ตำบล หนองไร่, Thailand - Polarsteps

The two-day Lake tour I did at the Khao Sok National Park was incredible! I loved everything about it. The people, the food, the accommodation, the ambiance and most of all the activities and views! Our trip started out in the village of Khao Sok, where we got picked up by a minivan, which took us all the way up to the Pier of the National park. On our way there, we stopped to get fruits: pineapple, watermelon and bananas for the coming few days! :) once we arrived at the pier, we stepped into a longtailboat which sailed us around the beauty of the lake for approximately two hours. When the sun was at its hottest, we reached the lake houses, where we could swim a bit and where we had lunch. I nearly was the only vegan, but they made a special sidedish especially for me every meal and it was delicious! After a short kayaking trip, I met a family from the UK, the Evans. They were cycling through Thailand for two months together and his son, William, was visiting them for two weeks. After having had a nice chat with them, it was time for us to head to the boats again. We hiked a couple of hours through the jungle to come to a cave, which we had to enter with head lights. The cave was incredibly dark and the water rose up to shoulder height! From the "roof" of the cave, hung thousands of bats which moved with the movements of your head if you shined your light on them! After we had reached the end of the tunnel, it was only a short walk back to the boat. Back at the lake house, we had some spare time which I spent on swimming, kayaking and showering. After dinner we went on a "Night Safari" with the longtailboat. Unforthnately , we didn't really see any animals, so William and I decided to go "nightkayaking" and spot some night owls ourself. Sadly enough, we didn't have any luck with that either. But all my disappointment disappeared immediately as I lay down on my canoe and watched the night sky. Because there is so little light pollution in the area, I could see millions of stars and several milky ways! Together with the sounds of the jungle: monkeys, owls, cicada so, the rustling of leaves and trees and the calming sound of the water crashing against the canoe, this was an amazing and incredibly peaceful moment I will never forget.