Tropical Rainforest

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I arrived at Khao Sok National Park in the late afternoon, so I didn't really have time to explore the rainforest before it got dark. I wanted to stay at these tree house hotels that they have but they were way too expensive. Also, I saw some and they weren't that special. So instead I stayed at the Garden and Herb Resort. It is far from a resort though, let me tell you. It's owned by this husband and wife and only the wife speaks English, but she barely speaks English. The husband pretty much only knows the word "yes", in English. So it was difficult to tell them if something was wrong with my room when the woman was not there. The toilet in my room doesn't work. "Yes?" The fan is broken. "Yes?" The key to the safe doesn't fit. "Yes?" Oh well.

The town outside the park seemed totally dead. I was starving but everytime I went to a place with a sign that said Food & Drink or something like that there would be nobody there. Finally, the woman at my resort saw me and dropped me off at her sisters house for dinner. It was good, but the power in the town went out in the middle of the meal and I had no way of getting home. I was wandering around in the dark for an hour, basically in the jungle, trying to find my place. Eventually I ran into somebody who lent me their flashlight. Rough start to Khao Sok.

Apparently the town used to be crowded but is has been empty since the Tsunami. The resort owner said that when the Tsunami hit a ton of tourists came to Khao Sok for refuge, some of them with nothing but a pair of underwear. She let 40 people stay at her place for free (the resort only holds about 10 people). Nice woman.

The next day I got up early and was determined to hike through the rainforest to find this waterfall. It is a 7 km hike to get there. Much more difficult than I had thought. There was some pretty steep climbing that you had to do. It was awesome just walking in the rainforest, with the huge tropical plants growing in every direction and the sounds and smells are like nothing I've ever experienced. I would constantly hear an animal noise coming from somewhere and I would try to find it but I never could. I didn't see anything except a couple snakes, frogs, and few neat birds. Oh, and lots of bugs. Dad, you would hate it.

I was exhausted and the last 2 km of the hike were really difficult, but after 3 hours I finally found the waterfall. It was all worth it. It was beautiful and had a deep pool to swim in, totally surrounded by forest. It was totally secluded too. I was the only one there so I went for a skinny dip and just soaked up the sun and water. It was perfect! After a half hour an older couple appeared and I got them to take my picture, so that was nice. They also told me about this flower that was only in blume for like 3 days and that today was the last day. I had to see this flower, so I started the hike back.

It was at about this time that I realized how hungry I was. I didn't think to bring a little lunch with me and all I had to eat were 5 airheads. I ate all of them. I felt like I was going to collapse by the time I made it back to the park headquarters, and my knees were killing me, but I had to see this flower. So I had my resort owner drive me on his motorcycle down to this entrance to the rainforest where we then hiked for an hour to find the flower. I saw it! It was already beginning to die but at least I saw it. It's called a Raffelassia flower I think and they're huge. This one was about a foot and a half in diameter I would say.

I was spent by the end of the day and passed out at 8 o'clock. Today I hopped on a bus for Krabi, which is where I'm at now, so I can see the beautiful beaches here. I'll let you know how they are.

-Jonathan

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Photos

waterfall
That's the picture the couple took of me at the waterfall after a 7 km hike.

Raffelassia
That's the flower that's only in blume for something like 3 days. And I saw it! Well I think it's pretty cool.

Other view at the waterfall
This is the view in the other direction at the place where I found the waterfall.

Cool trees
This is a picture of a huge tree that I found all over the rainforest. The roots were cool because they were really thin horizontally but real thick vertically. I don't know, I thought it looked cool.

Comments

[Rytas]

Blog
Jon, I am really enjoying your blog as I am living vicariously through you while I sit in my cubicle. I've heard about those monkeys and their silly poo jokes, but you know, it's all in jest and they don't really mean it...

[Aunt Bonnie]

Love every word you've written and adore seeing the world through your perceptive eyes. You're amazing...Be happy, be safe and have the best adventure ever....