Khao Sok Jungle Exploration

A full day of adventure, fun, nature and culture. We were picked up at the hotel by a minivan which took us to the Khao Sok area. We made a short stop at Takuapa where we had the chance to visit an authentic Thai market with fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, meat, fish and clothes... On the way to Khao Sok National Park the guide gave us a lot of very interesting information about its history. First we visited an old temple located at the entry of a cave in the middle of the jungle. There we could see an ancient cave painting and the mummy of a monk.

Further we continued our trip to the “Sok River”. We went on canoes and were paddled through the great outdoors. Here and there we saw birds and we were lucky because we even saw three yellow-black colored snakes up in the trees. Being paddled through this picturesque landscape seemed very unrealistic to me and it was like a dream. About an hour later the minivan picked us up some kilometers down the stream.  After canoeing we went to the rock and tree house where we were served a variety of Thai food- it was “mai pet” (not spicy) and everyone liked it.  Next we went to the elephant camp. Here we were allowed to ride elephants.

The elephant carried us through the deepest forest, crossed small rivers and brought us back to the camp safely. It was good to see that the mahouts treated the elephants nicely. After the ride we fed the elephants with bananas and took amazing pictures. With a heavy heart we left the gentle elephants behind and returned to our hotels. 

If you want to know more about Khao Lak Land Discovery and the tours available visit us on our website.

Koh Phi Phi Tour

“Only the early bird catches the worm” – So we started our tour to Kho Phi Phi at the break of dawn. We reached Phuket after a one hour ride in KLLD’s comfortable minibus. After a biscuit and coffee break, we took off on a speedboat to Koh Phi Phi Leh. Crystal-clear water, here and there a limestone rock sticking up out of the water and a fresh warm see breeze. When we reached the island I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the white sandy beach and the amazing landscape. Everything reminded me of the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio which was shot at this place in 2000. Only this time, Leonardo wasn’t there but we didn’t miss him too much. Together with our guide we discovered the island and came to a wonderful view point from where we enjoyed a panorama of the surroundings. After some hours we continued to the Viking cave, where a specie of bird builds its nests. In China birds nest soups are delicacy and therefore very expensive.

After visiting Koh Phi Phi Don the crew dropped anchor and our tourguide gave us the snorkeling equipment and some instructions. With fins and masks on we jumped in the warm water. Shoals of fish and corals. I had talked to people before who said “you as a diver will be disappointed when snorkeling at Koh Phi Phi” and I have to tell, I saw many beautiful fish and corals and am not disappointed at all. We had perfect visibility and there is nothing to complain about. After the snorkeling trip we headed for a lonely idyllic island where the crew installed a nice buffet for us. Especially the fish curry was very tasty!

After lunch we had free time so I decided to go snorkeling again. Others relaxed at the beach or went for a swim. Later then we left the island and stopped at a riff where we had the chance to snorkel once again. It was just fantastic there. Unfortunately it was already time to go home and we went back all the way to Khao Lak.

If you want to know more about Khao Lak Land Discovery and the tours available visit us on our  website.

Phang Nga Hong Insel Ganztagestour

Schon früh am Morgen beginnt die abenteuerliche Tour- neue Facetten Thailands wollen von uns entdeckt werden. Phang Nag Bucht und Hong Insel heißt unser heutiges Ziel. Es nieselt noch leicht, als ich, wie die anderen Touristen mit dem Minibus von Khao Lak Land Discovery am Hotel abgeholt werde. Heute sind wir eine Gruppe von acht Touristen. Unser deutschsprachiger Tourguide begrüßt uns freundlich und erklärt  uns kurz, wie der Ausflug ablaufen wird. Dann brausen wir mit dem Bus eine Stunde Richtung Bootsanlegestelle. Unterwegs machen wir einen kurzen Zwischenstopp, bei dem unser Guide uns Pathonggos,  eine Art thailändische Donuts, zum Frühstück kauft. Am Pier angekommen packen wir uns alle in unsere Regenhäute, denn es hat mittlerweile heftig zu regnen begonnen. Mit einem Longtailboot geht es durch die Wellen, vorbei an Mangrovensümpfen bis in die Kalksteinfelslandschaft. Riesige bewachsene weiße Felsen ragen vor uns aus dem Meer. Mit dem wolkenverhangenen Himmel wirkt die Stimmung schon beinahe bedrohlich. Zu einigen Felsen erzählt der Tourguide uns ihre Geschichten und auch, worauf man beim erkunden der Gegend achten muss. Viele Inseln können nur zu bestimmten Zeiten besucht werden. Diese sind abhängig von Ebbe und Flut. Der James Bond Felsen, den wir alle aus „James Bond 007- Der Mann mit dem goldenen Colt“ kennen, scheint neben den übrigen Felsgiganten fast schon klein. Es geht weiter zu einem Höhlensystem.

