Superman was the one who found out about Khao Sok National Park by watching YouTube videos about the best places to visit in Thailand. Cheow Lan Lake looked absolutely amazing and we figured we couldn’t pass up the once-in-a-lifetime chance to stay in floating bungalows on a lake in the jungle and take evening and morning boat safaris to spot wild animals. We found a tour several months before the trip and booked it for the only days available – unfortunately over a Sunday – but ended up loving it. So, plan in advance if you want to visit!!
One of the strangest things we’ve ever done on a trip– we packed enough for overnight in backpacks and kept everything else in our condo in Kamala Beach. We figured it would be a lot safer and a lot easier to leave the rest of our belongings there rather than have everything sitting in the car overnight in a random parking lot. I would do it exactly the same way if we were planning this trip again, but it did seem strange to have 2 lodging accommodations booked at the same time.
We got up really early and drove 3 and a half hours North, off of the island of Phuket and back on the mainland. The drive was actually really pleasant – very little traffic on the country roads on a Sunday morning. We passed through coconut farms on both sides of the road, huge bougenvilla all in bloom, and mountainous scenery. The only other vehicles on the road were pickups loaded with produce, some even with a guy hanging out on the back bumper.
We stopped at the Ratchaprapha Dam overlook on the way to meet our tour guide at the marina. He ended up messaging us while we were there with parking directions and wondering when we would arrive… then we figured out we were both at the overlook and met there instead. Iris took an instant liking to Spud and Littlest Girl and gave them VIP treatment the whole tour.
We enjoyed the views from the overlook – huge lake, blue skies, gorgeous trees & flowers… but honestly it didn’t match what we remembered from the videos and pictures we looked at before booking the trip. It looked like a lovely lake, but nothing *incredibly* special. We figured it would be fun anyway. Spoiler alert: it turned out to be EVERYTHING we had seen online and amazingly magical. Add it to your bucket list, NOW.
We parked our rental car at the marina, grabbed our backpacks, and followed our guide, Iris, through the National Park and Marina ticket buying lines (Kids 14 and under are less $$. I think we paid $540 baht per adult, and kids were about $100 baht less.) We also bought a bag of dried corn for the fish, then loaded up on a longtail boat with Iris, a driver, and a couple from Romania who are just doing a 1 day trip. We looked around at the other tours and wondered how we lucked out having such a private small group – the other boats had 20+ people aboard. We also are so glad we only brought 2 backpacks and a camera… some people were wrestling giant suitcases onto the longtail boats and cramming them between the benches. Pack light!
We took off across the lake and enjoyed the gorgeous turquoise water and rocky outcroppings covered in jungle trees for about an hour. The farther we went across the lake and between the mountains, the more amazing the scenery became. We navigated to one of the most famous rock formations on the lake – three giant boulders sticking up out of the water in a row. The Thai name for this place means “Three Friends” according to Iris. We got to take turns taking pictures (or as our guide says when having us pose “Make a picture”) up on the front of the boat.
We continued on the boat for another half hour or so until we saw floating bungalows on the lake. This is our hotel for the night!
We stopped here to check in and have lunch. The rooms are attached (or nearly attached, haha) to a floating dock. They have a tiny front porch, sliding glass doors that only lock from the outside, and are just room enough for a queen-size bed (rock hard mattresses like all of Thailand). We lucked out because our rooms included a tiny bathroom – half of the bungalows had a shared bathroom in the middle of the row instead. The bathrooms included a toilet, tiny sink, and a shower head (don’t forget to put the toilet paper outside of the bathroom before you shower) with a drain in the floor. The kids were positive that the drains just went down into the lake…. Iris assured us that all the wastewater is collected in a big septic tank. We have three bungalows in a row for the six of us, so the teen girls each paired with one of the little kids to share, and Superman and I took the one on the end with the sketchiest gap to cross. The kids said this is the most rustic place they’ve ever stayed… I said “Emphasis on the rust!”
Lunch was served in a large covered area. Lots of Thai foods that the staff brought out to us. We finally got to try Thai Green Curry. Tasted just like enchilada soup. Yummy! We filled up on rice and chicken in various forms. Nixi tried crab and was not a fan.
After lunch we got to feed the fish surrounding the dock with the corn we bought at the marina.
Then we got in the longtail boat again and crossed the lake to the Coral Cave trailhead. The hike is 2.5 km each way and has some steep sections, but overall a fairly easy hike. As we started up the trail Iris was pointing out different trees and plants. Then he said “My eyes 54. Spud, you keep eyes up, see bird and monkey.” Spud loved being put in charge of spotting animals in the trees overhead!
We saw some bungalows floating to the left of the trail – Iris pointed them out and said that only “Yo-ha” people stay there. We looked at him confused and he did a Tree pose. Oh! He meant “Yoga people.” He explained more that they all have big beards and long hair and are strange and want no electricity. Haha. The bungalows did look particularly run-down and were made of bamboo.
As we were hiking along with our eyes up in the tree canopy we suddenly heard some crashing noises off to the left of the trail in dense jungle. For a minute Iris thought it might be Asian elephants rubbing against the bamboo, but then we saw some type of primate jump branch to branch in the dense leaves. We thought it was a monkey, but Iris got a good look and said “Not monkey! Linger, linger!” One came into better view and we could see the amazing face of a Langur!!
It was so amazing to see Langurs (Dusky Leaf Monkeys or Spectacled Langurs) in the wild! Iris says it’s very unusual to see them feeding in the middle of the afternoon- usually they wait until evening. We stayed and watched as they ran and jumped through the bamboo and trees eating leaves until they went further from the trail and we couldn’t see them anymore.
