26 Nov Khao Sok National Park
There have been a lot of ups and downs for me the last few days. I had purchased a 547B overnight bus ticket to Suratthani, then caught another bus towards Phuket, which dropped me off at Khao Sok National Park at about 9:30AM. There was a free ‘taxi’ there that took me down the road to my hostel. It was an old pick-up truck with some railing and seats built into the bed. So I climbed in and took in some of the scenery. In arriving at the hostel, Coco Khao Sok, my bed was not ready, so I paid for my room, looked at their tour offers, then stored my bag there and wandered around. So far, so good.
Hostel
Coco Hostel is a cute little place in Khao Sok Town, which is just one street of restaurants and lodgings. It is pleasant and clean, and also has a bakery/restaurant, but it seems the only baked goods they have are brownies, banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies. The food is decent, but has no spice to it, and there are no condiments available to doctor it up. The noodle soup is very bland. But overall, I enjoyed the accommodations, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
The Park
Khao Sok National Park is one of the better known and more accessible parks in Thailand. There are two parts: the jungle, which is to the west, and the lake, past Ban Ta Khun. The western road to Khao Sok has more accommodation options and that’s where I stayed. The lake is supposed to be gorgeous, and you can do day treks there for 1800B (including park entrance fee) or overnight for 2800B…I didn’t go there, but I’ll get to that at the end.
Day One
I looked at the tours offered in town and they all seemed quite overpriced, so I took a brief walk to the park just to check it out and ask some question. Since I hadn’t gotten any sleep I didn’t want to jump right in. I went past the gate and into the visitor center where you buy your tickets. After some round-about questioning, I discovered you can only buy day passes for 300B each day, no matter what time you buy them. They are not 24hour, and you cannot buy multiple for a discount. I asked for a map and they handed me a faded copy of the park’s main trails, with the names of the scenic areas. I was also told that you can only hike 3km into the park. Anything past that point you must hire a guide.
I walked back to the hostel nearly in tears. I’m sure I was a bit emotional from the lack of sleep and missing my partner so badly after my first full week away, but what I had wanted from this particular park was a bit of time in nature – alone – to relax and reset. I had read online that I could do that here. What I found was an overpriced tourist trap that had already cost me a lot of money just to travel to.
One of my bunk mates had heard that if you buy a ticket past 4pm that it is good for the next day as well. I asked if I could tag along while she went to check it out. There may be a ray of hope here! I had done some further research and reached out to Travellenial about his posting from earlier this year to see if there was a way around the tour guides. I was determined to try.
We grabbed a beer in town, then had another round about conversation with the visitor center. They said come back at 4:30, we came back at 4:30 and they said they couldn’t do anything they are closed, go to the front gate. Luckily the front gate did sell us the 300B entry ticket for an ‘overnight trek’, which they assured me would also work for tomorrow. Alright! First work-around!
We headed in to explore and found a path the size of a narrow road, which is one of only two main paths available from the center. We ooed and ahed at the beauty of the park and took a few side trails down to the river. It was getting late but we had just reached a sign for Wing Hin waterfall so we trekked down, lost the path, climbed over some boulders, and hadn’t quite made it to the falls when we decided to turn back. Climbing the slippery rocks would have been dangerous in the dark and it was now twilight. We somehow found our way back to the path and as the sky quickly darkened, the sounds of the jungle amplified. Though we knew it was just some monkeys or insects, it had an eerie similarity to typical horror movie scenes. Our nerves tightened, our senses heightened, and I told my new friend, ‘just FYI, I’m a little afraid of the dark..’
We mostly walked, partly ran back to the entrance of the trail. We were just about to cross the first bridge when I cried out! Caitlin screamed, then we both doubled over laughing. There was a little fresh water crab hanging out in the middle of the path that I had seen.
After that adrenaline rush, we decided we deserved some pizza (as Italian food seems to be very popular in this small tourist village), a beer, and a good shower. Helluva day.
Day Two
Thanksgiving day! Since I’m living in the future. I had a late start to hiking because I was waiting to talk to my family, but I got impatient and left. At the park they did indeed let me enter with the night trek pass so I signed in and moved on.
I saw a guide leading a group to the falls we had missed yesterday, so I followed them and saw where our mistake was – you have to cross the river. Whoops. It was a tiny thing, but beautiful, and many tourists were resting by the water. I found a vine-swing and wandered a bit, looking up at the ranger station marking the 3km mark on the hill above. I considered continuing up the river and going through the forest to sneak around it, but that seemed dangerous and possibly unnecessary. So I walked past the station, didn’t see anyone, and ducked under the rope and passed the sign that said no passing without guide. No one was there, or no one paid attention. Winning!
I had an amazing trek, looking at the thick bamboo forests, the many different butterflies and flowers…it was beautiful! I felt alive and adventurous. This was just what I needed. I reached a fork in the road and turned left, intending to reach Tan Sawan falls. I hit the portion of the river I knew was coming, and across the way was the other stream I would be wading upstream through. I sat to rest and surveyed the situation. The river looked deep. Really deep in most parts. It looked like there was one boulders region in the center and a shallow area upstream, but I didn’t see a way to get back downstream. I stepped into the water and tested my footing. I almost fell twice just at the edge. I climbed out and sat on a rock to think. If I fell I might lose my bag, or ruin the contents. I could also seriously injure myself and there would be no one to hear me. Even my SPOT SOS button would not help if I lost the bag it was attached to or if it got water logged.
