When people mention Thailand, what often comes to mind will be Pad Thai or Som Tum, possibly the red light
districts of Bangkok, the beach town of Pattaya, or one of the many
islands - replete with white sand beaches and turquoise water - under a splendid sun with cloudless skies. Yes, in Thailand you can have ALL of that and so much more. But what about wildlife? Mountains? Yes, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are idyllic locales for these trips - and especially good destinations to see and experience the otherworldy skylanterns launched during the New Year celebrations - but these provinces are a plane-flight (or overnight bus trip) away from Bangkok. Another good alternative is located within several hours driving distance to the northeast of the city in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province: Khao Yai National Park and the mountainous surrounding region.
One weekend a short while ago, some friends and I were talking about a trip out of the concrete jungle of Bangkok. It's a great city - vibrant, bustling, full of fun; but the constant action and motion seems to drain the life out of a person after some time. The usual ideas of "let's go to one of the islands and just hang out on the beach!" naturally came up, but since we were short on time, we decided it would be fun to check out something different, something new- yet within driving distance of Bangkok. Finally, we settled on a short trip up to Khao Yai National Park, located just several hours drive to the northeast of the capitol. In the region are some mountains (including the highest point in central Thailand) and the national park complete with waterfalls and wildlife, and many reservoirs. The next day we set out and the trip ended up being fantastic!
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After a long drive, we found ourselves in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima. The first evening, we decided to head on over to Lam Takhong Reservoir (pictured above; found at GPS coordinates 14.839607,101.555185), a huge reservoir alongside a local road called Thanon Mittraphap. In this particular area were multitudes of restaurants with promoters playing "chicken" with the cars, trying - no striving with all their energy and comic prowess - to attract customers to their restaurants. The food almost everywhere is indeed excellent and the views of the reservoir at dusk and sunset is very spectacular. We found our way to one of the restaurants and then headed over the government-run lookout point to watch dusk slowly settle over the lake, the sun's last rays shooting out from behind the clouds before finally sinking behind the darkening hills.
Driving around Nakhon Ratchasima was quite a fun experience! The area is quite rural, dotted with some very nice (and expensive!) restaurants and we passed by many farms and hotels nestled between the hills. At one point, since I was the map reader (well, GPS reader) and guide. I accidentally took us down some quaint roads by farms actually being tended by the farmhands. In the Midwest of the United States, the terrain is very flat and farms stretch for miles and miles (many kilometers) in many directions, with huge tractors or other farm machinery to work the land. In Thailand, manpower is still very affordable and as such it's fairly common to see farmers working their own fields. Seems like a more down-to-earth method, with man not quite as disconnected from the surrounding environment!
We entered Khao Yai National Park through the main gate from the south. The park is somewhat mountainous, and consists of one main north-south road with additional roads branching out to the various waterfalls, mountain peaks, and camping grounds located within the premises. The entry fee for a foreign adult is 400 baht (about 13 USD). Thai nationals will only pay a small percentage of this amount, but considering that it is a developing country, the cost discrepancy is reasonable and common in the developing countries around Southeast Asia!
One of the biggest surprises as we drove up the road were the number of monkeys dotting the roadside. Remember not to stop though, as these guys can be very aggressive and pesky, even ripping off car antennas, windshield wipers and the like. As we were moving along, the monkeys were very chill too; hardly noticing us and just moving a little bit when we honked at them to get out of our way. We stopped by the lookouts, some of which had phenomenal views and others which were somewhat obstructed by the trees, before stopping by the visitors center for information on the park and the night treks through the jungle. The night treks started at around 7:30pm, weather permitting, and cost about 60 baht or 2 USD per person. For the first day, we found it fun (sanook, as the word "fun" may be termed in the Thai language) to explore the various waterfalls, starting with the Haew Suwat Waterfall pictured above. Some pictures in and around Khao Yai National Park can be seen below. Check out the monkeys in photo number two!!!
Legend. 1. Small figurines climbing a jungle-style tree at a restaurant near the mountains 2. More than just the park rangers guard this road!! 3. View over one of the waterfalls into the pool far below 4. Swampy area in the jungle. Beware of crocs!!! No, I don't mean the shoes. 5. Several of the common glass water bottles used at local restaurants in Thailand
Late in the evening, we were growing tired and hungry, and so we headed for the park's exit. While we were passing by a reservoir on the left, and with tall grasses and trees on our right, we saw something big and grey begin to lumber across the road in front of us, making its way from the reservoir over to the grass. It was one of the park's many wild elephants! We quickly slowed down and watched as he made his way almost parallel with the car before crashing back into the foliage. I quickly jumped out of the car to take a quick picture, which can be seen below. I've seen wild tigers in India, but this is the first wild elephant that I had ever seen! Later on, we saw some jeeps with spotlights stopped by the road adjacent to a ravine. Consequently, we too stopped and were able to make out multiple elephants grazing (if grazing is the right word for an elephant!) in the tall grasses that were growing on the banks of a large pond below. Quite a thrill!!
