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Other entries in Khao Sok

National Parks = Elephant rides and monkeys

David had returned to Bangkok to be with his parents and Marcela and i are now away from the coast and in the heart of the Thai jungle. we left david on Koh Tao after having a nice seaside dinner with two buckets of rum and coke. so his night was just beginning and ours was coming to a close because we had to board another night boat, this one bound for Surat Thani. it was the same deal, cramped quarters and floor mats but this one was more organized because it had mat assignments and it actually looked like it was built for passenger travel, not just as an afterthought to make more money. so we found two mats next to a fan because we anticipated sweltering conditions. we found out we were not in our correct area when two thai women approached and started talking to us in Thai and pointing at their tickets. we pointed to our correct seating area which now had other people sitting in it and shrugged our shoulders pretending ignorance. there were plenty of open mats for sleeping and we tried to communicate this to the women but they prefered to just sit down next to us, thus putting four people in a two person area. after a while they just shoved our bags out of the way and one of them laid down while the other went in search of another area. neither marcela or i were that concered as it was going to be a cramped ride to begin with. on the other side of us, next to me, were a mother and her toddler child. the child was quite rambunctious and often would reach over and just grab my shoulder. he was cute so i didnt toss him overboard.

we arrived in surat thani in the early morning when it was still dark but we had pre-booked a bus to get us to the national park. we found the operator for the bus service but were told that we had to wait several hours until the bus left so we were put in the bus terminal for the duration of our wait. we decided to go get some food from a market that seemed to run all night. we were encouraged to eat from several stalls but found one with stuff that looked like what we were looking for. it was kind of a rice porridge that we seasoned with some soy sauce. it was alright but nothing to write home about, just in an online journal. when it came time to pay, the smiling older woman put up two fingers so i gave her 40 baht thinking it was 20 per bowl. but luckily honesty prevailed and she returned half of my payment and said something to the effect that it was 20 for both bowls. soon enough we were on the bus and sleeping again. we were woken up in time to be pushed out the door at our stop. it was more of a wide spot in the road and had no formal bus terminal or station. it was a point where the main country dividing highway was met by a side road that led into town and eventually up to the Khao Sok national park. when we emerged groggy eyed from the bus, we were greeted with the now familiar routine of different offers for lodging. each man had poster boards and spoke good english but we chose one whose pictures looked better whose price was right. we set up shop in a bungalow and then went to talk to Bum, the hotel owner, about a possible itinerary for the next few days. he told us about elephant riding, hiking and river trips, cave adventures, and more hiking. we elected to do the elephant riding and then probably do the hiking ourselves. we had a limited amount of time before we had to be back in bangkok so we wanted to be able to see as much as we could.

later that day, we were taken to an elephant ranch where we saw some recently finished elephant riders feeding bananas to the recently riden elephant. it was our turn to get up there so we climbed some bamboo steps to a tree house looking structure and an elephant was herded into a stall so we could climb aboard. the riding was slow and lopsided at times. we went shoeless and had our barefeet on the elephants tough hide. the only way to descibe the feeling is to call it just that, tough hide. another way, perhaps, would be to describe it as cardboard that was wet then allowed to dry so its plyable and then throw some hair on it. it was strange and unique to say the least. we were seated up in a metal bench that was strapped to the elephant in a few different places. as he was directed along the set trail by the attendent holding a pointed spear, he would sway back and forth as he shifted his weight with each careful step. sometimes he would stop for no reason and would have to be prodded or yelled at to keep moving. the elephant handler would yell out varying phrases but mostly relied on "Mooya!" and "Aye!" to keep him on course. we probably trekked for about 4 km through jungle and river and eventually made it to a small waterfall where we took a 15 minute break. after the break we mounted the elephant again but i was allowed to straddle the massive beast's neck and ride for a while like that. at first i feared that i would be hurting or straining his neck but then thought that it was probably the equivalent of Andre the Giant carrying a 2-year old on his shoulders. here, the riding got more interesting because i wasnt really as safe. there were no ropes or seats to hold on to and with each step, i could feel the elephants shoulder blades moving up and down. i was literally pushed up and down, side to side, with each of his steps. my feet were dangling right behind his ears and were constant targets for his ear flapping. it was hard to hold on and i had to lean on his cranium for support. at one point, the man walking with us said something and i turned to see that he had made me a hat out of some large leaf. i accepted his gift and donned it for the remainder of the ride. im sure i looked like a fool, but who was i to refuse a gift, especially one so creatively created. we eventually got back to the beginning and found we were the only ones still there. we were encouraged to buy bananas for the elephant because "he worked very hard" so we did and fed them to him. it didnt matter whether we fed him one at a time or ten at a time, it was all going just as fast to the same bottomless pit. it was cool though to feel the strength of his trunk curling around the banana, sometimes pinching our fingers as he did so. and he didnt even bother to peel the bananas, he just ate them, peel, stalk and all. after that we left but before getting home, we were taken on a short tour of the area.

