My Family Experience in a treehouse
A Family's Journey Through the Jungle
We visited Khao Sok with all our family, from grandparents to kids and all stayed together in a treehouse.
In the outskirts of Thailand's Khao Sok National Park, away from the busy village, we visited Our Jungle House with my parents and our three children. Three generations ready to experience the jungle for four days.
Day 1, enjoy enchanted jungle
Our house for the next four days speaks to most children's dream of having a house high up in a tree. The 2-storey "Happy Nest" treehouse at Our Jungle House was home to my husband and I, our three children and my parents. We wanted to take in the beautiful nature and go on various experiences in the jungle. The beautiful houses are built in wood and nature's own materials and have a view over the river and the beautiful limestone formations. And no wifi or TV.
On the first day we went bamboo rafting, which is a trip on the river on a raft. It is the traditional way of transporting things and people in the jungle. After a quick introduction and some questions, everyone set off on the rafts, and it's all very quiet down a wide river.
We see elephant tracks from a wild elephant that has been down by the river to drink. Nature is wonderful around us. After 30 min there is a short break where we can swim in the river and are offered some jungle-style coffee, where the water is cooked in pieces of bamboo.
Children's activities in the jungle
The next day, the children participated in the resort’s "Children's Activities", which was a fantastic experience. Jungle Life Camp, the resort’s non-profit project, teaches the local children about nature and the environment. Our children could experience hands-on learning in a safe jungle environment with them.
We were met by a wonderful guide who, at a child’s level, taught them to build shelters from banana leaves and learn to tell the different insects. We also caught some and looked at them under a magnifying glass, before letting them free again.
The guide also showed us around the nearby nature, and we learned how to get water in the jungle. We adults were there, except my mother, who took care of 1 year old Karl. My husband and I enjoyed being able to give the two big children our full attention.
For dinner, we learn to cook traditional, local jungle food in bamboo tubes over a fire. After dinner, we went on a night safari inside the National Park nearby. The guide was very good at spotting all the nocturnal animals and we saw a lot of snakes, spiders, birds, lizards and scorpions.
Full-day trip to the lake
After breakfast the next day, we all went on a trip to Cheow Lan Lake. We booked a private tour, which appeals to us with small children. It allowed us to take the trip on our terms and possibly stop or leave earlier if it suited us better.
On the Cheow Lan lake, we stopped at a grotto, where our children were fascinated by stalactites, and we went for a short hike.
Afterwards, we ended up on a giant raft with a restaurant and accommodation options. The place was crowded with too many tourists everywhere, but the surrounding lake and limestone formations were beautiful, and my parents were happy with the trip.
The big giants
On the last day we visited the Elephant Sanctuary. The children had been so looking forward to seeing elephants. We are very much against elephant riding, so we visited a place with no riding. Here, however, you are still allowed to touch the elephants and wash them, which can be debated as to whether it is ok. But the place worked very well with just a few visitors at a time. And the elephants seem to thrive and be happy. Our four days in the Thai jungle ended with the elephants.