The entire trip was very relaxing, sabai sabai (the Thai for what can be termed for the lifestyle of "take it easy" or "hakuna matata"), full of sunshine and no rain. From some of the mountain peaks, it's possible to see the sun rise early in the morning or set in the evening. The tallest peak in the central part of Thailand can also be found in Khao Yai. In any case, the trip was excellent and alot of fun for all around. Highly recommend a visit to the park if you ever get the chance, but for sure this locale will be added to one of the many relaxing vacation spots around Bangkok!!
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Coming up! Trip to the island Koh Chang!!
Previous post: Celebrating Loi Krathong at Chulalongkorn University and the Chao Phraya River!
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Related Posts
A trip through history at the ancient city of Sukhothai
International Balloon Festival fun in Chiang Rai
Vacationing on Elephant Island
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| Night lazily settles over the Lam Takhong Reservoir in the Nakhon Ratchasima province of Thailand |
------
After a long drive, we found ourselves in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima. The first evening, we decided to head on over to Lam Takhong Reservoir (pictured above; found at GPS coordinates 14.839607,101.555185), a huge reservoir alongside a local road called Thanon Mittraphap. In this particular area were multitudes of restaurants with promoters playing "chicken" with the cars, trying - no striving with all their energy and comic prowess - to attract customers to their restaurants. The food almost everywhere is indeed excellent and the views of the reservoir at dusk and sunset is very spectacular. We found our way to one of the restaurants and then headed over the government-run lookout point to watch dusk slowly settle over the lake, the sun's last rays shooting out from behind the clouds before finally sinking behind the darkening hills.
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| Farmers harvesting their crop by hand and carrying it in baskets to the truck. Manpower is cheap in Thailand! |
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| Haew Suwat Waterfall in Khao Yai National Park. The water flows over a cliff into a deep pool before flowing onward |
One of the biggest surprises as we drove up the road were the number of monkeys dotting the roadside. Remember not to stop though, as these guys can be very aggressive and pesky, even ripping off car antennas, windshield wipers and the like. As we were moving along, the monkeys were very chill too; hardly noticing us and just moving a little bit when we honked at them to get out of our way. We stopped by the lookouts, some of which had phenomenal views and others which were somewhat obstructed by the trees, before stopping by the visitors center for information on the park and the night treks through the jungle. The night treks started at around 7:30pm, weather permitting, and cost about 60 baht or 2 USD per person. For the first day, we found it fun (sanook, as the word "fun" may be termed in the Thai language) to explore the various waterfalls, starting with the Haew Suwat Waterfall pictured above. Some pictures in and around Khao Yai National Park can be seen below. Check out the monkeys in photo number two!!!
Late in the evening, we were growing tired and hungry, and so we headed for the park's exit. While we were passing by a reservoir on the left, and with tall grasses and trees on our right, we saw something big and grey begin to lumber across the road in front of us, making its way from the reservoir over to the grass. It was one of the park's many wild elephants! We quickly slowed down and watched as he made his way almost parallel with the car before crashing back into the foliage. I quickly jumped out of the car to take a quick picture, which can be seen below. I've seen wild tigers in India, but this is the first wild elephant that I had ever seen! Later on, we saw some jeeps with spotlights stopped by the road adjacent to a ravine. Consequently, we too stopped and were able to make out multiple elephants grazing (if grazing is the right word for an elephant!) in the tall grasses that were growing on the banks of a large pond below. Quite a thrill!!
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| Now here's a shot! Jumped out of the car to photograph this wild elephant alongside the main road!!! |
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| View of the valley from one of the mountains in Khao Yai National Park. A beautiful day in the neighborhood!! |
------------------
Coming up! Trip to the island Koh Chang!!
Previous post: Celebrating Loi Krathong at Chulalongkorn University and the Chao Phraya River!
----
Related Posts
A trip through history at the ancient city of Sukhothai
International Balloon Festival fun in Chiang Rai
Vacationing on Elephant Island
