Krabi (National Parks, Elephant riding + Rafting)

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Trip Start Jan 12, 2010 Previous
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  Krabi, Thailand
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I went on another guided tour. For 1000B / £20 (at time of writing) the day consisted of white water rafting, elephant trekking, a visit to a water fall and monkey cave temple. It also included transfers, refreshments and lunch. We began the day been split into groups of 3 and 4. We would stay in these teams for various activities throughout the day. I was teamed up with a father and daughter duo from Europe. The first event was white water rafting. I've never done this before, but have always wanted to do it. It was great fun, hard work and heart stopping all at the same time. Once we had made it to the end of the rapids, the elephants from Song Preak elephant camp were waiting for us. I got the best seat. As opposed to riding in the bamboo seat strapped to the elephant's back, i sat on it's head with my legs around it's neck. Elephants are amazing creatures. They are so gentle, yet stronger than any other animal i know of. Although placid, you can feel the power in them as they moved, casting small trees and other obsticles aside with ease. After the ride into a section of jungle and through a stream, we got to feed them. We then had some light snacks and refreshments before having some R+R time at a waterfall. This was a nice way to get to know the other people on the tour and reflect on the 2 amazing experiences we'd just had. At the same time it was awe inspiring knowing you were sitting at a waterfall, surrounded by jungle in the middle of Thailand. Next, we had lunch. After lunch we headed back home but stopped off en route at monkey cave temple. Which, as you can guess, is a temple set within a cave and has monkeys as residents. It was a varied and fun packed trip. With the white water rafting and riding the elephant through the jungle been the highlights of the day.

Some days later i went on another day trip to a natinal park called Khao Phanom Bencha. Public transport doesn't run here. Being a poor backpacker, i didn't fancy paying the 200B or 400B price tag for a motorcycle taxi or tuk-tuk ride respectively. It was also too far to walk. I was looking into hiring a motorbike for the day (only 150B) but another traveler i'd met up with who was staying at the same guesthouse as me, had already hired a scooter for the month. He was going on the same day trip to Phi Phi islands as i'd done last week. As he wouldn't be needing the bike that day, and it wasn't worth his while giving the bike back for a single day, only to hire it out again the following, he said i could use it as long as i replace the fuel i use. I made my way to the National park and found my way there with no problems (This was the first time i'd been on the roads in Thailand driving my own vehicle. It was also the first time i'd been on a bike since my CBT bike test almost a year ago. It was an "experience" to say the least).

The national park, though a lovely place, wasn't quite what i was expecting. I assumed i'd have a nice trail to walk around at my leisure. Nope! it was a hard slog through rainforest terrain and the trail was more of a beaten track with steep climbs and sometime multiple routes with no signs (in Thai or English) telling you which way to go. Those 1237 steps at Tiger cave temple last week were nothing in comparison to this. About half way round one of the trails, the path forked. Wanting to make the most of this trip, once i'd finished, i decided to walk round a second time, to take the other path so as to explore as much as i could. The park is home to a waterfall (Huay To falls)  which is an 11 tiered waterfall complete with great scenery and views. I had a little swim in the pools at each of the reachable tiers. Having seen the main waterfall and walked all routes of the nature trail i made plans to make my way home. Upon doing so, i noticed another 2 signs at the other end of the park. One lead to a view point and the other to a second waterfall. I met a thai guy from Phuket at this point, so we followed the trail to the viewpoint together and it nearly killed us both. What a climb! But we were rewarded with scenic views. We then took the other path to the waterfall. However, it was all dried up (As i mentioned during my visit to Punyaban waterfall in Ranong last month, it is the dry season here in Thailand at the moment). So that was a waste of effort, but at least i can say i looked. I arrived at the park at 9am and left just gone 3pm.

On my way to the park in the morning, i noticed signs for two other points of interest in the form of caves. I decided if i had enough time when returning, i'd take the small detour and visit them. As it happens, i did have time. One cave was called Tham Pheung, but im not sure what the other one was called. While i don't think these caves would attract the crowds, they were well worth a look with their stalacites and stalagmites, especially for someone like myself who hasn't seen many caves.

It was a great, but tiring day out. I think another hot oil massage in due later.

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Feeding the elephant	Feeding the elephant	At the waterfall	At the waterfall
At the waterfall	At the waterfall	Fun at the waterfall	Me at the waterfall
Monkey cave Temple	Monkey cave Temple	Monkey cave Temple	Monkey cave Temple
Monkeys at Monkey cave Temple	Khao Phanom Bencha National park	Khao Phanom Bencha National park	Khao Phanom Bencha National park
Khao Phanom Bencha National park	Khao Phanom Bencha National park	Khao Phanom Bencha National park	Khao Phanom Bencha National park
Tham Pheung cave	Tham Pheung cave	Other cave (name unknown)	Other cave (name unknown)

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