Hello from Khao Sok!

We arrived here after a fairly confusing bus ride on local buses but helped by some lovely Thai people. It only cost 120 Baht on bus from Phang-nga which is pretty good really! Khao Sok is a mountainous, rainforest area most of which is a national park. For tourist purposes there are resorts and bungalows and a few small shops and restaurants. It's really beautiful and was nice to be somewhere completely different from beaches and islands!
We arrived in afternoon and a man took us from reception up a long winding path in to the trees. Our bungalow was furthest away and was really high up net to the river with amazing views. The bungalow itself was ok- fairly basic but i did have my first proper hot shower since home! Becky was quite creeped out (must admit i was a bit too!) as there seemed to be a large population of bugs. At the Khao Sok Rainforset resort they offered lots of treks and tours so we though we might as well make the most of the days we had here. We chose a half day hike starting early morning and tubing down the river in afternoon.
We got a fairly early night as our trek was beginning at 7.30 the next morning. So after some bug removal and some vigerous bug spraying from Becky, we tucked ourselves under the bug/mosquito nets! I don't think either of us slept that well- prob more fear of bugs and heat than the actual bugs themselves.
Bright and early we were up the nect morning and after a quick breakfast we began our trek with 'Mr Sexy-Man' (self titled and fairly creepy!) It was just the three of us but he took us in to the national park. We went right in to the rainforest and it was pretty hard work- lots of climbing and ducking under trees. He was amazing at spotting the wildlife though. Every now and again he would stop grab one of our arms and point at a creature. We saw big spiders, weird and wonderful bugs and even some monkeys swinging through the trees. He did insist on holding our hands to help us over certain parts which im not sure was kind and helpful or just a bit creepy!
Towards the end of the trek he took us to a part of the river you could swim in. I went for a quick dip after being reassured there were no leeches! It was lovely and cold after our long hike but couldn't really swim as was against the current. Not far from here was a waterfall which we sat by for a well deserved rest. The hike lasted nearly 4 and a half hours and we were pretty proud of ourselves for lasting so long! (Dad you would have been proud- up for an realy morning walk at 7.30!)
Had some lunch at the resort and then it was time for tubing. This was so much fun! We floated down the river on giant black rubber rings. It was really relaxing floating along with the current and a pretty unique way to view the incredible scenery of the national park. When we did float a little too close to the river banks the guy from the resort paddled madly to us and pulled us back in to centre. (this happened quite a lot to me as my directing skills were not good- Becky on the other hand was in control!) The river was so shallow that we could have actually stood up and rescued ourselves anyway!

After tubing we were in for a treat on the way home. The guy drove us to Monkey Temple picking up some bananas on the way! It was quite a large cliff-side with lots of trees and as soon as the monkeys saw us they came right over. There were little ones and quite large adlult monkeys too-even some Mums carrying babies underneath them. I was amazed at how gentle they were taking fruit from our hands. They did get a bit agressive at one point but only with each other not with us! I think this fulfilled one of Becky's major travelling wishes! One attemped to climb up my leg which worried me slightly as i had no banana left in my hands but they were pretty gentle.

This was a great way to spend the day at the National Park. We did spend around 1000 baht on the activities but not bad at all considering what we got to do! Struggled to keep our eyes open after dinner so after a few games of cards got another early night ready for our bus ride in the moring to Surat Thani. Next stop Ko Samui!

Lots of love to everyone
Happy birthday for yesterday Nic and Trace!

Kate and Becky