Venturing into the Khao Sok national park
My boat sped up on the big lake of Khao Sok national park in Thailand. Water splashed in my face since I was at the very edge of the boat. I tried to protect my camera and bag, while looking around me mesmerized by the landscape. Massive yellow blocks of limestone rose from the water, covered in the green of the jungle. Above them thick, grey clouds loomed, threatening to ruin our adventure. I was on my way to an idyllic place in the middle of the lake, where small bungalows connected through wooden walkways floated on the water. It would have been spectacular on a clear day.
After an hour the boat dropped me and the other travellers off at the bungalows. The small huts floated on big logs. They were simple, but I felt like I was in a luxurious resort. Well… backpacker style. I teamed up with another solo traveller and put my bags inside. There was time for a quick swim before the program started. After a lunch in a bigger covered space we ventured into the jungle with a guide. Our destination was the infamous Nam Ta Lu cave. I’d heard people had died in the cave due to flash floods during sudden heavy rain and looked up at the sky, which was covered in clouds. Surely they wouldn’t take us if it wasn’t safe… Our guide did mention something about “we’d have to see what it was like after our hour long hike”.
A short jungle trek until the darkness
The hike was pretty flat, but very muddy. We had to cross some rivers and immediately got wet feet, so I decided not to be bothered by the mud and march right through. It was already an adventure, ducking for liana and slaloming through bamboo. When we approached the cave, we were told to leave our belongings. The cave would be very wet, so all we took was a headlamp and I had my waterproof camera. I was told the cave was pretty big, but I guess it’s all about perspective. It was very high in places, but got ridiculously narrow. Beside this, we had to climb over some rocks, with it being pretty dark inside.
There’s a stream that runs through Nam Ta Lu cave and in parts you have to swim across or you walk with water up to your head. When it’s raining, you can’t even enter the cave, since the water rises quickly and causes flash floods. Our guide had decided it was ok to go in, as long as we didn’t take too long. Dark clouds still hung threateningly above us. But you think: “the locals would know right?” In hindsight entering the cave may not have been the brightest decision. I was lucky I came out alive, over the years there have been many accidents. But it stayed dry and in the end I was full of adrenaline.
I am a little claustrophobic and I couldn’t believe I had done this! While I was in the cave I got pretty scared. I was in the back of the group and couldn’t go anywhere. You’re just stuck, waiting for people to move. The guy behind me knew from the start I was scared and kept me sane, reassuring me throughout. I had no clue just how adventurous this cave would be. You are in the cave for a full hour, with no way out. First, the stench of guano from the bats greets you. Then it gets darker and darker, wetter and wetter. The nervous laughs echo in the cave. I follow the long line of people in front of me until, after one hour, we see the light and enter the forest. Water is dripping from my soaked clothes as we walk back to our backpacks.
The timing was impeccable. For the rest of my stay it rained a lot! The next day we had a massive shower as we hiked up to another cave, the mud streaming down the hill. The majority of the group didn’t even come. My dream of tropical stay in idyllic bungalows on the lake had turned out slightly different. I didn’t care. I was in an amazing national park, embracing the rain, trudging on and exploring the beauty of the park. A little rain wouldn’t stop me! We may not have seen any wildlife on our boat safaris, but the impressive nature and the unique accommodation more than made up for that.
I saw a documentary about Thailand. It wasn’t about this national park, but about the Phuket region. With the pandemic Thailand is closed off for most tourists. A few rich people arrived by private jet. The locals living off tourism had had to resort to other means to earn a living. The normally so lively streets were quiet. Boats were on a lake, waiting for customers to return. But the fish population had finally had time to recover and fishermen were having extraordinarily good catches. The pandemic has changed things all over the world, which is hard to see at times, when we’re locked down in our bubble. I’ll never forget my adventures in Thailand and I hope that tourism will recover, when Thailand is ready.
