Day 1 Trip to Khao Sok National Park

As mentioned before, we booked several tours through our travel agency. It's worth mentioning that all our tours were organized by Khao Lak Land Discovery, which is located in Khao Lak, not far from our hotel. You can also book directly through them. Our first tour took us to Khao Sok National Park, with an overnight stay in a treehouse. We didn't hesitate long when booking. It sounded like a cool trip that we really wanted to do. Although we don't regret it, it turned out to be a rather sleepless night in the jungle...

Let the adventure begin!

Right on the day after booking, we were picked up early from the hotel and driven to the National Park in an air-conditioned minivan. Another couple in their late twenties joined the tour with us, so we were a very small group! Our guide, Julie, turned out to be very knowledgeable. She had been living in Thailand for about 10 years and told us some interesting things about life there during the drive. Among other things, she talked about the modesty of the Thais, who are so happy with so little. This is also due to their religion, Buddhism, which we learned a lot about. It was also good to know that the dogs we saw running around everywhere were not strays, but each belonged to someone. In Thailand, it's similar to cats here. They roam freely outside but always come back home. So we used the quite long drive to expand our knowledge.

On the way, we stopped at a viewpoint that offered a spectacular view of the National Park!

Elephant Camp

The first stop of our trip took us to an elephant camp, where we were allowed to ride the elephants. We were assured that this was a camp where the animals were treated well. We really hope that's true. Julie seemed quite trustworthy to us. After a short explanation, we started. We rode the elephants through the jungle, up a stream. I was fascinated by the agility with which this large animal walked along the path. Very gently and always careful where he stepped, the elephant carried us along the way. With my bare feet, I could feel the rough skin of the elephant. I was so fascinated by this creature that I hardly noticed my surroundings. After the ride, we were allowed to feed the elephants with bananas. A very beautiful experience!

Canoeing on the Khao Sok River

After the elephant ride, we went straight to the next activity: canoeing on the Khao Sok River! Together with a guide who paddled us through the river, we boarded the canoe and embarked on the next adventure. The scenery was simply fascinating! The rocks rising in front of us created a typical image that we associate with Asia.

Along the way, we saw various animals, such as monkeys and snakes. We were puzzled how the guide could constantly spot the well-camouflaged animals on the shore. He constantly pointed excitedly in a direction and told us that he had just spotted a snake. Or a frog...

After the exciting canoe trip, we headed towards our accommodation. On the way there, we stopped at a small waterfall.

Arriving at the accommodation, which was advertised as a 'treehouse,' we were pleasantly surprised by the comfort that awaited us. Chic, air-conditioned rooms with private bathrooms. We even had Wi-Fi! There were also two cute dogs that kept us company from time to time :)

After admiring our room and putting down our luggage, we had a delicious Thai-style lunch. Now that we were well-rested, we had some free time to swim in the nearby river. For this, we had to follow a small path through the jungle, which led us to the riverbank. There were even inner tubes waiting for us! Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of this. Too bad. On the way back, I accidentally got caught on some plant, which resulted in painful redness on my skin...typical me!

After freshening up a bit, it was time for dinner, which consisted of typical Thai dishes. Delicious! Dinner was followed by a very restless night...

To be continued...