Thailand: A road trip to nowhere fast: Khao Yai National Park- Part One
Not a bad way to start the day, trip planning with a hearty complimentary breakfast.
Finally, I was headed back to the mountains. As I sat there eating my simple but filling complimentary breakfast, I was excited to be returning to the mountains. I had been on pretty much hot, dry featureless roads for a couple of days now and my soul was yearning for some cool mountain air, lush green jungle and of course some challenging twisty corners to lean the grey ghost into.
Yeah, yeah. I hear you; the Grey Ghost isn’t exactly a road bike with high performance but she’s a workhouse that’ll carry my heavy weight and luggage with ease and still get your blood pumping both on and off road. It’s the perfect all-round bike for a meanderthal of questionable riding skills and for those that are more competent mind you, as well. It’s a hugely popular bike for off road riding and enduro in Thailand and that is pretty much why I got it. Having said that I’ve loved its versatility as evidenced by this road trip with my mosko moto soft luggage. Put simply the grey ghost is the jack of all trades and master of none. A reliable bike that will not let you down. With a glowing report like this anyone would think that I’m getting paid by Honda to sponsor this blog but alas that is not the case, however, if Honda is reading feel free to reach out.
Khao Yai national park, a gateway to the mountains, jungle and waterfall splendours. Only a couple hours ride away from Bangkok but worlds apart in comparison.
What can I say, I love the randomness of Thai road signs
Arrh, Khao Yai national Park you have been but a signpost on a distant road and a shiny picture on an Instagram reel for days now. As I pull up to the front gate I’m surrounded by jungle and the air is clear and notably cooler. I can’t but help feel excited at the prospect that stands before me. Snapping the obligatory I have arrived picture in front of the sign post I wander over to check out the farang entrance fee that I know is coming. I don’t mind paying it, I’ve long since come to accept that as a Foreigner in this country I must pay the ferryman, but this one shocked me, 400 baht for an adult and 20 baht for my steed. Roughly double what other national parks on this trip had cost me. Grumbling to the ticket lady I handed over my money. She was clearly apathetic to my plight giving me a look that said just pay up and quit your bitching. She hands me the ticket and I’m on my way.
Always love that top of the world feeling and if it’s got a coffee place then all the better.
My research indicated that there were two big waterfalls of notoriety – Haew Narok waterfall and Haew Suwat waterfall. This was my destination for today. Now these waterfalls are at different ends of the national park. So logic would have it that you visit the furthest one first and go from there. Google was telling me this road was very popular riding, so I knew it had to be a twisty heaven. I hadn’t gone more than a kilometre into it before I encountered some reckless riders, pushing the boundaries and screaming around the corner on the wrong side of the road on CB500x bikes. We saw each other at the same time, and I swerved and narrowly missed sliding of the edge of the road down the mountain. It really pisses me off when I see riders doing reckless shit. Not only does it give all riders a bad name, but it also endangers others. I couldn’t give two hoots if you want to kill yourself but just leave me out of the equation.
even here the GG likes to go “Yak norn” (get sleepy) the sign tells the story and of all the places to drop the bike. I have never recovered the GG so quickly in my life. to escape the perils of a lurking Cobra
Stopping on the side of the road shortly thereafter, I turned off the GG and its rumbling exhaust was replaced by silence and the chatter of wild monkey’s. The forest was alive and peaceful, and I had this little piece of paradise all to myself. I could see a game trail beside a little stream and walked over to inspect it. Ten steps into the jungle and you were alone and enveloped in nature. Not a hint of anything man made just the sound of the jungle, chirping insects, birds calling to each other and the distant screech of monkeys. I sat there for a good 10 minutes on a rock overlooking a stream watching the water cascading into a pool of cool clear water. Completely at ease, maybe a little crazy because I tried talking to the monkeys and strangely enough it seemed they were bemused enough to answer back.
My good mate Uncle Dave would get a kick out of this sign. still not sure if it’s a caution for the riders or the cars using the road.
