Living the Good Life: Khao Sok - Wandering the Jungle

Yo yo,

So if you have been reading you obviously have noticed we have been having troubles with the videos. For some reason they will double or triple post and sometimes the wrong one shows up. If anyone has pointers, we will take them. Until we figure it out, just bear with us.

After our little island adventures on Koh Tao and Koh Pha Ngan, we grabbed ourselves a ferry/bus combo ticket and headed west on the mainland to Khao Sok. Basically going from beach paradise to jungle paradise.

We jumped off at the bus stop in Khao Sok and then had about a 1 km walk to the bungalows we were staying at for the night. By this time, we are used to cruising around with our packs on and don't really get sore anymore. A big positive of traveling: getting back into shape again. We had a nice chat with the new owners of the bungalows who recently moved there after running a place on a remote island. Another positive: meeting new and interesting people. So many positives and so few negatives. How can u not travel!?!?

Our Little Bungalow in the Jungle

That night we ran into 2 Canucks we had been talking with on a boat between Koh Tao and Koh Pha Ngan. We sat and had dinner with them and shared some stories over a couple of brews. It was a good night.

The next morning we went to a nearby bungalow to catch our "taxi" ride to Ratchaprapha Dam. I'm sure you all pronounced the name of the dam perfectly right in your head..... I put quotes around taxi because it was a songthaew that we took. They are basically trucks with benches along each side of the box and a roof overhead.

Our songthaew ride was about 60 kms. Then we met up with a long tail boat at the dam that was going to deliver us to the floating huts we were staying at for the night. It was an amazing 1 hour long boat ride through the cliffs and jungle to get us there.

After a swim and some lunch we headed out on the longtail to go on a hike through the jungle and some caves. The trail twisted around and through a stream that lead us into the cave. The cave was quite cool with a bunch of bats, large cave spiders, pale crickets, and catfish hanging out inside. We also spotted a 5 foot snake cruising around looking for his next bat victim. There was some narrow parts within the cave where we had to jump into the water that was over our heads to keep heading the same way. The water was a bit chilly unlike the lake that felt like a big swimming pool.

The jungle around us was full of all types of vegetation. All kinds of vines, ficus trees with their big roots above the ground, lots of bamboo, and different kinds of palm trees. There was the music of the jungle birds as well but they were difficult to locate because of the thick vegetation.

Large Bamboo

Large Ficus Tree

It was a peaceful sleep in our floating hut. They weren't the lap of luxury but that isn't something that we ever go for. We just look for good experiences and this was definitely one of those.

We got up early the next morning and jumped in the longtail to try and locate some wildlife. We were lucky enough to find some monkeys, a gibbon, and many types of birds including the toucan and a giant hornbill. The gibbon calls were very musical and almost sent goosebumps up my spine.

Gibbon Call

After breakfast, we had some time to kill before we had to head back, so I jumped into a kayak and paddled down a branch of the lake. It's always better to be able to move in near silence and be able to use your ears to help you spot wildlife. It wasn't very long until I heard some crashing in the jungle, so I just stopped and waiting. Soon a family of monkeys revealed themselves. I just watched in awe as they came right up to the shore foraging for food. I didn't seem to be bothering them at all as they went about their business. Definitely awesome to watch them interact with each other much like we do with each other.

Caught with the Selfie stick

By the time I got back to the huts, it was time to leave. We ended up stopping on the way back and doing a 1.5 hour hike over a ridge which was quite nice. A bit different vegetation here since it was on a slope and bamboo doesn't grow where it's steep.