Blogs from Khao Sok NP, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 2

Saturday We had breakfast in the restaurant next to the river and then went, in the mini bus, to Sonchana Farm and Elephant Sanctuary. It was such an intimate experience. The four of us were met by the farmer Soncha who was growing rubber trees, sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, and papayas. We walked through his farm, crossing little streams with planks of wood as bridges, looking at his plants. But the star of the day, or maybe even the trip, was Samboon a fifty five year old elephant with one tusk. He had been rescued by the farmers father who bought him three years ago when the elephant could no longer work. Somboon is partially blind and was injured badly and had to go the elephant hospital. Now he lives a happy life on the farm. ... read more

We slept well enough, once an annoying woman in a nearby hut had stopped shrieking and yapping. We left our fans on, directed at the beds and it wasn't uncomfortable, although the bedding arrangement was a bit strange. Flowery sheets and pillow cases and then a kind of stretchy towelling thing on top. Do we lie on it or get under it? I used my cotton sleeping bag instead. By morning it was actually quite cool. No animal noises, just a few birds in the morning, rather disappointing. Today was our canoe trip. We waited in reception after breakfast (the tea and coffee was disappointing, you are given a flask of hot water and a few instant sachets to make it yourself) and some other guests were waiting with all their bags. Slightly worryingly, when the ... read more

So last night Sam googled bars offering happy hour drinks, found one called The Roots, cocktails at 95b. It was at the other end of the strip, a 15 min walk and another Death Dash. Sure enough, it was happy hour, although it shouldn't have been. We had one drink, it was early no we weren't hungry, so ordered another, and the guy was very apologetic as it is a holy day today and they are not allowed to serve alcohol anywhere. He must have forgotten and so we felt lucky to have got away with one! There was a sign in the supermarket saying no alcohol sales today, but we didn't think anything of it. Sure enough, as we walked back some bars were closed completely, others half empty with farangs sitting disconsolately nursing a ... read more

Khao Sok är en liten by i djungeln. Vissa skulle kalla det en turistfälla. För det är det.. major turistfälla. Man är fast ute i djungeln mil från civilisationen, med endast det boende och den mat de erbjuder. Tur att det finns mycket av båda delarna. Utöver det är det otroligt charmigt med en liten turistby mitt ute i ingenstans. Vi gillar djungeln. Vägen hit var trots bråkigheten väldigt vacker. Naturen är något väldigt olikt något annat jag sett. Gigantiska berg med helt vertikala stup. Trots extremt branta bergsväggar är allt täckt i djungel. Trots allt trubbel var det värt att komma hit. I utkanten av området hittade vi en bungalow med utsikt över ån och djungeln på andra sidan, här fick vi bo. På andra sidan lekte ett gäng apor i träden. Vi satt på ... read more

The days on Koh Surin where spent snorkelling, sleeping (not at night!), eating, reading and swimming. Lovely. We were privileged to be able to visit the Village of the Moken tribe. They are a people who live from the sea and are very knowledgable on the subject. They are a very shy people, living quite a sheltered life from the rest of people in the area. While we were at the village our guide counted how the Moken Village was completely destroyed in the Tsunami but not one of the Moken died because they recognised subtle changes in the sea and had evacuated long before the Tsunami hit. Our guide had been on the beach during the tsunami and had stayed around long enough to take some photos. He then picked up his friends son and ... read more