Stopping on the side of the road shortly thereafter, I turned off the GG and its rumbling exhaust was replaced by silence and the chatter of wild monkey’s. The forest was alive and peaceful, and I had this little piece of paradise all to myself. I could see a game trail beside a little stream and walked over to inspect it. Ten steps into the jungle and you were alone and enveloped in nature. Not a hint of anything man made just the sound of the jungle, chirping insects, birds calling to each other and the distant screech of monkeys. I sat there for a good 10 minutes on a rock overlooking a stream watching the water cascading into a pool of cool clear water. Completely at ease, maybe a little crazy because I tried talking to the monkeys and strangely enough it seemed they were bemused enough to answer back.
Such is the Zen of Haew Suwat waterfall even a random Monk on the path does not seem out of place, just be ready for some steep stairs on the path in and out.
Eventually it was time to leave my little Zen hidey hole and hit the twisties again. I know I’ve said it before, but Such is the beauty of this place that around every corner an amazing view pops out to greet you. It’s simply stunning. Arriving at the top of the mountain I was greeted by a quaint little coffee trailer with an outdoor setting. On one side you look at the jungle and the other side of the road you look out over the expanses of jungles and hamlets of civilisation far away.
Sitting there quietly sipping on an iced coffee and watching the world is a great way to whittle away some time. I chatted to a fellow biker from BKK that was travelling through the region to escape the rat race for a while. I could empathise with him. Life moves at a crazy pace in the city and here it all seems irrelevant.
Haew Suwat waterfall, one can’t but help sit here and reflect. .
Pushing on all caffeinated up, I came across an interesting road sign that I just had to stop and take a picture of. The sign simply said Caution Cobra Crossing and a picture of a cobra snake. I pulled up quickly went to turn around to position the GG under the sign and slipped on the wet grass. Dropped the GG in the middle of the cobra crossing area and I rolled off a bit into the long grass. I tell you what, the sign really did work. Well, I sprung up with my head on a swivel looking for Cobras, rushed over to the GG and with superhuman strength in record time righted the bike, jumped on and scooted out of the jungle path of cobra crossing. Anyone watching would have wet themselves laughing. At the time I shit myself but now I laugh at the comical nature of my first little tumble on the road trip.
The road to Haew Suwat waterfall is twisty and a lot of it is downhill. There must be a big push bike riding scene around here that is very accident prone, because it warrants its own special road sign that made me laugh. I wasn’t sure if it was warning the road users or the cycling community to the possibility of death around the corner. I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Arriving at Haew Suwat waterfall took longer than I anticipated, maybe it’s the nature of the road or the beauty of the surrounds that slows you down. This place screams slow down, it’s like the tentacles of the jungle reach out to grab you and shake your being, but that didn’t matter because I didn’t have a schedule to stick to and today was going to be all about the mountains and me.
The small cave off to the right as you walk into the waterfall, offers a differing view and is well worth the extra effort to get there. you can reward yourself with a icy cold natural shower as well.
The carpark to the waterfall has amenities which were clean, and the ambience of the surrounding parks translated to a family orientated place with picnic tables and shady open area spaces. The waterfall itself is about a 600m walk down a well-developed path. It’s steep in places and if you don’t like to navigate steps, then be warned it has some steep ones. Walking them in moto enduro boots is not advisable either. But the waterfall at the end is pure bliss. It’s amazing and tranquil. I sat there for a good 60 minutes alone soaking it all in. The only downside is that it’s a no swim zone. But the spray off the waterfall keeps you cool and the boulders you clamber over offer your very own little place to hide away from the masses that help add to the tranquillity. Do yourself a favour and walk around to the right-hand side of the waterfall, you’ll see a little sandy beach with a cave like structure. It’s a bit of an effort clamouring over the boulders but it’s worth the effort. It gives you a different perspective of the waterfall and there’s a tiny little waterfall you can stand under to cool off and have an outdoor shower to negate the no swim policy. Haew Suwat waterfall I give you a solid 8 of 10 on the Mr Meanderthal scale of Zen. Totally worth a visit.
