Khao Sok National Park

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The Journey

We left Ko Tao at around 10.00 am on the 3rd to head for Khao Sok. The first part of the journey was a ferry from Ko Tao back to Surat Thani on the mainland. This turned out to be two boats, one from Ko Tao back to Ko Pan Ngan and then one from there to Surat Thani. The changeover was a bit of a mess as no-one was directing us where to go once we got off the first boat, but we managed to get on the right boat out of there and we safely arrived on the mainland at about 16.00.

It was here that the trouble began. We had booked and paid for a nice air-con bus from surat thani over to Khao Sok to arrive at 19.00. We were slightly concerned when a Sangthaew (a pick up with seats and a roof) turned up instead. We were piled in and our bags were put on the roof with nothing to hold them down! This took us about 10 minutes down the road to a shack by the side of the road. We were waiting at this shcak for over and hour while people tried to sell us food and drinks and accomodation for Khao Sok. None of which we wanted. A minbus finally turned up and they tried to get 16 people in a 12-seater minibus. They soon realised this wasn't going to work so they got another Sangthaew as well and the two of us and four kiwis were then piled into this were we stuck for the next three hours, stopping along the way to pick up two more people. The truck was chucking out no end of black smoke but we arrived at around 21.00, slightly blacker then when we set off but in one piece.

Khao Sok

We stayed in Khao Sok for four nights in total, on our first day we went for a nice walk through the rainforest, or so we thought. It wasn't long before we started to get attacked by leeches and started almost running just to get round the track as quickly as possible - luckily we escaped bite free, completing the 4 km in under an hour - no mean feat in the rainforest.

The second day we thought we would try something that didn't involve trekking through the leech infested jungle so we headed to the river for some rubber tubing fun instead. We mounted our giant inner tubes and set off down the river with our guide. After maybe 20 metres disaster struck when pete fell out of his tube then watched it float of down the river. OUr guide rushed off to get it and soon enough we were back on track. We floated down the river about 5km through rapids (at which our guide shouted "adventure ahead") and some quiet sedate patches. It was pretty good wholesome fun.

Day 3 was spent fairly relaxed in the morning, then in the afternoon we wandered along the road (no leeches) to a temple in a cave where we hoped to see monkeys. We didn't find any but we did find a nice friendly monk who told us all about the wat in a cave and gave us a guided tour through a series of caves to a pool of holy healing water. Pete and a kiwi lady who was there to washed in the water and Pete it feeling full of health - even his swollen nipple (don't ask) has gone down. Becca stayed with the monk watching for leeches.

The following day we set of for Railay.

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Photos

Sangthaew
Its not a limousine. And the bags aren't tied down!

Khao Sok High Street
Yes the rainforest has a high street, it even has an internet cafe.

Cave Wat
The very funny Monk, he has a nioce house by the cave doesn't live in it like becca thought! He used to be a doctor!

Swing bridge
I feel like Indianna Jones!!!