Khao Yai National Park
Khao Yai NP, Thailand, 2012-06-16 12:00 by Laerke


We had a long weekend and decided we wanted to get out of the city and see some of this beautiful country. The rainy season has started here now and we weren’t sure whether a trip to the forest would be good idea or not, stories about abundances of leeches in Khao Yai during the rainy season didn’t sound too appealing. However we decided to see for ourselves and started planning a camping trip to Khao Yai. We bought a tent, sleeping mats, a kerosene lamp and we packed our camping cooker and pillows – we were good to go!


Friday after finishing at the university Martin picked up our rental car and off we went. It was little bit hectic driving in Bangkok and we did manage a few wrong turns, but it wasn’t too bad and soon we were on our way towards the national park. We reached the gates just after dusk, foreigners have to pay a whooping 400baht per person to enter the park but somehow we managed to get it for the Thai price of 40baht – thank you friendly ranger!! We had only driven 200meters when it started to pour – heavy rain, so heavy it made it a bit hard to see out the windscreen, it didn’t help that as the rain hit the asphalt it released steam from a long hot day – it made the forest in the dark seem very mysterious!


20 minutes into the park we were suddenly met by 4 or 5 cars who had come to a complete stop and blocked the entire road. We were worried that a tree had fallen down until the Thais in the neighboring car told us there were elephants on the road further ahead!!! Craning our necks and hanging out of the car we saw them, it was group of several adults – maybe six of them or so, a teenager or two and a baby! What an amazing sight! It was close to impossible to get a photo of them, so instead we focused on just enjoying seeing– and hearing them! They were making quite a lot of noises :) What an amazing welcome to the national park, we no longer cared that it rained a bit!

We found a spot for our tent at the campsite and paid the 30baht fee per person, after a quick dinner we were ready to go to sleep. The next morning we awoke to the calls of the gibbons, birds chirping and general buzzing of the rainforest around us, the sun was out and the air was wonderfully fresh – muggy Bangkok seemed very far away. The temperatures was downright pleasant at around 26 degrees during the day, at night we had to snuggle up under a blanket, we were loving it! A large herd of Sambar deer has made the campground with it large grassy fields their home, so we were well entertained while eating breakfast.


Later we headed out to see some of the beautiful waterfalls in the park, on the way we saw a big monitor lizard crossing the road in front of us. A little later we came upon a little barking deer, it was the cutest little thing and it didn’t seem to mind us sitting there in the car right next to it :) Before we even reached the first waterfall we saw another animal – an elephant! Yay this time in daylight it was a lot easier to see (and photograph it) it was munching on some leaves right by our car and then later crossed the road right behind us!


A path led to the waterfall, it was a lovely walk through the rainforest and it was made even better by a group on monks walking the same way as us! In the most respectable manner I could manage I photographed the hell out of them, I don’t think they noticed too much :) There brilliant orange robes really brightens up photos, so a big thank you to the group of monks on sightseeing tour that day in Khao Yai. The waterfall was really impressive with tons of water cascading down the cliff sending a wet mist our way, we loved it!




The next waterfall of the day was the one Leonardo DiCaprio jumped off in the movie “The Beach” it had seemed a lot higher in the movie, but it was still pretty awesome! There were a few tourists (mostly Thais) around here, but they all stayed right where the path ended, we walked 10 meters to the right and here the view of the falls were better as you see them more head-on, and there was nobody there to get in the way in our photos.


The next day we braved the leeches and went for a long hike in the forest, it was slippery and muddy and there were quite a few leeches! But we managed to flick them all off before they sucked any blood, and we really enjoyed the walk – taking in the little things like the many mushrooms flourishing on the forest floor, squirrels and birds. There were also a few hairy river crossings, I think people mostly hike in the forest in the dry season and the rivers were now a lot higher than normally but we made it just fine. The walk ended in an open grassland area with an observation tower where we had lunch – great views!


Our last day in the park we spent relaxing in the camp and taking in some of the viewpoints, we were lucky enough to also spot a band of gibbons swinging around in the treetops, a giant black squirrel, a big scorpion, two hornbills swooping over us and a cheeky macaque that was busy munching on some roots.


We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the national park, and even though it did rain a bit now and then it barely detracted from our experience – we would do it again in a heartbeat.