Dam Good Time at Khao Sok

Today was the beginning of an overnight lake trip organized by our guesthouse. We had heard some good things about this tour, and although most of the time we like to arrange our own excursions independently, this was one of those packages was better left to others. 

As the photo above clearly explains, the lake we are visiting is in fact a reservoir, formed about 40 years ago when the Thailand government built an irrigation / hydro dam, flooding a large area and turning a picturesque landscape into a picturesque lake + landscape. The place is frequented by campers and backpackers, as accommodation is mainly rustic lakefront bungalows with sporadic electricity, simple food and no hot water.

I think you've got the wrong tour, ma'am

We loaded our gear aboard a longtail boat and headed off to see what was so great about a reservoir.

Okay - that's quite nice.

Yeah, I get it now. Pretty stunning. Owen, turn around. The view is behind you. In fact, this scenery surrounded us 360 degrees for the duration of the one hour boat ride as we headed to our little bungalows.

Simple, yes, but so spectacularly situated that it didn't matter how rustic they were. The pictures don't show how hot it is, but the daily temperatures are about 34 degrees, so not having hot water is no biggie, and the lake is our swimming pool. Perfect.

For whatever reason, there were only six of us (the night before and the night after our trip was fully booked). This made for a very peaceful experience. And thankfully we shared our trip with a really nice English couple (I have to write that because they will probably read the blog). 

The water was incredibly refreshing and we spent a few hours trying to escape the baking sun. 

Shirley even went in without her water wings.

We took the kayaks out and stealthily patrolled the shoreline trying to find wildlife - saw about three families of monkeys (langurs and macaques) and one great hornbill (bird).

Then it was time for the expert to take us out for an evening water safari. We were accompanied for the two days by our guide Kit, who has been leading groups out here in Khao Sok park for a few years. Super nice guy who works with his wife at the lake camp, only going back to see his 8 year old daughter once or twice a year. He was very patient with the kids and even let Owen steer the boat (what could possibly go wrong?)

Time to look for wildlife - how about a mermaid sighting?

This was a serious treat - a gibbon in the wild. These are the shiest of the primates found in Khao Sok, and we were able to see one (and it was the only one we saw over the two days)

And here was a langur. It's hard to explain (and maybe it's not the same for others) but seeing just a glimpse of these animals, even from a distance, in their wild environment, is ten times more exciting than seeing them a few feet away in even the most 'progressive' zoo.

Very satisfied traveller

Now back to the show - time to visit the elegant and classy macaque.

Enjoy this mister traveller man. Full Moon Party, monkey style!

Okay Captain Owen - take us back home.

Day 2 began with a post-breakfast hike and cave exploration. Only 9:30 am and already baking. But I will not complain...

...because we get to see butterflies....

....and a really big tree.

Followed by a really dark cave.

Topped off with a really big spider in a really dark cave - once we found this bad boy I think we were all a bit nervous as we stumbled around in the blackness. It made putting our hands on the surrounding rocks seem a bit of a gamble.

Our last documented wildlife sighting of the day, although Kit saw a king cobra when we exited the cave about 3 minutes after taking this photo - he should have kept that one to himself. I spent the rest of the hike frantically looking left and right. I am not a fan of venomous snakes.

We weren't expecting water in this cave - but buying those waterproof travel packs (which was a source of quite a debate) now seems like a great decision.

A chance for one last kayak trip before it was time to leave the park.

But with this image burned in our minds, we leave Khao Sok very impressed. This place ranks very highly on our travel experiences over the past several years. For those of you who find yourself in southern Thailand, definitely consider taking a two or three day break from the islands and come up here for some spectacular nature - you'll be glad you did.