Khao Yai, Thailand

Gorgeous waterfall near the visitor center

The first national park in Thailand, Khao Yai, was gorgeous and although we did not see the famed wild elephants, I definitely got my wildlife fix. Though only (supposed to be--it took us 5+because of flooding) 2 hours outside of Bangkok it is truly a different world. I'm proud to report that Taylor confirmed my feelings that it was actually chilly in the park and we survived the lack of sleeping pads for rent valiantly. I also quickly realized that th park is really intended for guests with cars. We arrived on public transport only to be told to hitch hike was our way up the hill into the park. Thankfully, this practice seems to be well knows/widely accepted in the park and many kind motorists obliged our wayward thumb signals. Many of the people we caught rides with were Bangkokians whose houses were flooded. Beyond that, it would seem most tourists do not make it far off the paved road through the park. The few hikes available we found to be incredibly overgrown and not well-traveled. On our second day in the park, we had seemingly exhausted all available trails so we went to consult with the park headquarters. They recommended a trail and we were off.


We arrived to the trail head where a signpost boldly read "Closed: no activity allowed." We were mildly confused but decided to forge ahead based on what the ranger had said...not the signpost. The first bit was okay but it quickly turned into a game of 'where's waldo?' for the red spray paint trail markers on trees. The cherry on top was that all the while, blood-hungry leeches were crawling up our shoes, burrowing in our socks, and wiggling their way into our shoelace holes. We were able to pick most of them off in time, but we both got bitten. The one "nice" thing about leeches is that when they bite you they release a mild anesthetic so their bites don't hurt. Unfortunately, they also release an anti coagulant so you bleed...a lot. We muddled our way through the muddy stream crossings balancing on slippery logs, fallen bramble bushes, I had another encounter with a spiked rattan palm and scratched up my shin but we survived! And found the most gorgeous strangler fig, tons of butterflies, monitor lizards and leaves the size of Texas. Here are some of the things we found:

Giant Strangler Fig

The dreaded rattan palm...

Caterpillar Convention

Cute little monkey

We found this gibbon right near the visitor center and it just swung around for 20-30 minutes making it's eerie territorial call...SOOOOO COOOL!

Our hiking trail was peppered with these lovely signs....

Evidence of the elusive elephants

Next we were off to Bangkok through the flood (we couldn't put our bags beneath the bus because the flood was so deep!). The flood was beyond any scope I could have imagined. Everywhere I looked was water. Thai's seem to be amazingly upbeat and taking it all in stride with makeshift boats and markets just above the flood waters. Kids were taking full advantage of the situation swimming and playing in the water. The two hour trip took 5+ in a bus with shoddy aircon...but we made it to Bangkok in time to see P'Ngae's art show and make it to the airport for our night sleeping on airport benches before flying to Bali at 6am.