"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the vagabonds sleep tonight..."

The Khao Sok National Park is the largest condensed rainforest in Southern Thailand, and it is older and is more diverse than the Amazon. It is home to many interesting species, and we were hoping to see some of them. Arriving at the park, we went to a resort where they sold guided tours. We knew that all tours started early in the morning, and that we needed to get out that same day. We hoped that this was not going to cause trouble, and we were lucky. There was a guide who would take us out on an overnight camping trip, even if it was already mid-day. After eating a solid meal, we sang "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns 'N' Roses, while we headed out to the massive jungle that would be our home for two days and one night.

Our guide was called "Beer", and with him was another assistant who did not speak English. It was just Paul, the two guides, and me, a perfect sized group. Again we were lucky with everything. Not was it only us, but the guides were also just 20 and 21 years old, and had a good sense of humor. As we were walking into the rain forest they kept making jokes about tigers, king cobras, and other fierce animals.

The first living creatures we saw were chameleons. They could change color, but we only saw them in different shades of gray. The next we encountered was a snake, and apparently it was one that often would bite, but it was not poisonous. It was moving fast, and in the difficult light that the jungle created, it was hard to get a sharp picture. That turned out to be the only snake we would see in the jungle, and that was maybe for the best. It would have been cool to see any kind of cobra, but being far out in the jungle, and with the rough terrain the mountains provided, meeting a poisonous snake could have been the final story of my blog.

As we walked the guides kept pointing at all kinds of insects, spiders, lizards and amphibians, and I don't know how they did it. For us it was even hard to spot them when the guide pointed and the creature moved. The humidity and the temperature were both high, and I was wearing pants and a shirt, mostly to protect me from mosquito bites. It also belongs to the story that I did not have any other clothes to wear, since I had been a little lazy about washing them lately. Right after we had crossed a boar trail the guide pointed at the side of the path and said: "Tarantella". I switched my camera on, and was ready to shoot. The only part we could see was the front legs, as it was sitting in the opening of its hole. I wanted to get a stick, and try to make it come out. The guide did not want me to do that, and said that it was a very poisonous one. By his advice I did leave it, and we walked deeper into the jungle. The next thing we saw was an elephant trek. Every year a heard of elephants ran down the side of the hill, and even if it was a long time since it happened last, we could see the "elephant highway". There was almost no vegetation, and it was wide enough so you could drive your car there. Further in, but on a wider trail, we found some big brown grass balls, that could be nothing but plants digested and left there by an elephant. The guide guessed it was about one and a half day old. Again, I would love to see an elephant out in the wild, but they are very big and dangerous animals, so I guess we were lucky not to meet one.

Everywhere we could hear birds, but the most recognizable was the hornbills. I only saw the silhouette of one, but I have seen them in the zoo, and they are beautiful looking birds, with very colorful beaks. At some times we could hear monkeys as well, but we did not see some before we came to the area where we pitched our tent and made camp. There were gibbons, but mostly dusky langurs. They were big and black, and swinging in the treetops with their extremely long arms.

The place where we made camp was very idyllic and perfect for us. It was by the river, in a deep valley, sheltered from bad weather. The river was dammed a little by some rocks, which made a small pool perfect for swimming in slow running water. There was also a lot of bamboo to find near by. With bamboo you can do anything. And during the trek, so we learned. After pitching our tent (which had some broken sticks that we connected with some small tubes of bamboo), putting up the hammocks for the guides, and making a campfire, it was time for a swim. When you are in the jungle, there is nothing to do but to go skinny-dipping. It is only the monkeys who are watching, and with the high humidity, nothing will dry unless you hang it over the fire.

