheow Lan Lake!

The next day, we were collected early for an adventure to Cheow Lan Lake, a stunning artificial lake covering 185 square kilometres of Khao Sok National Park. Boarding a longtail boat, we ventured down the lake and admired the towering limestone cliffs, groups of jumping monkeys, and stunning turquoise water. Eventually, we arrived at Diamond Cave where we needed to perform some parkour to get to the entrance. It was a very underwhelming cave, given hundreds of daily visitors have tarnished its natural beauty. Afterwards, we moved to the “swamp forest” where we were mentally prepared for a short trek. We soon realised a “short trek” meant about 200 steps in a loop while our guide explained the names and uses of different flora, including bamboo. Finally, it was time for lunch at the floating restaurant, where we enjoyed a buffet lunch of rice, barbecued fish, salad, curry, and pineapple. We spent the hour relaxing and swimming at the floating wharf before heading back to the pier to be taken home. It was a very expensive tour for what we experienced, but it was still a great way to see the lake up close.

Southern Thailand Over and Out

Our flight to Chiang Mai the next day wasn’t until late, so we spent the day perched at a wooden table at the homestay and crunched through some long-overdue admin. Eventually, Don’s son, Doi, dropped us to the airport and we bade farewell. We can’t explain how kind and hospitable Don’s family are, operating under the most beautiful philosophy: “giving is the best communication”. It was a place we will never forget and one I was definitely sad to leave.

Off to northern Thailand we go!