Tag 341 - Khao Jom Trek to Khao Jom Prasat Summit

Hello dear ones

Today we had a really cool day in the jungle and an indescribably beautiful summit view!

Today started early, as we had booked a jungle trekking for today ☺️

At 8:10 am we were picked up in front of our hotel. On the way, we also picked up another couple who had chosen the easier tour and therefore only shared the hotel transfer with us.

The journey took about 40 minutes, then we reached the starting point. For the first 15 minutes, we all walked together, then our group split up. We continued the march to the summit with our guide Téo, while the other couple took the path to a small waterfall with Tan (the company owner). Téo is 25 years old, from France, and wants to become an experienced tour guide one day. The tour with him was very pleasant, he told us a lot about the trees and insects, and the hiking pace was perfect!

While we were marching towards the summit, on trails that we would have never found alone, we learned a lot.

For example, he showed us which insect in the jungle makes such an incredible noise with its chirping ☺️ We had heard the sound so many times and always wondered where it originated.

He also told us something fascinating about nature when we crossed a rattan bush:

Rattan and termites help each other. That means, as long as the rattan is young, it has thorns that the termites use as a food source. In return, the termites create a kind of net around the rattan, and when another animal (rat, etc.) wants to eat the rattan, it is attacked by the termites.

There are also beautiful climbing plants here, which are considered parasites. At first, they are very thin and wind their way up the tree towards the sun, then they attach themselves and deprive the tree of all nutrients. One day, when the climbing plant is strong enough and the tree is dead, it disintegrates and only the climbing plant remains. In the end, the climbing plant itself looks like a tree, stretching towards the sun ☺️

Okay, enough learning ☺️ There are many more interesting facts that were explained to us, but today's entry would never end if we were to write down everything for you ☺️

The whole trail was really, really amazing! We walked over tree trunks, had to dodge freshly fallen trees, climbed, and passed exposed sections.

Once we reached the summit, there were a total of three different viewpoints and each one was more overwhelming than the previous one! We took some photos, had lunch that we received at the start, and paused for about an hour. Téo was amazed by our pace 😅

Apparently, we were his fastest guests so far - he had never made it to the summit before 12 o'clock. We asked if we could take another break on the way back, and he laughed and said that we can take as many breaks as we want at this speed - we probably have to wait for the others anyway.

The way back was still quite long, as everything we walked up (780 meters in altitude), we had to walk down again. At first, we were looking forward to the descent, but that quickly changed. The path was narrow, steep, and slippery due to the leaves on the ground, and every step required the utmost concentration.

After another break on the way, we reached the swimming pool of the waterfall at around 3:30 pm, where the other couple was already bathing. We paused there for another 30 minutes before tackling the last stretch.

In the area of the summit, there were an incredible number of ticks, probably because of the temperature. We noticed that Kevin and Léo were full of them, and we found only two on me. We pondered for a while about the reason for this difference, but only at the waterfall through Tan did we come to a possible result. He told us about an unofficial test, for which there is still no official study: coconut oil is supposed to protect against ticks. Actually, since we have been in Thailand, I have been using coconut oil on a daily basis! We don't know for sure, but as a little tip: before a jungle tour, make sure to apply plenty of coconut oil, it certainly won't harm you and maybe there is something to this theory about ticks ☺️

We reached the destination at 4:30 pm and were picked up a few minutes later. We reached the hotel at around 5:30 pm and were exhausted - but very satisfied with the day ☺️

After a rest on our seat and a refreshing shower, we rode the scooter to the beach again.

We had a delicious dinner and then a delicious ice cream in the bathtub ☺️

In addition, we discussed the remaining days here in Thailand. We were somewhat undecided between staying on the island or switching to another island. We decided to switch islands and planned for tomorrow ☺️

But more on that tomorrow 😉

Until then

A few trail data:

Length: 10.6 km

Altitude: 780 meters