As I was processing all of this I noticed something wriggling on my ankle. Wriggling..wtf is that? I tried to pull it off, but it was stuck. Oh My F***. That’s a fricking leech! Those! There are multiple! F**£ £<*?*~>^##*%#*}^{^%.
I don’t know about you, but I had never encountered a leech before. I knew they had them in Asia, but I thought they were just in the water. Since I had just gotten out I figured if I stay away from more water I should be fine. I frantically ripped them off of me, then found more in the lining of my socks! Once they were off I relaxed a bit and observed them. These creepy f***ers had latched to the rock and were flailing around trying to find their prey again. They inch-wormed back towards me – Fast little guys. Ick!
Once I had relaxed I decided not to risk it. The river is likely higher now since this is the end of the rainy season. So I headed back to the fork in the path and head to the other waterfall, Ton Kiol. I found more leeches crawling up my shoes. It seems they are not only in the water. I was constantly looking at my feet and stopping to remove them, and the path was treacherous – involving some light climbing and slippery routes/roots (😜). About halfway there, I thought to myself…I’m not having fun anymore. was almost at my halfway mark (time in vs. time out before nightfall) and I’m not having fun. Time to turn around. It’s about the journey, not the destination, right? And I don’t want to be stuck in the jungle at night alone this time. So I twisted around, took a few steps, and then…I slipped.
Oh, I haven’t described my surroundings. The trail is maybe a foot wide, with jungle on either side, but one side is a steep – very steep – hill of dense jungle going down maybe…200 to 300 feet to the river below.
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So I fell, slipping off of this terrifying hill, and caught a root with my hand. I pulled myself back up, now freaking out about falling, and about my body touching ground where leeches may now attach to areas other than my feet.
I am a seasoned hiker! I’ve only gone 4.5 or so miles from the hostel (or so my phone’s step tracker said, I don’t actually know)! Why is this so difficult for me today?
I maintain that the leeches overwhelmed me, and when my anxiety kicks in it is very hard to turn off. I’m also not used to the heavy humidity after living in Colorado, and even though I drank a lot of water I’m sure I was getting dehydrated. But regardless I moved on – I had to get back, right? – moving quickly and pulling leaches off every few hundred feet.
When I was almost back to the ranger station, I saw a few small groups of people. We saw some dusky langur monkeys above and watched for a while. It seems the rangers put the rope aside at some point and were letting people through, or someone else moved it for themselves. At the station the man there just nodded at me, and I sat down to double check my feet again (paranoid much??). It seems the rangers are generally very relaxed about the ‘required guide’ rule, though it may vary on the season and recent wildlife seen in the area.
I saw even more monkeys on the large path. Some were chasing each other on the beach below, others were swinging from tree to tree above. One monkey climbed down onto the path…not more than 6 or 8 feet from me. I, of course, froze. I was wondering if I should step away or stay still, and if macaques are aggressive. He just looked at me, then walked up the path. Another one followed shortly after, and then a tiny baby monkey, and they disappeared again.
<<<<<< ack at the hostel I got into the shower with my headlamp, a mirror, and all of my clothes on. I peeled them off, one article at a time, so I could wash them and check that body area for leeches. I found one spot where one was attached to my hip at some point, but everything else looked clear. I decided to go ahead and get my laundry done that night... I had some food, had a beer with Caitlin when she came back from the lake tour, and did a lot of research on these nasty critters.
Leeches
Tired of me saying that yet? They are as gross as you’d think. But it seems they are harmless. You don’t want to pull or burn them off like I was doing, because they can stress out (like I was) and vomit into the bite, which can lead to infection. Gross!! But other than that, they don’t carry any diseases and they don’t drink enough blood to be harmful to your health.
Online references say to use a credit card or your fingernail to slide the thin attached end (mouth) aside, then pick it up and pluck the fat end (sucker only) off. Or, if you are a total badass, which I am obviously not, you can leave them alone and they will fall off when they’re full, in about 20 minutes.
There are some aquatic and some land-based varieties, but they all live in moist environments. Hello, Thailand. They smell warm-blooded animals, so apparently strong bug repellant or certain essential oils can deter them, but I couldn’t say for sure.
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A Note On Travel And Budgeting
I had a great conversation with another long term traveler who has been on the road for a while. I was fighting myself over buying one of the tours to the lake. On the one hand, everyone says it is beautiful and well worth the trip. On the other, it’s very expensive and…well, I’m just not sure I’d like it. Sitting on a boat just sightseeing with only a short hike and a cave tour just doesn’t sound like my kind of thing (for the price).Her view was to spend money on what you like. You’re here now. If you run out of money you can always go home, or work-away, or whatever. But the opportunity is here now.
The something you want to do may be expensive, but if it is something you want to do, then do it! They say people who pay for experiences and not possessions are happier in general. So give yourself the experience you know you’ll appreciate! Or learn from it what you like or don’t like about those experiences.
I’m going to try to keep this in mind as I go. It is most difficult to spend money at the beginning of the journey, since I’m concerned about budget and in a more expensive part of SEA currently. But I’m here now, and I can always come back. I do think I made the right decision to avoid the lake tour this time since it isn’t what I wanted from the park, but who knows what will happen tomorrow or next week?
Day Three
I am now on my way to Tonsai. I couldn’t get a bus until 3pm, which will leave me in Krabi a bit later than intended, but I’ll save that adventure for another day!
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