Khao Sok: Monkeys, Lizards, and Leeches...Oh My!!!

I am beginning to see a trend in this trip: any aliment (from jet lag to slight food poisoning) can be cured with enough sleep. Monica and I got over the last bit of our disagreement with Fon-Fon food with 12 hours of sleep. And we woke bright and early for our first Khao Sok adventure.

But before we could run off to do some trekking in the jungle we had to fuel up. We dropped by the main lounge area for some breakfast. One thing I have learned about Thailand is that their idea of coffee does not match up with my idea of coffee. Admittedly they probably could not have found someone with a higher bar. "Coffee" here is generally Nescafe with a powdered creamer. Not exactly your Holler Mountain blend from the neighborhood Irwin's. But early morning caffeine is caffeine and to keep up with Monica I was going to need to drink up.

Manda and I on the road to the park

Our hostess, "spider-woman" caught up with us before we left for the hike. She had some valuable vocational advice, involving leeches. Of which there are many. She suggested we wear shorts, so we can catch the buggers before they get onto our bare legs. She told us that leeches like to climb up the inside of pants and bite people high up on the thigh. Yuck! We took her excellent advice and put on shorts (not to mention is was going to be hot and very humid, pants would have led to death). I also took the liberty of wearing a pair of Jon's hiking socks, hiked all the way up. Which made me look ridiculous, but I hoped would protect my bare legs from the leeches.

The park was a leisurely 20 minute walk from the Jungle Huts. It was early enough that the mountains still had fog around their peaks. It gave the whole area a misty, mysterious feel as we meandered towards our goal. Not to mention we weren't boiling. Which was nice.

Once we arrived at the park entrance and paid the entrance fee, 200 baht (which translates to less than $7). There were several trail heads to choose from. Unfortunately, due to the season, only some of the trails were open. In the rainy season there is a high chance of flash flooding on certain routes. None of the open trails were all that long, 6k at the most.

Spider-woman had suggested a set of trails leading to a waterfall. She told us that the waterfall trail was much wider and drier than the others, so we'd be less likely to get leeched.

Mandatory leech check

But being the Washingtonian's that we are, we didn't listen to her advice. We thought, "Nah, we got this. We hike all the time." And we took a trail headed to a lookout point instead. I believe the reasoning was that we could check out her trail suggestion once we finished the lookout path. The trail was wet and overgrown and full of vegetation. The plants seemed to create a tunnel to walk thru. The air was heavy and damp. And everywhere was the sound of dripping water and buzzing of insects. It was very unlike any place I'd ever hiked before. Washington has pretty dense flora but this place was lush to the extreme.

About 2 minutes in the fun really started. I can't remember who looked down first, but soon the air was full of the sounds of girly screams. Well maybe not screams, but but definitely some choice words I won't be repeating here. There were leeches. And they were everywhere. The nasty little buggers could feel the vibrations of us walking. They would rear up and latch on to our shoes. And then climb up onto our legs with surprising speed. I was immediately glad I was wearing the stupid looking socks. At least until I realized they could bite right thru the fabric.

From then on the hike to the view point became less of a hike and more of a battle. Every 100 yards (maybe less), we would stop to knock all the leeches off our shoes and socks. I caught one on the back of Manda's bare calf, knocking it off before it actually bit her. I lost count after something like 30 leeches knocked off me. I admit, I spent more time watching the ground for leeches and less looking at the surroundings. All I recall from that hike was a mad dash to the next patch of clear ground. It was fun, in a sort of sad way. We didn't really get to enjoy any of the normal hiking delights, but we did do battle with nature, in a way.

Our dashing came to an end with a washed out bridge a couple miles in. We were forced to go back the way we came, dodging leeches all the way. Once we were back at the trail head we ripped off our shoes and socks in an attempt to make sure we were leech free. I caught one crawling along the hair line on the back of Monica's neck. That induced some panic. Apparently they drop out of trees, according to Manda (she failed to share that earlier, probably for the greater good).

Lizard, spotted just off the trail

Turns out Spider-woman was right. The trail she suggested was at least twice as wide as our original choice. There was less vegetation overhang and more breaks in the dense trees, with view out to the mountains that surrounded the park.

We hadn't even gone a miles before we encountered a giant lizard crossing the path. It was at least a meter long, it's tail making up at least half of it's length. It didn't take any notice of us, just continued on it's way.

We continued on, taking much fewer leech check breaks. The drier ground seemed to nearly leech free. For the most part the trail led deeper into the jungle. There wasn't a strong incline and no switchbacks to speak of, which was a change from hiking in Washington. As we walked I kept thinking, "This area seems so flat, where is the waterfall going to come in?"

Turns out "waterfall" is a relative term. After hiking in the Cascades I feel waterfalls have been ruined for me. When we got to the waterfall it was more of a "water-step". The river was probably 7 meters across, but the drop was maybe a meter at most. It was still beautiful, surrounded by all the jungle and hanging vines. Just not awe inspiring.

Manda poses by the "waterfall"

 Monica and I by the "waterfall"

Once we had soaked in enough of the waterfall we headed back down the trail. We passed a couple with a guide heading up the trail. They were stopped in the middle of the trail staring out into what appeared to be an empty group of trees. When we took a closer look there were a group of monkeys hanging out in the upper branches.

View of the limestone cliffs

We may have flipped out a bit, we hadn't seen any monkeys yet. And monkeys are pretty cute. But before we really got a chance to take any excellent pictures the guide from the other hiking group threw a rock at the tree to scare them off. When we made sad noises he just shrugged and said, "No monkey. Monkey bite." So our first encounter with monkeys passed with photographic evidence.

Our hiking adventure started with mist and leeches, and ended with monkeys and fantastic views of the surrounding cliff. By the time we had made our way back down to the trail head the oppressive sun had melted away all the mist. The cliffs surrounding the entrance to the park were completely visible. And while they were beautiful, I think I'd take Washington hiking over Thailand hiking any day. No leeches in Washington.

For another account of our leech adventure check out Monica's blog: The Blue Horse