Thailand: A road trip to nowhere fast: Khao Yai National Park- Part Two
just a few odd random do not dos in the National Park, no explosives, really the authorities just know how to suck the fun out of life in the jungle.
Yes, Yes, I know it’s been a while. I have no excuse beyond that of it’s the silly season. Riding, Christmas cheer and more riding. Less time on one’s hands to put good old-fashioned Pen to paper or fat fingers to keyboards in my case. So, its 2024 now. Shit, where did that year go, not getting any younger so I’ll get to the point.
Growing up, my school teachers were constantly criticising me on school reports about my prowess or lack thereof because of my innate ability to daydream. I’d have rulers smack on the desk, the odd chalk or duster thrown in my direction to snap me out of it. One teacher even moved my desk away from a window so I couldn’t stare out. Needless to say, it was all in vain and attempts proved futile. I carry this particular skill set with me into adult life and it was here at my very own Zen waterfall I found myself almost in a trance like state, just watching the water tumble and listening to the surrounding nature, to say it was the mother of all day dreams might be an understatement. I lost track of time but nor was I phased; life’s too short to rush around. I was only snapped out of it when I heard tourists nearby so reluctantly, I departed my little Zen waterfall.
Elephant warning signs, I really like the honk and you die warning.
What can I say, now that is a big elephant sized dump.
No Wild Elephants seen but given the Elephant scat around I’d say I was fortunate not to encounter them on the road.
The climb out of the waterfall was definitely not daydream material and the steepness of the steps reminded me that a regular diet of Chang beers in the evening was probably doing me no favours either.
Next stop was another coffee shop for lunch. Riding out of the waterfall and back up the mountain I was surprised to see deer grazing on the side of the road. Now I’m a fan of deer and they taste even better but I’d never seen this kind before. Tiny little ones. Before I could take a picture of them, they dashed off into the jungle never to be seen again almost like ghosts. Later I found out that they were Thailand’s Barking deer. Arriving at the quaint little coffee shop at the top of the mountain, I was disappointed to find the power was out for the mountain so had to settle for an iced chocolate. It’s a tough life I know.
Not really off the beaten path meander but a well-maintained trail will get you to a pretty spectacular waterfall.
Refreshed I headed for my second waterfall of the day called Haew Narok is the biggest water fall in Khao Yai National Park, at about 150m tall and falls into 3 tiers. It’s impressive and quite treacherous, such is the volume of water that flows over the waterfall that 11 wild elephants were tragically swept to their death after they tried to help a calf that was trapped in the middle of it during this wet season.
Speaking of Elephants, I didn’t see any on my brief visit to the National Park but it’s pretty famous for encounters with them on the road. There was a massive sign telling you what to do and not what to do if you encounter them on the road. Seems honking the horn at them is not the done thing and a sure-fire way to get squashed. Puts a new spin on road rage if you ask me. Riding the GG I had no plan of encountering them and if I did my plan was simple. Get out of the way.
Walk is a little challenging and hope you like steps. I did the hard work for you there is 287 of them and at times they’re straight up.
Arriving at the waterfall I loaded up on some cool water and headed off into the jungle to find said waterfall. One thing about Thailand’s national parks that I have noticed is the walks are a bit of a Kinder Surprise, you never know what it is going to be like, it could be short, long, easy or hard to get to your destination. About 200m into this walk I had encountered numerous steps and walking in my riding boots was no fun. Stopping to ask a passing tourist about the length of the trip he told me to be prepared for a lot of steps and a good workout. That was all the encouragement I needed to turn around walk back to the bike and ditch my boots replacing them with my trusty Crocs. My friends and family love to hang shit on me for the style they protract, but haters have to hate, and I love the versatility of them even if they are ugly.
Haew Narok Waterfall, impressive in the dry, I have to go back in the wet one day for a look see.
Now if I was to say the trip to the waterfall was a leisurely stroll, I’d be lying through my back teeth. It’s a hot hard slog on a well laid out path for about 20 minutes. Did I say steps? Yes, they are steep and plentiful. So plentiful and brutally straight up that I actually counted how many on the way back to the bike just so I could complain about them here… In case you’re interested the magic number is 287 steps, doesn’t sound like much but trust me it’s your work out for the day.
The waterfall itself can only be seen from a viewing platform, it’s a cauldron of water so swimming is not an option. In the Dry season it’s pretty spectacular so in the Wet season I imagine it would be a beast to see.
a well maintained Jungle trail, its even got its own AED for those that are not as well maintained
It’s not really a Zen waterfall as per se, it’s clearly commercialised and popular but is well worth a look see. Just be sure to be in reasonable health and wear your trusty Crocs. Ooh here’s an indication the trail might be a little tough for some. At the end of the steepest step climb I had to laugh, there was an AED (automatic external defibrillator) strapped to a pole, in the middle of the jungle. This left me wondering just how many peeps had to have heart attacks before someone thought it prudent to install an AED to mitigate the trail.
But when I rounded a corner a hundred metres or so on, I found an overweight lady flopped down in the middle of the path gasping for air and struggling in the heat. Her partner fanning her with a big leaf. Maybe the AED was a prudent idea after all.
The end of a magic day came too quickly, do yourself a favour allow more than one day when visiting Khao Yai national park, maybe try your hand at camping it really is a magic little place and I totally rate it as one of the better National parks I’ve been to in this neck of the woods. 9/10 for sure.
