Hello folks....it's time for another update. I'm currently sat in my guest house in Chiang Mai waiting for my visa application for Vietnam to come through. I've paid extra for an express visa but express in Thai doesn't seem to mean the same as back home!

I left you with the boys and I about to set off for the Khao Sok National Park so that's where I'll start. We took a taxi to Na Thon (ferry port on Ko Samui) and took a 2hr ferry ride to Surat Thani. We then took a bus to the Khao Sok National Park where we were met by lots of very eager touts. Despite some reservations, we decided to go for the guy who spoke the best English and it turned out to be a good move. His name was Toy (I'll let you make up your own jokes) and we jumped into his old army jeep and we headed off down the strip of guest houses and hotels where we were to stay. It all seemed a little quiet but Toy seemed to know everyone on the strip and was merrily waving and shouting to everyone he saw. He took us to the deserted visitors centre and explained a little about the park and what was available tour wise. We settled on a two day/one night trekking tour which involved jungle and cave trekking with lots of long boat travel too. The park itself was huge (about 160 square Km) with a large section of it consisting of a huge man made lake. To make the lake they had to move all the people who lived in the area to another location and then build a dam and simply flood a huge area of farm and residential land.

The whole place seemed very remote and the humidity was cranked up to another level from what I thought I'd become used to. Everywhere we looked was lush green forest and you could hear every noise you'd associate with a jungle (monkey calls, insects singing to each other etc etc). Toy showed us a few local ights and then drove us to our accomodation which were essentially very basic huts with a ageing fan and lights that almost worked! My room was ok but the lad's room was infested with big ants. The boys found some food under their bed and after removing that the ants dispersed. We ventured out for a meal and came back early for a few hands of poker. Sadly the ants had returned and after an aborted attempt to play cards with ants seemingly parachuting in from the ceiling we decided to ask for a room change. We tracked Toy down and he was very apologetic and gave the boys a new room. When we went back to the original room to pick up their stuff the floor and bed were covered! Not a great start to jungle life.

We were up early (6.30am) for eggs on toast and then off for an hour long drive to the lake where our journey would start. The humidity was relentless and once we'd jumped on the boat it started to rain. The views were tremendous and it was a beautiful place to see but the rain got heavier and heavier as we roared across the lake and we were wet through by the time we arrived at our home for the night. It was essentially a floating village on the lake and we were shown to a hut for 3. The toilet was up on a hillside and connected to the row of huts by a precarious looking walkway. This was going to be interesting! Toy left us to settle in and headed off to catch some fish for dinner. He came back an hour later with a four fish haul....not bad for an hour's work. The afternoon was cave trekking time and Toy explained that two of his close friends and some tourists had died last year when they trekked in the caves during a rainstorm after some flash flooding! There were a few signs saying DO NOT ENTER THE CAVES DURING RAIN - FLASH FLOODS LIKELY. Despite the signs and the rain we headed off on our long boat to trek the caves.

We arrived at our destination and headed off into the rain forest for a 4 hour trek (at a fair old pace I might add!) to the caves. We arrived at the original entrance to the caves with the rain falling heavier than before and complete with memorials to those who died last year, only for Toy to decide that the stream was running too fast for us to enterc! He said we'd try another route but my doubts were starting to surface! Another half an hour and we got to the second entrance to the caves to find more warning signs about entering the caves during rain and the stream entering the cave roaring away nicely. I asked Toy if all was well and he just shrugged, said yes and had another fag! We were joined by another group and we set off into the pitch black caves as one group. My wind up torch was a god-send (thankyou Richard,Trish and Jenny!) and we snaked our way through the streams deeper into the caves. Toy said it would take 1 hour to get through the caves and I thought that hour couldn't be over quickly enough for me!

It was literally pitch black in the caves and we encountered several hundred bats along the cave ceiling, frogs, snakes and crabs in the stream and spiders the size of my hand! One of which ran oer my hand as I steadied myself walking through a stream! This wasn't my idea of fun but I guess it's all about the experience!We ploughed on through the caves (sometimes waist deep in cold rushing water) and got to a point where the water seemed to be running faster than anywhere else. The guides then had a good look and a heated debate in Thai ensued with the outcome being that we should turn back as the next stretch was too dangerous and the water level was rising! So 45 minutes in to an hour long trek we turned back and headed against the tide through what now seemed like raging torrent of water back to our original destination. The bats, frogs, snakes and spiders were delighted to see us and one again a big sider decided to attach itself to my hand. There were several concerened faces amongst the group but we marched on and finally saw daylight which was the most welcome thing I'd seen since Glenn Roeder got sacked!

We headed off (still in pouring rain!) back to the boat and then back to our village. Looking back it was a great experience but at the time it was a little unsettlig to say the least. No showers or hot water at the room so a quick dip in the lake was all that was left. We had a great meal that night with the fish Toy caught earlier that day fried beautifully and lots of Thai dishes to supplement the meal. A couple of beers and then it was off to bed to be lulled to sleep by the sounds of monkeys and insects crying out in the darkness. Nice!

We were up early again the next day for some more trekking and thankfully the rain had stopped, We headed off in the long boat and, after an unexpected toilet stop in the jungle for yours truly, went to a remote waterfall and simply climbed straight up it. No health and safety checks here...Toy was off and we just followed. This was great fun and it was only when we got to the top that you realised how far we'd climbed. Once we'd done there we were taken back to dry land (hurrah!) and Toy drove us to the bus stop where the next leg of the journey would begin. I said my farewells to the boys (thanks for looking after me chaps) and booked a ticket on the overnight train to Hua Hin. I called a guest house recommended by Lonely Planet and booked myself a night in Hua Hin.

Next update to follow soon.

Hope your'e all well and thanks to those of you who sent me birthday wishes.

Andy