Khao Sok, Thailand

Although Khao Sok was still quite touristy it had a much nicer feel than Koh Lanta.  I think the difference comes from the fact that there really isn't much to do in Khao Sok other than ecotourism and two bars that close fairly early. It was a small town but easy enough to get to. From the bus stop our hotel (Green Valley Resort) had a free taxi to the hotel if you already have a booking. Otherwise it is only 50TB to get into town rather than walking a half hour.

Green Valley Resort had very friendly staff and was lovely with small cabins encircling a little garden with pathways. It wasn't a large property but it was full of birds, squirrels, lizards and frogs. Large pots of water with lotus flowers were full of tadpoles and at night breeding tree frogs.

Common Southeast Asian Treefrog (Polypedates leucomystax)

Common Southeast Asian Treefrog (Polypedates leucomystax)

Khao Sok National Park was walking distance from the hotel and pretty much every other hotel in town. The first night we signed up for a night hike. It is 600TB plus a 300TB entrance fee for the park but you can use the entrance fee to go into the park that afternoon you book the nigh hike and the next day. You cannot enter the park at night without a guide. The guide will take you on a walk from 6:30-9:30pm. They don't talk much, which is nice for a night hike to not scare off wildlife, but they show you monkeys, spiders, snakes and frogs (if they are around).  The night I went we saw a Banded Malaysian Coral Snake, Temple Viper (really far up in the trees), Mountain Frog, Bent-toed Gecko, Puhket Pricklenape, Paddy Field Frog, Emma Grays Forest Lizard, Black-striped Frog, Flat-tailed Gecko, Tokay Gecko and so many cool spiders.

Banded Malaysian Coral Snake (Calliophis intestinalis)

spider

Chalcorana eschatia

Night walks just around town you can actually see almost just as much stuff. The creeks had choruses of frogs and tadpoles metamorphosing into tiny froglets. I eventually found a Red-necked Keelback Snake that of course eats frogs.

young Chalcorana eschatia

Chalcorana eschatia recently meta-morphed

Red-necked Keelback (Rhabdophis subminiatus)

A morning walk into the park and you realize that the monkeys are always around the same place and are quite impossible to miss in the morning when they are crashing around and calling to each other. Birds were calling loudly as well but they were at the tops of trees and hidden by foliage so it wasn't easy to see any of them. The birding was actually the most active around 8am so waking up super early for the walk wasn't actually necessary but it did get us further down the trail and ahead of the crowds.

Spotted Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus maculatus)

Flying Lizards (Barred Flying Dragon and Black-barbed Flying Dragon), Turtles and Spotted Forest Skinks were out enjoying the sunshine when we went for an afternoon hike around the loop towards Sip-ed Chum Waterfall. The straight section to the waterfall was closed but the loop was much nicer than the main wide straight trail we had taken that morning. The trail is possibly the most expensive trail I have ever seen with basically a full boardwalk of concrete and metal going into the forest, but it is obvious that this hasn't really been maintained in recent years since the trail is falling apart in many places. I imagine it won't be long before they close this section of the trail too rather than replacing it. This was one sad thing I found about National Parks I visited in Thailand - they lack an extensive trail system so there really isn't to much of the park you can see.

Turtle (Cyclemys)

Barred Flying Dragon (Draco taeniopterus)

 To get a bit further into the park they offer tours of Khao Sok Lake where you can either go up for a day or stay overnight in a floating cabin.  We opted for the day tour since we were told that there aren't really walking trails around the cabins and you can't really go anywhere at night. The tour starts with a drive to the dam followed by a longboat ride to the cabins where you get lunch. The food is very good and included scrumptious sweet chilli fish. Hiking up to the Nam Talu Cave was rushed but we did see gliding lizards on the way. The guide we had didn't know anything about wildlife but was very friendly and made a lot of jokes.

Boat launch at the dam on Khao Sok Lake

Khao Sok Lake cabins

The cave itself was the best cave I have ever been in. A river runs right through the cave but you can walk all the way through it. Bring water shoes or something you don't mind getting wet or you will have to rent some for 50TB. The water does get deep in parts and sometimes people might have to swim if they are shorter. The cave had crickets, giant spiders, a few frogs and many bats. The rock formations were incredibly intricate and sparkled against the headlamp light.

Bats in Nam Talu Cave

Nam Talu Cave

Nam Talu Cave

There was less time for a swim/kayak than they said there would be but from the kayak we ended up getting a good view of Langur (monkeys) and shorebirds.

Striated Heron

 The largest flower in the world, Rafflesia kerii, occurs in an area just outside of Khao Sok, which is famous for having the most famous population of this parasitic species in the world. We booked a tour at one of the shops down the street. Prices are pretty much set on the tours and you might be able to haggle a few dollars or so but it ultimately will not be worth your time. I would always make sure to clarify if the park entrance fee is included or not. Also if you consider how many people these tours actually employ they really are not overpriced. The only open flower we saw was on it's last day of blooming (out of three days that they are open) but many buds were coming up around it. I would have loved to come back in a few days just to see all of these open at once! 

Rafflesia is a symbol of Khao Sok National Park (but it doesn't get quite this big)

Worlds Largest Flower (Rafflesia kerii) on its last day

 In terms of food in Khao Sok the Blue Cafe was quite lovely and the Rasta Bar had lovely drinks for a good price. The Rasta Bar also had a fire show later at night. Thai massages in town are very good and a great price compared to massages in Canada (average for Thailand). Thai massage isn't really the same as what I have had previously and they stretch you in odd ways during the massage.