Muang Boran, translated "Ancient City", is a museum park in Thailand located in Samut Prakan, just outside of Bangkok. This is not an amusement park, but instead is a real-life open-air museum where the most famous monuments of the country are replicated.
Thailand: Night hike in Khao Sok NP
Khao Sok trekking and hiking in the National Park is some of the best in Thailand. The rainforest around Khao Sok is home to an abundance of wildlife. You can hike to waterfalls, swimming holes and caves.
It was another leisurely start as we didn’t have any activities planned until the evening, starting at 4:30 pm when we were heading out on a six-hour day-night safari in the Khao Sok National Park. There are many options for hiking in the National Park, from half-day to full-day treks and the day-night hike, which we had opted for. You can do these with or without a guide.
At the appointed time, we met up with our guide, Wee, at the hotel lobby and set off for our night safari adventure!
After paying for the entry ticket, we headed off along a trail into the rainforest. Wee set a robust pace and we did our best to keep up with him, and we were soon glistening with sweat. I also felt a bit as if my blood sugar was low. It didn’t help that a few sections were quite steep!
The plan was to walk about 3km along this trail where there was a Ranger station by the river, and once there Wee would make dinner, using a bamboo trunk. As we went along Wee explained something of the flora and fauna, pointing out holes in the mud bank on the side of the trail, that he said would be occupied by a tarantula or black scorpion. After this, we made sure we stayed in the middle of the trail. About 2km in, Wee got out a large, curved knife and found a bamboo shoot, that was about 12cm in diameter and chopped a section that was about 3 metres in length. He carried this the rest of the way to the Ranger station
Once we arrived at the Ranger station it was still light. I left Wee preparing the bamboo for the cooking, whilst Karen looked on and headed down the hill to the river to take some photos. When I got back, he had cut the bamboo into three lengths of about 60cm, with one end sealed by the internal chamber wall of the bamboo and the other end open. He then prepared the three dishes; rice, vegetarian green curry, and vegetables, and put these into the three bamboo cooking containers. He had also bought along some mushrooms, that he put onto bamboo skewers and then created a cake mixture that went into a smaller diameter bamboo cane, which would be our dessert.
Now all the food was prepared, Wee built a fire and rested the bamboo canes on to metal frame that was over the flames. Now we waited. We were not the only people here, there were another five groups of tourists also having their food prepared similarly.
It took nearly an hour for the food to cook and by this time night had fallen. Wee took more bamboo and prepared serving bowls for the food and for us to use to eat from, and he also made some chopsticks from the bamboo with his knife. We sat on one of the tables in the picnic shelter and Wee bought out two candles to give us some light. It was very romantic.
Then the food came. I was worried when we booked this that the portions would not be enough. Boy, was I wrong! Each dish came in its own bamboo serving bowl and there was a huge quantity. By the end, I could not squeeze in another mouthful. The problem was we had to walk 3km to get out of the park.
We had not seen a lot on the way into the park during daylight, but as we walked back along the trail we were treated to see the creatures that are either more difficult to see in the light or are nocturnal. There were lots of large spiders, leaf insects, frogs and lizards. One tarantula had an electric blue-coloured stripe on its legs. We also saw a black and yellow mangrove snake that was slowly stalking a gecko.
The closer we got back to the village the more people we met who were with guides on night safaris. It was like Piccadilly Circus on a Friday night! Sadly, it did make the experience a lot less intimate.
On the way into the park, we followed the main trail, but Wee asked if we’d like to go off-road into the rainforest. We jumped at the chance and soon found ourselves on a much narrower trail stepping over tree trunks and ducking under branches. So, much more fun than the main trail. At one point we came to a little gully with a stream running through where some other tourists and their guide were on their haunches and bent at a strange angle looking at something under some logs. It was a black and white rodent with a long nose, which they said was a type of rat, but we were not so sure it was a rat.
At this point I started to get harassed by a large hornet, which got Wee rather agitated, so I assumed it was not good to get stung by this. So, we hurried away from this spot. A little further on Wee pointed out a sleeping kingfisher with a bright yellow chest.
Finally, we made it back to the starting point of our adventure, where we were picked up and taken back to Our Jungle Camp. We’d had an amazing night but had to go back to our room and prepare for our overnight trip to Cheow Lan Lake.
