TRAVEL WRITING CHALLENGE
Sleeping in a Floating Cottage — Khao Sok National Park
The A to Z of my favorite travel destinations
It was one of those places written out as a hidden secret off the beaten tourist paths in Thailand. It’s not what I would call it after having been there but I’m also not saying I’m regretting the visit.
In 2018 I visited Thailand together with David (back then my boyfriend, now my husband). We had two weeks and traveled from South to North and East to West. Yes, we spent a lot of time in buses, vans, ferries, and on planes. It’s not how I’d travel and explore today but this way we also got to visit this place I really wanted to see.
Khao Sok Nationalpark.
Khao Sok National Park is located on the mainland between Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak and Koh Samui, the most popular destinations in Southern Thailand.
While the park is one shining lush green forest, another landscape feature is its main attraction: Cheow Larn Lake.
“The park is the largest area of virgin forest in southern Thailand and is a remnant of rain forest which is older and more diverse than the Amazon rain forest.” — Wikipedia
I remember arriving in a village just outside the park the night before. The town had a laid-back vibe and while there were surely still tourists around it was nothing like you experienced in the big cities.
We booked a two-day overnight tour of the lake and were excited about our adventure.
Getting off the van my expectations quickly ran down the hill when I saw how many people were in the harbor trying to find the right boat to get on. This was not what I understood as a “hidden secret”.
However, we moved on, got our tickets, and got on the boat. As we were riding across the turquoise blue water the negative thoughts blew away with the wind.
How could anyone not be smiling gliding past those massive limestone cliffs?
We drove for a while on the water marveling at the limestone cliffs and rainforest-covered mountain slopes when we eventually spotted our destination.
A floating village on the lake.
We got assigned our cabin which was basic but had everything we needed. A mattress on the ground, a mosquito net and a small bathroom with a shower and toilet.
On arrival, we were told we had some free time. David and I first jumped into the lake and played a bit in the crystal-clear water.
Then we untied one of the kayaks in front of the floating village and ventured off.
While the floating village was rather full of people, we now found the quiet spots of this park. We didn’t even need to paddle far. Just going around the next corner we couldn’t see the village or see any humans anymore.
The sounds of the rainforest were taking over. We heard monkeys high up in the trees and a cacophony of birds was sounding down on us.
We paddled slowly and close to shore in hopes to spot some wildlife but apart from a few birds, we didn’t spot any other animals due to the thick forest.
Before getting sunburnt from the unforgiving sun, we decided to turn around and head back to camp.
There was still an activity planned for that afternoon and our guide soon fetched us for a cave tour.
The boat took us across the lake to some hidden spot where we got out and walked up some stairs to get into a cave. The views across the lake from the entrance of the cave were breathtaking. So were the stalactites all throughout the cave.
The further in we walked into the cave, the darker it got. Only with flashlights equipped, we quickly got a fright hearing something fly by. Looking up to the top of the cave we then could spot a huge number of bats hanging on the roof.
Once we had seen enough and most people had left already, we also made our way back. We got dinner in the floating village but I can’t tell you what it was. I do know they had beers too and I’m sure we had a good time together with lots of other travelers.
That night the sky was making me speechless. With a clear sky and no light pollution coming from the floating village, the stars were shining incredibly bright even reflecting on the water.
I had only started with night photography and my skills weren’t good enough to capture the beauty while sitting on the floor of a moving floating village.
The next day we woke up to a misty morning with lots of fog hanging low above the water.
After a quick breakfast, we headed on to the next adventure. A cave tour. We got dropped off on land and had to walk through this thick rainforest.
I still remember that most of the group was far behind and just David and I walked ahead with the guide who had so much to show and share. He taught us a lot about the forest, the life in it, and the caves we were about to enter.
Just getting to the cave was already an adventure and knowing we later had to swim, I had left my camera behind. The GoPro didn’t capture anything worth showing.
I still remember the entrance of the cave. It was huge. We entered over the river and walked the entire time in the water. The further we walked the darker it got. At one point we had to swim through deep water.
It was fun. Some of the group were screaming. Out of joy. Or maybe scaredness, I’m not sure. We then stopped when we were far inside the cave and were told to switch off the flashlights.
It was dark. Like really dark.
At first, we saw nothing but after a while our eyes adjusted and we slowly could make out shapes again.
All in all, just this tour in the cave was already worth the trip to the lake.
We headed back to the floating village to grab our bags and then headed off to some tropical beach for lunch. It was just our group who was resting there and we had a great time swimming in the water, walking across the tiny island, and just dozing off in the sun.
It felt like we were somewhere on the ocean but meanwhile, we were on a lake surrounded by nothing but rainforest.
We were sad when it was time to leave the park but we still enjoyed looking at the karst formations as we were gliding across the water.
“That is all the National Parks are about. Use, but do no harm.”— Wallace Stegner
This is a response to a writing prompt started by Sam Millichap and many have participated since. I’m so happy to see the community is growing. So many amazing destinations coming up. We welcome anyone to join the fun. Write your own alphabet of your favorite travel destinations.
Sam Millichap with “K is for Kathmandu”
Adrienne Beaumont with “Kyoto”
Michael Rhodes “Cote d’Azur, France”
Jerry Dwyer with “Beautiful Barcelona”
Robert G. Longpré with “B is for Bratislava”
Nishan Fuard with “Anaheim: I Remember the Parking Lot from the Hotel Window”
Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages with “I Can’t Even Choose One ‘A’”
You can find the full series of the “A to Z of my favorite travel destinations” in the reading list here. And these are my latest ones:
H — “Hot and Harsh — A Deserted Riverbed in Namibia”
J — “St. Jakob in Tyrol — Another Childhood Travel Destination”
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