We got to the end of the trail and got on an amazingly sketchy bamboo raft fitted with a long-tail motor and driven by an elderly Thai woman wearing a traditional Thai hat. She lives in a hut standing by the water and makes her living ferrying tourists across the water to Coral Cave and back. What a life.
Coral Cave is not lit up, so Iris passed out flashlights and carried an LED bar attached to a big battery. It’s not a huge cave, but it has a lot of formations that look like they belong in a reef. We made a lot of pictures and enjoyed the coolness of the cave. Of course, no cave in Thailand is complete without a shrine in it.
We went back to the raft, across the water, and hiked back through the jungle. We lucked out again and saw more Langurs eating and jumping. So cool! We also saw some macaques (monkeys).
We used the restrooms at the trailhead and I snapped a quick picture of the Thai baby napping in a mini hammock while her mom ran to shut off the hose that was flooding the bathroom. I love that Thai culture allows for babies and young children to be with their moms at work.
We got back in the long-tail boat and went slowly and quietly in and out of little inlets of the lake with jungle and mountains all around. We’d motor in and then the driver would cut the engine and we’d float silently closer to shore while watching the trees for birds and other wildlife.
We lucked out by seeing more macaques, langurs, and a gibbon! We heard tons of birds too, but they were hidden in the trees.
Iris told us that in 14 years of being a tour guide, he has only seen the Malaysan Tapir TWICE, they are so elusive. We were hoping for a sighting of those or Asian elephants, but those were also elusive today. (We can’t feel too bad, they’ve only seen 1 by the water in the last week.)
After an hour or more of enjoying the safari ride and craning our necks to watch the monkeys high up in the canopy, we headed back to the bungalows.
Spud and Superman got in a kayak and paddled around to see if they could see more monkeys as it became dusk. They heard a bunch and enjoyed the jungle and paddling around the beautiful lake.
The girls and I jumped in the water! The girls were grossed out that they were swimming with the big fish and didn’t last very long. I thought it was super refreshing – cool but not cold. I would have stayed in longer with Littlest but she begged to get out too.
We all showered off the lake water and then had another Thai meal – this time we were served an entire fish (actually pretty good despite looking like an ugly monster). Thai omelettes are a dinner food eaten over rice of course. They aren’t bad, just oily and pretty bland. The favorite, as always, is the fresh pineapple and watermelon for dessert!
After dinner we enjoyed the sounds of the jungle quieting down for the night, watching geckos on the walls, and playing cards (Miss A was tired and went to bed early).
We had a little dilemma when we were going to bed– remember how I said that the bungalows only locked with padlocks from the outside? Well, we didn’t feel super safe about the kids not being able to lock themselves in, but also didn’t feel safe about locking them in. So, we all just closed the doors and curtains and hoped for the best. (Read: Mom and Dad didn’t sleep very well because we woke up every time someone walked along the dock — the college kids didn’t settle down until 1am — and we had obnoxious neighbors up past 2. About then the bungalow next door with Miss A and Littlest Girl had the porch light flick on and off a few times. Superman jumped out of bed and went to investigate. They were asleep and surprised to see Dad… Probably the electricity just connected a little when the dock rocked. He checked on the other kids too and scared Nixi Ray when he opened the door. 6am wakeup call came early!)
Iris slept in the eating area in a hammock suspended from the roof. The boat driver took the boat into a cove and slept on it (pretty sure he only had a towel for a blanket and no pillow). Rough work!
Overnight, the humidity formed clouds and mist that clung to the mountains and trees. Absolutely magical and mystical! We hopped on the long-tail boat, this time just our family and guides, and went animal watching. Absolutely incredible experience watching gibbons and great crown hornbills fighting over fruits in a 300 foot tree! Iris taught us to identify gibbons – they mostly swing by their arms from branch to branch. Macaques jump. Langurs crawl and leap small distances.
One small hiccup – Nixi Ray got a bad nosebleed out of the blue. Luckily a couple on another boat had some napkins they passed over and she only left a little DNA souvenir on the boat.
We loved every minute of the morning safari in Khao Sok National Park — totally worth it!! It was so cool to see Iris and the boat driver be excited about the animals we were seeing. One of us would spot something and then they’d navigate as close as possible and make sure everyone got to see. Iris invited Spud and Littlest Girl to sit on the bow with him. If he didn’t know what something was (like the specific species of hornbill), he’d ask the driver in Thai and they’d have a rapid-fire conversation back and forth and then he’d translate for us. They also discussed the best places to try to find elephants and we tried hard, but no luck. It’s just not often that you find guides so excited and involved even though they see this every day. Made it even more special for us.
When the sun was fully up the mist burned off and the clouds evaporated, leaving us with a gorgeous sunny day. We went back to the bungalows for breakfast and to check out. Thai breakfasts are just not that appetizing. Not sure how you ruin fried eggs, but they are not good. They look like rubber and are mostly raw. And the sausages are bland hot dogs. Gross. We all survive on toast with jelly and fresh fruit.
The ride back to the marina was beautiful and like traveling back to Earth from another planet. Littlest Girl fell sound asleep! Iris made our picture again by the great hornbill sign and then we gave him a tip ($200 baht) for being so great. Then he was off to drive 2 hours, pick up another couple, drive 2 hours back and do a romantic sunset tour. He said he’d get home about midnight and then tomorrow is his day off.
We debated going to the National Park headquarters and hiking the trails near there (maybe seeing a giant Rafflesea flower about to bloom), but we’d also heard about a clear spring where we could swim called Ban Nam Sake (translation: village water clear). Stay tuned!
