In a treehouse
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Khao Sok,
Thailand
Sunday, October 13, 2002
Apparently we were walking the wrong way to get off the platform at Surat Thani. It was probably a scam, but hey, at 6:15am you're not really keen to be leading the way.
People holding signs were shouting and gesturing for us to go the other way - so we did - along with all the other backpackers. We went to a man holding a sign that said Khao Sok on it and were guided to a table with a breakfast menu duly plonked in front of us. Our bus wasn't due to depart until 7am so we settled on some toast and had to listen to the guy try and get us to go to Baan Yan Resort at Khao Sok. Apparently it was inside the park so Nicole used an excellent excuse of not wanting to stay in the park with all the wild animals. He moved on to the next table where they were much more interested in what he had to say. They looked like seasoned travellers in gypsy skirts and carrying a guitar, so I was surprised to see them considering his offer.
Another train arrived and farang were given the same treatment as us when we got off.
Finally the man pointed to where the bus would depart and which one it was so we set off down the street in search of our ordinary fan bus to Khao Sok. The bus driver approached us and said "Takua Pa?" to which I replied "Khao Sok" and he nodded and pointed to the ticket man sitting on a stool. We purchased our tickets for 65B each - a bit extravagant I thought, but hey, really only $3!! The trip was a couple of hours sitting in a seat with my backpack beside me and Nicole in front of me - the windows provided sufficient air and I think I would have frozen on an aircon bus. The windows afforded a lush green view and every now and then Nicole and would exchange a comment.
The bus driver got off to do something and this old lady sitting up the front decided to get off as she needed to pee. The bus driver got back in the driver's side of the bus and started to take off. The bus passed the old lady sitting right on the side of the road (probably right where the door was) with her bottom in the grass. She was calling out to the bus driver and he, the conductor and his friend in a red Muay Thai jacket all thought it was an absolute hoot! They did end up stopping so she could get back on but I was trying to hold back the laughter too!
The Lonely Planet said to get off at Marker 109. Not until 14 markers from our destination did I figure out that the marker number was written on the side facing the road. This helped immensely as we thought the driver and conductor had forgotten about us and driven past our stop. As it was, they dropped us off at Marker 108 and into the hands of more touts driving utes, holding placards of accommodation places. Despite deciding on a guesthouse on the bus, Nicole was somewhat overwhelmed by the reception we received as the only farangs to get off the bus. We were dropped off closer to a girl who carried information on Art's Riverview Lodge. Before the other touts could get to us, Nicole had negotiated for the girl to take us to Art's and that we would stay there. Later Nicole confessed that she though that was where we had decided - she had gotten a little confused by the jungle humidity. We climbed into the cab of the Isuzu after slinging our packs in the back. I got the backseat and all zilch of the legroom, on our ten minute drive to the Lodge.
As we passed many other bungalows our driver hooted her horn in hello. She must work for many others also. We drove down a muddy track and passed lots of signs and paths to rooms. We pulled up at the entrance and climbed the stairs to the information desk. We were shown three different treehouses, one with a double bed and rickety stairs and wooden suspender bridge to it, another with two single beds and a third with three beds.
We picked Cabin 7 with the two beds, a normal toilet and cold shower. The room was furnished with mosquito nets on the bed and a beautiful desk and chair in front of a window. We also elected to go on a 3 hour night safari for an additional 600B.
After dumping our belongings in the treehouse, we put on our togs and headed down to the swimming hole where we had been told gibbons came to drink in the morning and night. The current was strong and the bottom rocky, but it was very nice and relaxing. We then tried to find a nearby cave but failed as we lost sight of the signs. We crossed over a suspended bridge which was very interesting and also brought devilish thoughts to my mind!! We walked for awhile and saw some gibbons high up in the trees. On our way back to the suspender bridge we were less than a metre away from a gibbon eating on the path.
After crossing the swinging bridge again, we came back to get ready to visit the National Park. It suddenly started pouring with rain, rainforest rain, and so we stayed indoors to watch a great watershed that would help the farmers in drought so much. Nicole couldn't stop watching it, as it had been so long since she'd seen any.
The afternoon was spent lying in bed reading and relaxing. The rain brought many creatures out. White snails with long white seashell shaped shells crawled over the roof with brown horizontal shelled snails. A couple of squirrels played together.
We went to dinner and sat down in a thatched roof gazebo that overlooked the river and limestone cliff face. It was gibbon time and the gibbons were playing in the trees. There were lots of little baby gibbons pushing and pulling each other off the branches while some adult gibbons looked on with disdain. One keen photographer was on the other side of the river taking close up shots slowly venturing closer to the gibbons when the light faded. My Coke came in a glass bottle for 15B and I had Pad Thai.
After dinner it was time for our Night Safari. Two Americans, Dave and Manuel came along but their wives were jetlagged and stayed in their rooms. We started on the trek and there were some Steve Irwin comments along the way. Crikey!!
Our first creature was a very thin looking python high up in a tree overhanging our path. We stopped for a bit and then kept dodging puddles on our way. We mainly followed footpaths and tracks but occasionally cut through the jungle on little trails. We saw rubber trees being tapped - they do not smell very nice! We also saw numerous frogs of various sizes (which I found out that Nicole is petrified of!) We passed some other lodges; saw some bamboo thickets and a mangosteen field. Not much of a wildlife viewing trip. The Americans wanted to go back after a couple of hours and I readily agreed. I was tired of dodging puddles and my torch was dying, so we all headed back to our treehouses.
Nicole went up the steps first and as she rounded the corner to the door she let out a yelp. There was a huge frog sitting in front of her. The two Americans were close by and heard her shriek and called out to see that we were okay. I laughed at her fright and we went inside only to find that a leech had attached itself to Nicole through her sock! There was blood all over her foot and sock but the culprit must have been lost somewhere along the way!
I had a very good night's sleep and woke up for a scrambled egg breakfast. The bread in Thailand is very sweet and you almost need to put salt on your toast to take some of the sweetness away.
After breakfast we headed for the national park and a bit of a hike to see some waterfalls. We paid our 200B admission and walked into the park. We chose the 3km trail of Hua Ep It (or something like that). There were some breathtaking views of limestone mountains along the way and a lot of little waterways and waterfalls. Halfway along the path there was an abandoned tractor in the middle of the trail, just sitting in a puddle at the bottom of a hill.
The waterfall was mostly just water coursing through rocks. We took a couple of pictures and clambered up onto the two big rocks for a different angle. Nicole `caught' another leech alon the way, this time on her other foot. I had found that the perfect travelling partner - one who attracts all the insects.
After purchasing a souvenir postcard from the information centre we went back to our room, packed up and settled the bill. A ride was arranged for us to the bus stop - so we left Khao Sok with me riding in the front this time.
