Khao Sok National Park (Cheow Larn Lake )….visit to the real Jurassic Park

November 22nd, 2018

The jungle noise wakens us and we look out to see a group of monkeys tearing around the trees beside the treehouse, this reminds us that today should be full of adventure….. after breakfast, we are joining a tour to Cheow Larn Lake with kayaking, swimming, a hike and an overnight on a raft on the menu…this could be an Ibuprofen type of day !!

The day starts to look good as we are introduced to our fellow tourers and guide. There are six of us as a fourth couple was a no-show….a small group. The guide Nopon (aka Noporn) first of many jokes, gives us a brief history of the development of the park and an overview of the day’s program. We are on our way by van ….an hour-long trip with a stop en route at a gateway town near the park: for ponchos/dry bags and whatever odds & ends people felt they needed …no purchases for us as we are fully equipped but we took a moment to visit the market next door…

At the dock there was a 300 THB (12 CAD) park fee each,  following which we were introduced to the Captain of our longtail and we were off. This is a 185-square-kilometre (71 sq mi) artificial lake, inaugurated in 1987 with the construction of Rajjaprapha Dam by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, as a source of electricity. For comparison, Baskatong Reservoir in Quebec is 417 square kilometres so not large by Canadian standards, but nevertheless impressive. It has an incredible topography with giant Karst cliffs and hills as far as the eye can see …the highest peak topping out at almost 1000 meters. What makes the setting truly inspiring is that we have entered one of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world, truly a Jurassic park!! It takes us almost an hour and a half as we cruise by some incredible cliffs and into little bays where we can see the vegetation up close and personal.

We finally reach our destination where we will be spending the night : Krain Son Raft Camp (see map above). The setting is super cool…

The description on the internet said basic and we got BASIC: our “bungalow” consists of a 10′ x 10′ bamboo cell with a 2 inch foam pad  (relative term as it is rock hard) , a pillow, a “blanket” and 2 windows….but the water is 3 feet from our door….as for the shared bath, it is available about 75 yards away via a planked walkway to three toilets for each sex and 3 sinks for both sexes of which at full capacity there would be at least 100 souls…as for the shower room …well our guide cautioned that it was VERY BASIC, which we translated to mean beyond bad…however the lake is as warm as bath water.

In any event lunch is served family style and each group eats together….pretty decent fare and vegans were accommodated. After lunch free time for an hour and then we head by longboat to our “activity” which is billed as hike to a waterfall….we land and the hike begins….not on a trail but UP THE WATERFALL….this is a case of getting wet immediately, followed by grabbing tree trunks and vines to pull one self up the water covered boulders (keeping an eye for “fire” leaves >>> as one can deduce, grabbing these will make your hands burn), alternatively you could advance upward by finding foot and hand holds on the rocks and some occasional fixed rope sections as well as the  helping hands of Noporn and our fellow waterfallers….

…periodically we reach some cascading pools where we stop for hero shots and explanations about the rain forest enveloping us…

…..after about an hour of this jungle gym activity we reach the “top”, thereafter we reverse direction albeit on slightly less taxing terrain..

…..kudos to Anna who gave Annie many a helping hand on the descent….we were the geezers on this trip. probably doubling the age of the other participants and everyone else at the camp for that matter. No cuts, bruises or otherwise and having taken the precaution of scoffing several Ibuprofen before starting, the knee held up quite well !! We found it hard but exhilarating but not overwhelming and it certainly gave us a feeling for the jungle.

Dinner was again quite decent featuring a fish entree (sourced from a fish farm across from the camp) which with a couple of cold ones went down well.

The guides also had a surprise for their guests as November 22nd was the night of the full moon. The Loi Krathong Festival, they explained is celebrated throughout Thailand by Thais launching their krathongs on a river, canal or lake, making a wish as they do so. A krathong is decorated with elaborately folded banana leaves, three incense sticks, and a candle. A small coin is sometimes included as an offering to the water spirits. So we all lit out offerings and placed in the water as they gently drifted into the moonlit night…

We can’t say we had a great night’s rest …sleeping on a rock bed is tough, although there were no mosquitoes but morning eventually came and with it, the cries of the gibbons resonated across the water ….what a beautiful morning….

….tea and coffee and then back on the longtail for a morning water safari…. a super nice experience as Noporn found macaques (brown in pic) and gibbons (black/white below) in the jungle canopy…

….as well as some Great Hornbills. The Great Hornbill also known as the great Indian Hornbill is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia and has an impressive 40 inch wingspan and colour. The Lesser  Hornbills which we also saw are smaller and were impossible to photograph..

By 08:30 activity seemed to cease and we returned to camp for breakfast and free time till lunch and our return to the mainland. Annie laxed on the “porch” reading and watching butterflies…

…and yours truly kayaked in search of a snakehead (famous gamefish) finding instead some macaques on the shore of a small bay which were incensed at my presence  screeching up a storm from some bamboo branches extending over the water >>> did not bring a camera so no pics.

Nice group, excellent guide and while there were some shortcomings with the accommodations, the overall experience was memorable and certainly decent value for money 5,000THB (200 CAD).

We vanned it back to Our Jungle House where Moosie was determined to try her hand at monkeying around and we then had dinner in Khao Sok, at a place Noporn recommended > unassuming resto with delicious food.

…..after which we walked the 1.5 kilometers back in the growing darkness…along the way a guy on a scooter stopped to warn us about a snake on the road ahead ….so we hot-footed it around said critter and back to our eyrie in the sky ….quickly falling asleep as the jungle sang its goodnight song.

Tomorrow we are leaving the jungle and winging our way to some new adventures !!