Getting to Khao Sok was a pleasant but largely eventless ride. The road was quiet since very few people live here and there are no actual villages. So on the road I saw only few cars. A few people where providing people with ice cream and food stuff from their motorbikes and the days most exotic feature was meeting a mahout riding his elephant along the road. Out to get some exercise I suppose.

Khao Sok is one of Thailand’s many national parks and a quite popular destination as it can be reached from Phuket and Krabi on a one day tour, but the days I spent there I saw few tourists and most stayed in the park as I did. Wildlife present are, according to my guide, elephants, that are regularly seen, tigers and leopard cats, various snakes, gibbons and lots of birds. I can add, that leeches are present in an impressive number as well and you are more likely to have sightings of them than any of the other animals – in fact they will find you so no need to look for them. I found a couple of them IN my shoes, they can get in but once they are fat with blood they can’t get out again. Silly bastards! They are not dangerous in any way, it doesn’t hurt at all while they drain you from blood (in fact that’s the problem, you don’t notice them) … but these vampires of the forest are disgusting creatures as they suck on to your skin. And they make a bloody mess of ones shoes. Gibbons are heard making “Whoop – Whoop” sounds from the early morning, but I never managed to spot one. Lizards are easily spotted. Snakes can be seen. Leeches apart, few things bothers this man of the woods so I gathered my courage and pointed a stick at the first snake I spotted. It cooperated and bit at my bait. Feeling energized by my act of bravery I left the animal to its own and mowed deeper into the woods along the trail. I must admit I got a bit of a chock when I ran into its older brother, though. I walked happily ahead when I heard a rustle in the leaves next to the trail and looked to find a fine specimen of snake only a few meters from me. The first one was maybe 15 cm long (what did you expect?) but the second was seriously big, at least 2 metres. Only later did I learn that cobras and pythons are common in Khao Sok. One kind of cobra is so poisonous that it would be deadly to an elephant if only it could bite through its thick skin. I don’t have a clue what I saw.

Apart from that I had a frog jumping onto my shoulder while eating in a restaurant next to the park. In the late evening this place was also a fine place to watch bats hunting (they are quite impressive I’ll say, and left the competing geckos looking amateurish). Oh, and I found a lizard taking a nap under my pillow.

This little fella did a good job posing for pictures. Lizard in Khao Sok, Thailand

Small waterfall but nice pool for swimming. Khao Sok, Thailand.

Finally a greeting to Sara and Jesus, two cyclists I met in the park. And a kind nod to Bill B. for inspiration to the headline.