Bum took us to a beautiful vista (eventually pictured below), to a Buddist wat maintainted by orange toga wearing monks, and to a convenience store (by rural Thailand convenience store standards). the monk-laden wat was great because part of it was built into the side of a mountain and the rest was close by and one huge building was currently under construction by some of the residents, still wearing their orange outfits. there were additional inhabitants at the compound, dozens of long tailed macaques. they were jumping and playing all over the rocks and temple statues. when one of the elder monks shooed them away, they displayed impecible climbing ability and scurried up the vertical rock face with ease. there were monkeys of all sizes and playfullness. some were rolling around on the ground and swinging from branches and others were sitting motionless staring at us. when we went to the convenience store for a reason unknown to us, we saw a small monkey playing near a table and hopped out of the back of the pick-up to investigate. Bum didnt mind as he was busy getting what he needed and then started playing some billiards. the monkey unfortunately was tied to a table leg by a rope around his neck. he was full of energy and was constantly moving as far as the short length of rope would allow. we went over and marcela tried to hold him but he was too wily and kept scrambling out of her hands. when i tried my luck, he actually calmed down a little bit and sat on my leg while i held him. then he was off again and jumping up and clinging to marcelas pant leg. at some point the monkeys owner came over and wanted him to calm down. so he grabbed the animal and forcibly held him against the table. this was hard to watch because one moment the monkey was playful and full of life and then when the more violent owner showed up, he curled into the fetal position and lay prone under the firm grasp of the thai man. you could see the fear in its eyes as the man shook and held his finger at the monkey. but the man motioned for us to come closer and look at the monkey so we obliged and were able to get a bit of a biology lesson. it was amazing to see just how similar his body structure was to ours. his hands were smaller but identical including hair between the knuckles and tiny fingernails. his ears looked as though they could have been an infant's. we smiled and said we were finished looking at him in hope that he would let the poor thing go. he did and the monkey ran to hide underneath a bench. quite an educational experience.

the next day consisted of future planning and park walking. we were all ready to get into the park but then realized that by the time we were out of there, most of the shops in the small village would be closed so we had to make our plans before hiking. in thailand, they have an unspoken policy of removing your shoes everytime you go into a building. now, i rather like this policy because its more comfortable, more clean, and generally makes for a more relaxed environment. and its easy because its so hot, everyone wears sandles. but when youre hiking, youre wearing shoes and its a pain to take them off every time you go into a building. so while we were fixing our future plans, we had to walk around town like toddlers with shoelaces getting filthy in the dirt. eventually we figured out our plans and set out for the park. we took a 12 km round trip hike that was punctuated by a hidden lake surrounded by limestone cliffs. we went for a swim after the hours of hiking and then walked back just before sunset. as an incredibly wise business decision, someone had set up a thai massage center just outside the park's gates so we just had to stop to get worked on after our long day. after a full hour of having some old women tugging, pounding, yanking, poking, pushing, and some massaging, we were exhausted and ready for dinner.

so tomorrow we will head to phuket for only a day and then fly out to get back to bangkok. its going to be slightly more difficult but the flight will make up the time and this way we'll get to see a bit more. im looking forward to the beach again but also to see what sort of state the island is in after the tsunami 15 months ago.

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