On our way to Khao Yai... having no idea where our bus would drop us off.
Posing at the National Park!
Learning how to properly get into a hammock!
Monkeying around.
Spotted on the side of the road in Thailand: a 60's FlowerPower bus.
We found the way to Khao Yai!!! Here we are at 7AM, anxiously waiting to get there.
While the internet connection has been my downfall, I've been continuing to prepare blog posts! My weekend trip to Khao Yai National Park certainly deserves an in depth discussion...
And so the trip to Khao Yai began. 2 groups of us were headed to the same destination, so we decided to figure out our way together. Hopping on a song taoh, the breeze whipping our hair, we set off to some serious unknowns. One of my friends graciously pointed out that "we had no idea what bus we were taking, where it was taking us, where we were staying, how to get there, what we were doing, or how we were getting back". Looking back, I wouldn't have done it any other way. We were unceremoniously dumped on the side of the highway with only a handful of Thai words to our name, and we eventually made our way to Khao Yai after some very very questionable accommodations. Khao Yai is a beautiful national park, lush and green, palm trees and sunny skies, hairpin turns for miles. Hitchhiking is apparently expected within the park, and we were informed that that was the typical way to get around. We met some really lovely characters that way, including a father of a boy with Down syndrome. I was able to ask his favorite movies and music in Thai, and discovered he loved Batman and Michael Jackson! Our first day consisted of hammocking up in the trees and relaxing in the Thai jungle. We left the park to go to dinner, and ended up in the most ridiculous place I've ever been. the restaurant was called Khao Yai Cowboy, and it was old western themed... There was a band of Thai men who belted out some Neil Young, Imagine, Country Road, HonkyTonk Man, etc. The lead singer was sporting a Led Zeppelin shirt, and certainly enjoyed the attention from 4 young farang in the audience who knew the English words. That night we stayed in the cutest little bungalow houses outside the park. The next morning, after stocking up at the fruit stands, we headed into the park again. There we discovered that the price was TEN TIMES lower if we had a Thai student ID (which we do, thank you very much!). That day we were embarking on the long hike to the Haew Suat waterfall. We ended up meeting a man who killed a tiger that had killed a woman and a fellow ranger a few years ago. The 80 year old ranger grinned with no teeth, pointed to his gun and exclaimed "I kill tiger!". Not realizing there had been tigers in the woods, we looked back at our hammocking excursion with unease. We met our guide, Chok (means Luck), who whipped out a machete and a handgun and we set on our way. The hike was beautiful and the sounds of the jungle and diversity of the biosphere was breathtaking. All biology classes should be taught within the Thai jungle. Halfway through the hike we came across a deer that had been savagely ripped apart by a pack of hyenas. There was blood trails everywhere. The circle of life is the most genuine thing I know. We concluded the hike at a beautiful, secluded waterfall. We stared at it and noted how pretty it was, and suddenly Chok jumped right on in and we followed suit. That day was actually a dream come true. It was almost unreal, to be there with friends in a Thai jungle listening to the crash of the waterfall and eating fresh fruit as we dried off in the sun. I had recently received the awful news about my beloved hamsters death, and I actually would not have preferred to hear it after our trip. It was best that I was so happy and surrounded by such adventure as I grieved. My friends made it bearable and I am grateful for everything we did this weekend. That night, we ended up going on the search for an ATM. Something I have noticed is that Thai people have NO ability to gauge how far anything is. They get on their motorcys to go 100 feet, walking is out of the question. So we heard "500 meters that way!" For about 3 miles. But we finally saw it up ahead and ran like children screaming ATM!!!! We had a delicious dinner in a garden restaurant lit by candles and a campfire, where I consumed a fish head and spice that could set a house on fire. As we headed back down the road, rape whistle in hand, equipped with headlamps, we realized we might want to get back to our bungalows faster. A car pulled over to offer us assistance, probably wondering why 4 farang were out walking in the night with headlamps, and we just booked it, sprinting down the road screaming. Unharmed, we then breathlessly stopped to witness a gang of wild dogs, growling at our presence. So naturally, the best idea we had was to set off the rape alarm and scatter the pack of wild animals. With all the ridiculousness of that night, we continued with the absurdity the next morning. We got up at 6 to make our way back to Khon Kaen, which included flustered desperation, running at top speed, and having directions drawn on our friends' hand in the middle of a crowded meat market. We finally found our way onto a bus to Khon Kaen, where we could relax and reflect about everything that had happened. What a time.
Even this picture cannot sum up how amazing this afternoon was.