Well it's certainly not the beach, and that's what we wanted - a total change after Ko Lanta and before Koh Tao. It is possibly the world's oldest rain forest at the centre of which is a man made reservoir, only 28 years old.

We spent most of our first day travelling there from Ko Lanta: mini van plus two ferries to Krabi, then another mini van to - unexpectedly - a "bus station" full of bemused travellers who weren't told they were going there either or were angry at the world because they had bought the wrong ticket. Still, after half an hour we were on our way again, eventually arriving in stunning surroundings of the park at around 3 ish. Travel in Thailand is easy enough- there are plenty of people keen to take your cash, cover you in stickers and drive you to where you want to go. They just don't necessarily take you there when they say they will, nor by the route they originally promise. The only way of dealing with this is to chill out and let it all happen- you'll get
there in the end, and your trip will certainly not be sped up by ranting and raving at any members of staff you can find (particularly not if you do so in a Hawaiian shirt and American accent...)

Our first port of call was the Rainforest Resort but the welcome and the rooms they showed us were less than inspiring so we went to Bamboo Bungalows where the young German couple we met on the bus were staying. Sol the boss gave a good sales pitch and showed us rooms for
500, 300 and 200 baht. Which one did we go for? Well the 200 baht one actually. A bit on the rustic side but we've grown rather found of bamboo huts these days and besides, it was nicer than the other two. Who needs a hot shower in a rain forest anyway?

Just down the road is Art's River Lodge - a really nice-looking set of bungalows right by the river (and thus a good bit more expensive). The highlight there is the 'monkey swimming hole' a part of the river where both people and monkeys can enjoy a dip! We and the monkeys went there late in the afternoon and it was jolly pleasant.

We booked a tour and over night stay on the lake through Sol and here's where, in retrospect, it's probably worth paying a bit more money. Or maybe not, we don't know as we have nothing to compare it against, but when we saw that our guide the next day was a relation of Sol's perhaps we should have been a bit suspicious. Nice people though they were.

The scenery round the reservoir is certainly worth the trip. This was time again to wonder at the magnificence of nature and how small man is actually. Simply breathtaking. We took so many photos because each new bend the boat went round was more beautiful than the last. After
about an hour in a longtail boat, we reached our accommodation- national park floating bungalows. Now here is where you note the line between 'rustic' and 'rubbish' is drawn. But the Thais seemed to love it. The place was full of them as it was a Buddhist holiday, like a bank holiday weekend for us, so much, much busier than usual.

So floating cabin number nine was our home for the night- we guess we're meant to say that the fact it was leaning radically to left was 'charming'... but maybe that's another fine line, this time between charming and scary. Andrew wasted no time in diving in to the warm water before lunch ("I've had colder baths", he said) to find that the only way to exit was through the German couple's cabin. Very kind of them to allow a dripping Andrew through their home.

After lunch it was a trek through the forest to walk through a large cave system (here is where our note about spending more money on the trip becomes relevant). Before we left we were told that there would some water in the cave so wear footwear that is ok for that. We
checked that flip flops were ok, as Suzie didn't have walking sandal-cum-flip flop things that Andrew had and the guide said they were fine. Flip flops are NOT FINE, not fine in the slightest. Nor are any other form of sandal, particularly to us Westerners who don't live, breathe, trek and rock climb in the things like the Thais do. So If you go, wear trainers and just get them wet - you're in a hot country, they will dry!

We made it through the cave and out the other side, still cursing our guide, and returned to the bungalow. And this was one of the best moments in Khao Sok- just sitting out the front of the cabin, listening to the sounds of the jungle. It's a beautiful, captivating place and the guided excursions into the park are nothing compared to just taking the time to appreciate the place.

Later, we went on a so-called 'night safari' in a longtail boat, hoping to spot hornbills but the boat was way too noisy to sneak up on any animals. Still it did give us a chance to soak up the sounds of the rainforest going to sleep.

Sunrise was very special event. We were awoken to the sounds of gibbons and other creatures calling to one another and replying in a similar fashion. A gibbon's call sounds something like the clangers crossed with a theramin - wonderful. And we were lucky enough to see them during our morning safari. The two we saw were happily breakfasting on tender new bamboo shoots near the water's edge. They have fluffy black faces with white rims round their eyes and snout,
and also a white halo round their little heads like monks.

After breakfast we had a trek through the forest (in walking trainers - much better). This was very exciting for Suzie, she got to see buttress roots as taught in school geography lessons of old. Lunch was on the shore of the reservoir allowing for an afternoon dip before leaving the park and starting the trip to Surat Thani- a journey that went surprisingly smoothly- Sol had arranged for a minibus to pick us up at the pier as promised and we were on our way...