Thailand

Kao Sok

04.04.2013 - 06.04.2013

Stop number two - Kao Sok.

When we finally arrived here after waiting around the majority of the day it was dark and raining (it is the wettest part of Thailand!). We didn't have anywhere booked and just asked our taxi driver to take us somewhere reasonably priced. He did not speak a lot of English so it was a worry as to whether or not he understood us. But, eventually, he did stop off at a place called Jungle Huts. It was dark and in the middle of a jungle so it was safe to say we were a little scared. Nonetheless we paid for a room anyway and booked on to the trip for the next morning.

The next day everything felt rather different. In the day light and after a good nights sleep I began to appreciate how cool it was that I was in a hut in the air in the middle of a jungle in Thailand. Also the two days one night trip that I was about to go on was the one thing I had most been looking forward to when planning Thailand. We got ready and headed off for our trip to Kao Sok National Park.

When we arrived at the lake we had to get a long-tail boat for an hour across it. I can hand on my heart say I have never seen anywhere as beautiful as this place was. The water was such a lovely blue colour and the cliffs and rocks that surrounded it we stunnin. It really was a wonderful sight. As we got closer we finally saw our accommodation for the night - small, wooden huts that were floating on the lake. Seriously cool! The hut was no bigger than the mattress on the floor, which along with a pillow, blanket and mosquito net were all that was in it. The toilets were the only let down to the whole trip but it is just one of those things you have to deal with. You had to walk along several planks of wood to get to the shore, then trek up a steep hillside, a few steps and you were there. But they were dirty and dingy and the big-scary-wasp-but-worse things were flying around in there. In the day it was just about bare-able, but at night when you through in pitch blackness to the mixture you had no chance of getting me up there. Even to the extent....well I won't go in to detail but it involved a water bottle and a pair of nail scissors...

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The first activity on the trip was a four-hour trek through the middle of the jungle to a cave. We saw lots of cool things on the way, like monkeys, big spiders, chameleons, and after two hours got to the entrance of the cave. Now it may have been naive of me or I may not have been listening but I was under the impression that we would get to the cave have a peek inside then go back the way we came. Didn't take long for me to realise we were going through it and out the other end! We each got a head torch and headed inside. The first thing we saw were huge spiders. I mean they were ridiculous. I'm not scared of spiders but when I saw one moving next to me my god it was creepy. They were actually so big they looked fake! I also saw catfish, pig-bats, frogs and some weird creature that our leader described as half spider/half scorpion. The cave itself was not what I expected. It ended up being a hard core caving experience. There were parts where the walls got so narrow and close together that it was uncomfortable, and at times it got so deep I had to swim because I couldn't touch the floor! If that same cave had been in this country there would have been safety ropes everywhere and everyone would have had a hard hat on, but the leaders were not in the slightest bit worried. It was rather empowering. Especially once we had crawled out of the exit and turned around, because to look at it from that side it just looked simply like a bunch of rocks. It was truly amazing to believe that I had just crawled out of it. I also believe that the fact that there was no warning of how it was going to be and that it wasn't easy was a great idea, because then people cannot start to doubt themselves and think that they can't do it. Instead you are thrown into it and you [i]have[i] to do it. And you come out feeling like you have really accomplished something.

Another activity that was included a night time safari, where we saw hornbills, frogs and fire flies. In order to listen and look for the creatures and animals the leader at one point turned off the engine for the boat. It was so so peaceful floating on the lake in almost silence. We went on a morning safari too and saw lots of monkeys and a huge eagle too.

Nighttime was not good. Clare had been worried and I had not been bothered in the slightest bit. I had got on to my mattress, tucked myself in to my mosquito net and fallen asleep easily. It was all fine until around three am I was woken up by a noise outside. It didn't take me long to realise that something was messing around with our stuff outside. I'm almost certain it was a monkey. It freaked me out and I could not get back to sleep after that. We did have a dodgy wooden window that wouldn't stay closed and I kept thinking any second now its going to jump through that window and attack me! Anyway point is I spent the rest of the night covered in sweat because I had to stay under the blanket (everyone knows your safe under there, right?) and awake because I could not get back to sleep. Safe to say I was not feeling too good in the morning!

Before we left for our activities the second day we had some time to ourselves. We went for a swim and went canoeing (which didn't last long) then sat outside our little hut and just observed. It was so nice to watch the Thai people that lived there. They seriously did not have a care in the world - and with so little! It puts us to shame. They have so much energy and so much fun! And I guess so much freedom too. It was nice to sit there and just watch them enjoy and entertain themselves. The kids are too cute!!

We left and went for another trek on the way back, this time very uphill. It was steep and strenuous but once at the top there was a fantastic view point that made it worth while. We said out goodbyes and left.

I don't think this part of Thailand is very popular with travelers or younger people, but it is seriously something that you need to at least consider doing if you are going to Thailand. It is up there as the most amazing and cool thing I have ever done and noone should pass up the opportunity to do it. I mean come on, how many of you can say you have slept in a floating hut on a beautiful lake in the middle of Thailand?
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