It is mid July. My Husband and I have just returned from our elephant trek and are eating paradise crepes by the river at Our Jungle House. It was a delightful experience winding up the steep jungle slope on our trusty elephant companion. We paired up with a lovely family who was on holiday from England, who’s children could barely contain their excitement. For part of the journey, my husband sat atop the elephants muscular neck and steered us through the trees. All and all a delightful experience and one I would recommend to anyone who wants to be closer to these majestic creatures.
Khao Sok
Elephant Safari
Macaque Breakfast
It is just before noon and we are sitting upstairs in restaurant where my wife and two daughters are finishing a late breakfast. Suddenly there is a shaking of the upper tree branches and a family of long tailed Macaque climb down to forage for lunch (a small grouping of wild bananas by the river). This subspecies is often called the “crab eating” macaque because they are known to dip their long tails in the sea to fish for crab. We feel privileged to share this moment of a family meal with our primate neighbors.
Our Jungle House Chiewlarn Lake Trip 2012
It is 9:00 AM before the bus arrives to take us to the dam. It is my second day in Khao Sok and already I am excited to see what this region has to offer. As we round the corner to the pier, I see an immense expanse of water painted crystal blue by the sky above. Hopping aboard a long tail boat, we depart for the floating raft house where we will spend the night. Though moving at high speed, the expanse of water lined with gigantic limestone cliffs seems to stretch lazily in the distance; there is only the splash of the water to remind us of our velocity.
Mountain Biking Round Khao Sok
After 6 days of trekking, elephant riding, exploring a lake, hiking through caves, running and swimming, I decided on a bike ride…
I rented a good mountain bike from Our Jungle House, and off I went. Bodhi showed me the track to follow on google maps, and me being me, I nodded, pointed at the track and agreed on where I was going!!! However, I didn’t really have a clue after the first turn. I thought, “Brilliant, I am going to have a Goonies vs Jurassic Park experience!” And that I did!
Lost in Translation
In the late afternoon, after a wonderful canoe tour down the river, we were relaxing on the river bank with Lek, our friendly guide. Lek explained that he had grown up nearby, and it was one his favorite places to rest after a long day. A young Thai farmer was returning from his fields with his day’s harvest of vegetables. I pointed at the vegetable, some sort of long green gourd.
The farmer held out the gourds in his hand, smiled at me, and said, ”f**k.”
I looked at the farmer with a confused expression, and then over to Lek for some sort of explanation.
Tubing Khao Sok during the Dry Season
Tubing Khao Sok during the Dry Season
Flooding means Fun!
We have been staying at Our Jungle House for the last week. It is the middle of dry season, the River Sok is running very low, usually no more than a foot deep in front of the lodge. Guests have inquired about the possibility of tubing, but the seasoned staff have had to be party poopers: “Oh no, you can’t go tubing. The water is too shallow. Sorry!” The last few days have seen thunderstorms every afternoon, with impressively soaking rains. Yet the river has not risen significantly. Last night we had another heavy storm, but this time the river surged up many feet. Perhaps the previous rains had saturated the ground. Perhaps it is related to upstream construction activity.
Exploring the Khao Sok Temple Cave Wararam
The appearance of the mouth of the cave signals an imminent entrance into another world. I feel an anticipatory tension. We gingerly climb up the muddy rampart into the mouth of the cave, and turn around. We are now inside looking out; the cave frames the jungle and creates a startling view. The horizon is dominated by jagged karst peaks wreathed in clouds. The jungle unfolds before us. And all around us is the cave.
Khao Sok Ecotourism – How to make a difference when you travel
By Kaisen and Lisa Betts-Lacroix
In this interview, Our Jungle House’s manager offers his view on the following questions:
What exactly is “ecotourism”?
How can people outside from the area learn to help?
How do we know where our money is best spent?
An excerpt is below, and you can read the full interview here.
You can also read more about Our Jungle House’s commitment to sustainability here.
Kaizen: So what exactly is “ecotourism”?
Geologist’s dream: Khao Sok as a Natural History Book
… reflections from Dakota, a geologist in training:
Travelling to Thailand for the first time, following friendly connections, we reached Our Jungle House in January 2012.
I am writing from Khao Sok national park at Our Jungle House. Bodhi, the manager here, is a pretty solid dude with exceptional skills in free styling to some ukulele jams. As a college student currently learning Geology and Geological Engineering, my studies in college have proven to be incredibly useful here in Khao Sok Park. Typing the name of the park into Google images will yield stunning photos of the huge, high standing monoliths that have intrigued us so much since we’ve been here.
Motorcycle Madness and Reflections on Development
From a recent guest…
Many concerned locals in Phuket thought we were completely mad driving a Honda Click 250km in the middle of the night from Phuket to Khao Sok…. we shall call the midnight journey to Khao Sok a “bonding experience” and both really enjoyed the entire trip, sore backsides and all. Insects feel like golfballs on your cheeks at 80km/hr. Two full tanks and a 5 litre Vixol bottle filled with gasoline will see you through…
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Telephone: From outside Thailand call 6681-417-0546, From inside Thailand, call 081-417-0546
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