After swimming it was time to eat the dinner that we had prepared, and the guides cooked while we swam. As the main course there was green curry which the guides put chicken, Thai potatoes, some more local vegetables and of course chili in. The other dish was canned mackerel in tomato sauce, topped with onion, chili, and some sweet & sour sauce. To cook the food, they filled the bamboo we cut in the jungle, and leaned them towards a horizontal stick above the fire. Because of the water inside, and that we used fresh bamboo, it never burned through the bamboo. To go with the food we had rice. The guides brought rice in a plastic bag with water, so it was already wet when we started. Then we washed the leaves Beer had picked, took a fist-full of rice, placed it in the middle of the leaf and folded the leaf into a little square (long sides first, short sides after). When we had made a few of them we stacked them so they became about the same size as the bamboo and put it inside. It was important that it was a little tight, in order to keep the rice inside the leaves as it boiled. We filled the bamboo with river water so that it just covered the leaves, and put it in the fire to cook for a minimum of 30 minutes.

We enjoyed the food a lot, and the curry was one of the best I have ever eaten. While sitting in on a rock in camp, eating my food, I felt something fall down into my hair. I had almost gotten used to that things came falling down from the trees everywhere, but usually they did not more around in my hair after landing. It turned out to be a large spider, but after I got it out, it ran out of sight and I never saw it again.

After doing the dishes the guides took out their bong again. The first thing they did when we had made camp was to make a bong out of bamboo and start smoking marihuana. They said that they smoked every day, but they did not seem to be having any trouble spotting the different animals, no matter how much they smoked. During the night it was important to keep the fire going, to keep animals away, so when Beer took Paul and me out for a night safari, the other guide stayed behind to make sure there were sufficient amounts of bamboo and wood in the fire. Out on the night safari we saw mouse deer, a funny looking deer, less than 50 cm / 20 inches at mature age. They exist in other countries also, but the ones in South East Asia are the smallest ones. We could see them in the jungle because of their reflecting eyes. We carried flashlights. However, since we came in so late, the guide did not get time to charge the flashlight for any longer than we ate and got ready to leave. So in the middle of our night adventure, it became very dark. The only light we had was what moonlight the big trees of the jungle were merciful enough to let through. Since it was only half moon, there was not too much light, but we made it back to camp without tripping on the various roots, lianas and other obstacles that cover the jungle floor.

In the middle of the night I went out of the tent to take a piss. I put on my running shoes, and walked out slowly, not knowing what was out there. I walked out of camp and found a suiting place. Just after I had embarked on my mission, something big moved in the bush next to me. I still do not know what it was, but I assume it was more mouse deer, but at that time my mind was more convinced it was a leopard, tiger or honey bear. I could hear the leaves hitting the animal's body as it ran away.

The next morning we had more coffee and tea in our bamboo cups, and toasted bread on the fire. We had to catch the last bus to Phuket, and the walk ahead of us was very long, so we had to keep the pace up. After packing everything down, and making sure we had not left any trace that we had been there, we started the march. We followed various small rivers and canyons, one steeper than the next. There were many waterfalls, and lots of spiders, but one thing was missing. Where were all the mosquitoes? I did not get bitten by a single mosquito during the first day and night in the jungle. And it would turn out later, that it did not happen the second day either. I guess some of it has to do with the dry season, but I still expected to be eaten alive. I am not complaining, but was very surprised.

During the day we saw a 100 meters high waterfall, the world's biggest flower, the "Rafflesia". It was really impressive to see the enormous flower at it's different stages, first looking like a ball, then a beautiful cartoon-like, red flower, then in the end, dried up and completely black. They don't stay open for long, and there are not that many of them in the park, so we were very lucky to find one that was booming. One of my goals for the trek was to spot an animal that the guide did not see. I knew it would be hard, and I am very happy we had a guide to let us see the wild life, but I surprised myself and did even more than spotting a creature. As I looked at a bush, I could see a beautiful white flower, I thought. As I tried to touch it to smell it, it jumped down on a rock. It was an insect. I asked the Beer to have a look at it, and it turned out that none of the guides had ever seen that insect before. I felt very satisfied, and got some decent pictures.

We raced up and down the hills so fast to catch the bus, that at some points I was sure Paul would fall over. I am somewhat used to run out in the forest, and managed to keep my legs moving between the roots, but the east coast Aussies run more on the beach. Sweaty as never before, and feeling very lucky, we came to a viewpoint above the road where we would be picked up and taken back to the guesthouse. After a nice ride in the back of a pickup truck, we had a quick shower and some food before we got on the bus to Phuket.