About Khao Sok National Park
Located in Southern Thailand, Khao Sok National Park was established in 1980 as Thailand’s 22nd national park. The park consists of a thick native rainforest, waterfalls, majestic limestone cliffs and an island-stubbed lake.
The rainforest in this region is one of the oldest in the world, believed to be even older than the Amazon. Due to Thailand having remained in a similar equatorial position throughout the last 160 million years, the climate has been relatively unaffected by ice ages. While other regions of the planet were suffering severe droughts, the Khao Sok region still received enough rainfall to sustain the forests.
By the 1900s much of Thailand was deforested by mass logging. In a twist of fate for Khao Sok, a group of Thai students who had become communist insurgents evaded the government by setting up a stronghold in Khao Sok. During 1975-1982, while other areas were being rapidly depleted of rainforest, these students, in trying to keep the Thai Army at bay, also obstructed the loggers, miners and hunters. By the time the students had left Khao Sok, it had been officially established as a National Park. It is now protected from logging under Thai national laws.
Khao Sok National Park covers an area of 739 square kilometres and extends into parts of the Khlong Yee and Khlong Pra Sang forests, as well as portions of the Krai Son and the Khao Pung areas in the Ban Ta Khun district and the Khlong Sok and Panom areas in the province of Surat Thani. It is bordered by another three National Parks.
The area in which Khao Sok sits was sculpted during the same tectonic shift that created the Himalayan mountains. Famous for the limestone or ‘karst’ mountains which loom dramatically over the lake, the terrain in Khao Sok was pushed upward to form the peaks seen throughout the region giving Khao Sok its mountainous landscape. In most of the region, the ground level is about 200m above sea level with the average mountain height around 400m. The tallest peak in the National Park is 960m in height.
How to get to Khao Sok
By Plane
Khao Sok is less than 3 hour’s drive from all airports in Southern Thailand. Surat Thani Airport is closest at just about 2 hours’ drive, but Phuket and Krabi airports are not too much farther.
By Train
Surat Thani also has a train station about 2 hours away from Khao Sok. From here you can arrange a private taxi pickup. If you want to take public transport, you usually have to take a bus back into the city centre, and then catch another bus or minivan from Surat Thani Town to Khao Sok.
By Boat
If you are coming from the Gulf Islands, Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, or Koh Tao, a private transfer can be made from Don Sak pier. It takes about 3.5 hours to reach Khao Sok from Don Sak.
By Public Transport
Public buses to Khao Sok are available from all major towns and even from the Gulf Islands, but these options do take longer than a private transfer.
By Private Transfers
Private transfers are the easiest way to get to Khao Sok – which you can arrange yourself or you can see if your accommodation will organise it for you.
The best time to visit Khao Sok National Park
Due to the high mountains and the fact that it is influenced by both the Northeast (Pacific Ocean) and Southwest (Indian Ocean) monsoons, Khao Sok has the highest level of rainfall in Thailand (3,500 mm per year).
The heaviest rains are between May and November, the driest period is between December and April; although even during that time there can still be some rain – there is always a fair chance to get wet when visiting a rainforest.
Khao Sok has warm temperatures throughout the whole year, with the statistically hottest months being March and April. However, temperatures only change at a range of 4 degrees Celsius during the year, varying between average maximum temperatures of 29 to 33 degrees to average minimum temperatures of 20 to 23 degrees. In fact, as in most tropical regions, temperature variations are higher between noon and midnight than they are between January and July.
Where to stay
1. OUR JUNGLE CAMP
Khao Sok´s unique Nature Resort, with Treehouse and Bungalow accommodation options for families and individual travellers alike. Nestled between Khao Sok Rainforest and the gentle flowing Sok River, Our Jungle Camp offers Double and Single-Storey Treehouses as well as unique Adobe and Nature Bungalows.
2. KHAO SOK PALM VIEW RESORT
Only 200 metres from Khao Sok National Park, Khao Sok Palmview Resort offers a peaceful retreat in charming wooden cottages. They have private balconies and offer massage services, a restaurant and a variety of outdoor activities.
3. BUDGET – COCO KHAO SOK HOSTEL
Featuring a bar and views of mountain, Coco Khao Sok Hostel is located in Khao Sok, less than 1 km from Khao Sok. With a terrace, the 1-star hostel has air-conditioned rooms with free WiFi, each with a shared bathroom. The accommodation provides an ATM, a tour desk and currency exchange for guests.
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