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mom stuck in mudThe Jungle
Where to begin...that was truly an adventure that we will remember forever, some good parts some not so good.
After flying into Surat Thani airport we drove an hour and a half to Khao Sok National Park. Our "hotel" is a group of 14 different tree houses, literally one room cabins in the trees. Ours was called Mango house and had a wonderful view of the stream and mountains. We knew this going in, but I don't think we were fully prepared for what exactly mosquito nets entailed...lots and lots of mosquitoes
hopefully the pictures will do a better job explaining then I am.
For the good:
The view and scenery was absolutely beautiful! Huge limestone rock faces and mountains everywhere you look, rubber trees, palm trees . We took a one day trip to the Chewang lake in the national park, most of this trip you'll read about in the not so good section...The view was beautiful and the water was so clear and warm even mom got in for a dip. We were able to go with a guide and hike to see this huge cave which was really neat, lots of animals that were living in the dark in there such as bats, huge frogs, etc. We also were able to see some monkeys in the trees called gibbons and a hornbill bird which was really pretty.
The following day we woke up early and did an elephant trek. Our elephant was by far the biggest one of them all! After getting over the initial fear of what a 15 foot fall could do to our bodies, we were able to relax and enjoy the scenery of the rain forest, rubber tree plantations, and waterfalls the elephants took us to. We met some nice girls who were also doing the trek with us which was a great surprise seeing as we hadn't spoken proper English to anyone other than the two of us. The elephant ride was really cool and I am so glad we included that on our trip.
Onto the not so good:
So back to the lake trip...we are the only tourists there practically and we take a boat for about an hour and a half to this islet on the lake.
On this section of the lake, there are about 14 "raft houses" set up on the water. I use quotation marks when describing the houses because they can hardly be classified as livable..They are all made out of bamboo and look like they could disintegrate at any moment. No one was currently staying at them, and thank goodness mom decided at the last minute not to book our stay there.
Like I mentioned above, we went on a hike to see the caves; however let me give you the details of this excursion. Our supposedly English speaking guide probably said a total of 8 sentences to us over the course of 8 hours, some of which included "Theres a tarantula hole" or "take care" as we cross over treacherous rocks. To get to the starting point of the hike, you have to take their boats which are basically canoes. As we are about to get off the boat, we see no dock, no specific place we should unboard, anything like that, although the guide tells us just to hop off. So mom goes first and the first thing I hear is her scream. I look over, and she is
practically waist deep in what can only be described as quick mud..she would sink another inch every time she tried to move. Once I got passed laughing hysterically, I took several pictures which don't do a good enough job of showing how deep she was in this mud. The guide had to literally lift her out of the mud and place her on firmer land. There were about a dozen men or so working on the area trying to clear trees away and what not and they also couldn't stop laughing!
In America we are used to trails and paths that are easy enough to follow; however, here in Thailand apparently they have a different philosophy: make your own tracks. So here mom and I are, in our wet bathing suits, with our tennis shoes on, trekking through mud, on the side of very very steep mountains, and through lots of water. Needless to say, our shoes and clothes are pretty much ruined. It was very interesting in that our guide walked about 10 feet ahead of us and didn't stop once to help us over fallen trees, over slippery rocks, etc. Thank goodness mom and I had each
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cave other to help over those obstacles. We were covered in mud and dirt by the time we got home
To get from where we were staying in the jungle to our next location of Koh Samui was also an adventure in itself. We felt like backpackers just with huge suitcases and totally out of pace. We started on a tuk tuk then eventually got into a minivan which stopped every 10 miles practically to pick someone up at the bus stops. At first mom and I were the only ones in the minivan, but by the time we got to Surat Thani, it was full of Thai people looking at us like we were crazy. After the minivan, we had to board a ferry to take us to the island. Mom and I are beginners, so we had no idea what was going on as they pointed us in the direction of the cargo area where all the cars were held. We finally figured out we were going to
have to lug our heavy suitcases up two flights of stairs to sit down. Luckily the ferry wasn't full so we got a seat by the window to enjoy the view of the water on the way to the island which was really nice.
Overall, the jungle was an interesting experience that we are already laughing about now. I would recommend for backpackers and those who don't mind so many bugs, because you really felt like you were so close with nature and so far away from any worries.
We were really looking forward to the beach of Koh Samui and relaxing a little bit...so more on that in the next post!
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Heather
non-member comment
I really enjoyed your Thailand post and photos! Reminded me of my own time there. I miss it so much! My blog is looking for travel tips, photos, etc, to share. If you have the time, check it out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com, or email us at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com. Also, my boyfriend spent time on Koh Samui, if you have any questions, etc. Continued fun on your travels! Heather :)