Wild Beauty in Khoa Sok National Park, Thailand

WARNING: This post is going to be very photo/video heavy! Enjoy the beauty!

From Krabi Town, I traveled to Khoa Sok National Park. I wanted a place to relax in nature and chill for the new year without any big parties or craziness. A couple of people had recommended Khoa Sok, and after looking at it online, I couldn’t resist! Here are a few photos entering the town, my cute little bungalow in the Jungle (for $16/night!), the local bar on the walk in, and my favorite green curry made with love from Pawn’s restaurant in town.

The first day, I took a 10 minute walk from my bungalow to the park entrance, so I could explore a bit on my own. I arrived about 7 AM, and was the second person to enter the park. I walked up the main trail which had several sights to see along the way, including pools and waterfalls. After a few minutes, I noticed there were several small trails off the side leading into the jungle. I could hear the running water and couldn’t resist. I chose a trail that looked inviting and walked in to the thick greenery. I explored for hours, never seeing anyone else. I relaxed on some rocks listening to the river and climbed a couple of vines, going back to my monkey roots! Growing hungry, wishing I would have remembered to pack some snacks, suddenly I came upon the ranger station at the top of the hill. I talked to a ranger, and bought a couple of bananas and a cup of instant noodles. As I waited for the noodles to soften, he explained I needed to hire a guide in advance to see the furthest waterfall, but could go a bit further on my own if I signed in. Soon I continued, loving every minute of the journey. The jungle is awesome! It is so beautiful and full of life! It wasn’t until I started heading out around noon that I saw another person coming in, but for those few early hours, the jungle had been my own personal playground!

Ahhh, it felt so good to finally be back in beautiful nature without the crowds!

For New Year’s Eve, I wanted to do something special and memorable and decided a trip to Cheow Larn Lake in the park was it. I scheduled a full day tour which included a boat trip through the lake, a stop at a lake house for lunch, a cave, and a jungle trek.

Cheow Larn Lake was created in the 1980’s when Thailand decided to dam the Pasaeng River to create hydroelectric power. During the process, five villages were evacuated when the valley was flooded and the lake was created. These villages now rest on the floor of the lake, sadly along with many animals who were unable to escape the flood. Since then, the ecotourism industry has been helping to revive many of the animal populations as well as providing many jobs for the local people.

While the lake is only about 40 years old, the area is ancient. The park outdates the Amazon rainforest, and is estimated to be over 160 million years old. The cliffs and the amazing limestone rock formations are thought to have been created about 50 million years ago when the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates collided. This event also created the Himalayas. The energy in this area is absolutely amazing! While on the boat, I just closed my eyes and felt it take over my body and soul!

As the afternoon came, we made our way towards the lake house for lunch, and as it goes, we were in almost swimming distance of our destination when suddenly the propeller spun off and the motor came to a stop. Wasting no time, our amazing boat captain quickly stripped off his clothes and jumped in to see what had happened.

We all watched, wondering what how it would turn out. He swam down, assessed the situation, and came up for parts. After struggling for a few minutes trying to make the repairs on his own (of course, none of us city folks had a clue how to help), another boat came to the rescue. He set the propeller rod on the other boat, and within 30 minutes or so, had us back up and running! These guys are good and we all cheered as we headed for lunch!

At the lake house, we chatted with several other visitors, and had a chance for a swim or a kayak around the house.

After lunch, it was time to head back out to see the cave and trek through the jungle up a limestone waterfall…

And that concluded the active part of the tour. On the way back, we took a different boat, and as crazy luck would have it, when we came into sight of the dock, the second boat started smelling of burning rubber and the motor stopped….what?? All we could do was laugh, as we had an extra captain on this boat, and now had full confidence they could fix anything. Quickly, they jumped into action while we had an opportunity to watch the beautiful sunset from the lake. Of course, soon it was fixed, we clapped, and made it back to shore.

We loaded in the van and drove back to town. When we arrived, the four others from my resort and I went out for New Year’s dinner at a local restaurant and talked about the gorgeous day. Bellies full, we walked around before landing in the Jumanji Reggae Bar/Bamboo Tattoo Studio for drinks and dancing. There were only a few other people, and the bartender turned dance DJ after we were all feeling good. We made our own dance floor in the dirt parking lot and tore it up as we watched the local fireworks show from the road.

What a perfect way to wrap up 2022 and head into 2023 full of positive vibes and beautiful energy! I wouldn’t have traded this day for any other. New friends, good friends, love!

Cheers to the future for all! Hugs and Love! Michelle