my sillouette at the waterfall at Khao Yai



my guide through Khao Yai



vast Khao Yai from an overlook

I had been planning to go to Khao Yai for months now, trying to figure out when I would fit it in. The park is only a couple hours out of Bangkok, but it's supposed to have some of the best wildlife in the world, and is designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site for it's natural treasures. The bus to Khao Yai dropped me off in the nearby town of Pak Chong, where I immediately realized I had not done my homework properly. I'm always expecting there to be some big tourist welcome sign in these small towns, pointing me toward my destination. But, alas, I had to ask directions at the 711. Having been pointed in the right direction, I boarded a sawngthaew bus (a truck with bench seats in the back), which, during the off-season, was packed with school children heading home. The bus ride passed fancy resort hotels and country clubs on the way up to the park. At the park entrance, I was dropped off, and had to wait to hitch a ride from a car going into the park (evidently this is common practice with backpackers). I had read that I could get a dorm room in the park for the night, and I was counting on this because it was dusk as I was driven into the park. Along the drive, we passed dozens of monkeys, lazily crossing the road. At the headquarters, I payed $1.50 for a floor to sleep on and another $1.50 for a pillow, blanket, and mat. I headed to my dorm room in the pitch dark, thinking how smart it would have been to have brought a flashlight with me, and thinking that it was going to be a long, lonely night in the woods. However, I was overjoyed at the sight of a light on in the dorms, and I introduced myself to five young backpackers from Australia, Germany, and Britain. We had some discussion about where we had been and where we were headed. One guy had also just been to Angkor Wat, and we shared a few moments of mutual gushing about what a transcendent experience it had been. Before I had left Bankok, I had bought some cheap pants at the supermarket, having heard that they would be necessary for hiking in Khao Yai. I was thankful to have had them that night in the park because it was very cold, and I slept restlessly, trying to keep my entire body wrapped beneath the tiny blanket. I woke early in the morning to a wonderful sight--out the dorm window, I watched as monkey after monkey dropped from the trees, followed by their babies, and walked across the road, just feet from where I sat watching. Soon, the monkeys in the trees started calling to each other, almost melodically, and they kept up quite a loud discussion as I packed up my stuff and headed out to find breakfast.
I had been planning to take the longest hike in the park, 8 km, but when I got to the trail entrance, there were signs that said the hike could not be attempted without a guide. Discouraged, I went to the visitor center where I grudgingly bought leech socks and hired a $15 guide. This was a fabulous decision; I would have died deep within the Thailand rainforest otherwise, becoming lost almost immediately along the non-existant trail. My guide was all business, and I loved the rigor. He was dressed in full military camoflauge, and he was a no mercy sort of a guy, going fastest up the steepest, most slippery inclines. I felt that if I were to trip on a branch, he might just leave me behind. This being the slow season, it was just me and him on the trail, slogging through seemingly impenetrable brush and mud, and crawling over fallen trees. I was so thankful that I had worn pants and sprung for the leech socks, because I was soon covered in the leeches, and I have bites on my neck, legs, and waist to prove it. My guide stopped us many times along the way to listen to animal noises and identify tracks in the mud. I was surprised to learn that there are wild chickens in Thailand, and there were some very funny barnyard-like sounds along the hike. Near the end, we witnessed some large monkeys swinging through the upper canopy levels. Having avoided up to this point all of the elephant camps that are touted in Thailand, where I could ride the elephants and watch them do tricks, I was heartened and satisfied to witness the tracks of WILD elephants in Khao Yai--that's all I need, ya know, to see that there still exist a few places on the earth where a creature that immense can sustain itself and be free. I don't need to get any closer. At the end of the hike, there was a beautiful and powerful waterfall, Haew Suwat, which I admired for a few minutes before hitchhiking back to the park headquarters.