Hier werden die Kanus aufgeblasen und ins Wasser gelassen. Unser Tourguide und die restliche Bootsmannschaft paddelt uns gekonnt durch schmale Höhlen in  kleine Buchten. Hier kann man Ruhe, Urwaldgeräusche, und die malerische Szenerie aus dem Film „Avatar“ auf sich wirken lassen.  Das Wetter reißt langsam auf und hier und da trauen sich Sonne und blauer Himmel hervor. Später haben wir selbst die Chance uns am paddeln zu versuchen. Zwischendurch gibt es immer wieder kurze Getränkepausen an Bord. Weiter geht es zu Fuß durch einen Höhlenkanal, zum „Hong“ (thail. für Zimmer).  Wir waten durch kniehohes Wasser, ducken uns unter den Jahrtausenden alten glitzernden Stalaktiten in der „Diamanthöhle“ und gelangen in ein „Zimmer“ von Mangroven, die während der Ebbe trocken liegen. Es sieht atemberaubend aus! Zurück bei den Booten haben wir uns eine Abkühlung im 28°C warmen Wasser verdient. :-)

Gegen Mittag fahren wir mit dem Boot zurück Richtung Pier, halten jedoch für ein thailändisches Mittagessen an einem auf Stelzen gelegenen Zigeunerdorf. Wir besichtigen die Schule dort, schlendern durch touristische Marktstände und kehren dann auf einer wunderschönen Terrasse zum Essen  ein. Wir bekommen allerlei Köstlichkeiten, die unsere Geschmackssinne wecken- süß, scharf, etwas sauer,… Gesättigt und vollends zufrieden fahren wir mit dem Boot zurück zum Anleger. Auf geht’s zu unserer letzten Station für heute: ein Höhlentempel. Am Tempeleingang werden wir bereits sehnsüchtig von hungrigen Affen erwartet, die von uns gefüttert werden möchten. Im Inneren des Höhlentempels thront ein liegender goldener Buddha. Unser Guide erzählt uns von der Geschichte des Tempels und gibt uns dann einige Minuten, um uns selbst umzuschauen.  Nun kann es zurück nach Khao Lak gehen! Für heute haben wir jede Menge gesehen, erlebt und erzählt bekommen. 

Wenn Sie mehr über Khao Lak Land Discovery und unsere Touren erfahren möchten, besuchen Sie uns doch auf unserer  webseite.

An unforgettable day in the jungle of Khao Sok National Park

The day started at 08:00 o’clock with a one-hour drive north. Our target today was the national park Khao Sok. Our first stop was at the canoe station, from which we were paddled across the Sok river for about 1.5 hours. The paddle guides always kept their eyes open and showed us every animal they spotted. So we saw monkeys, some frogs, a black and yellow mangrove snake, a monitor lizard and countless butterflies and birds in the most beautiful colours. Smaller rapids made ​​the trip a memorable one.

After a short drive by minibus we arrived at the cave temple in Khao Sok National Park. This temple houses among others a mummified monk, who was very important for the native inhabitants. There was also a large Buddha statue inside the temple, as well as a few smaller ones on the outside. In front of the temple were a lots of monkeys which we could feed with bananas and peanuts. They were a little bit cheeky and tried to steal the whole bag of peanuts from me, but other than that it was a great experience to get so close to these still wild animals.

At midday we stoped at the georgeous Rock and Treehouse Resort in Khao Sok National Park. This newly opened resort offers accommodation in treehouse bungalows that fit perfectly into the jungle environment. We had a very nice buffet lunch in the resort with lots of Thai specialties such as the delicious Massaman Curry (curry with chicken, potatoes and carrots), fried vegetables, noodles and fried chicken.

After having fuelled up with that delicious lunch, we got back onto the minibus to reach our last stop of the day. Once we arrived at the elephant camp, we went up the platform and sat down on the seats of our huge jungle friends. I have to admit I was a bit scared when I saw, how high it actually was. But the fear was overcome by excitement just a few minutes after that. It was really a once in a lifetime experience to sit up there and see how these gentle giants cross all kinds of obstacles without making even one wrong step. After about half an hour we got down from the elephants so we could walk / climb to a small waterfall. Getting there was an adventure, but no problem with the help of the mahouts. After having seen the waterfall, we got back on top of our “jungle-taxi”. The mahouts offered us to sit right on the neck of the elephant if we dared. This was probably my highlight of the whole day. It was an unique opportunity to get as close as possible to these amazing creatures and definitely an unforgettable adventure.

To find out more about this tour visit our website or the Khao Sok tour page.

Khao Lak Safari- Jungle, Beach and Elephants

For those who are looking for a mix of jungle, beach and elephant trekking look no further- the Khao Lak Safari is exactly the right tour for you. To find out more about this diversified tour, read the article written by our intern Sina:

On my second day of work with Khao Lak Land Discovery I had the chance to get to see more of Khao Lak and its surroundings by joining todays Khao Lak Safari. My colleague Ben, who will be today’s tour guide will teach be about some factors that will lead to a successful tour.

Most important factor? Happy guests that are ready to enjoy a lovely day in the outdoors with us.

So, together with our friendly driver Suriya, Ben and I make our way to the hotels to pick up the customers. With eight smiling faces on board of our bus, we are ready to head to our first stop of the day: 

15 day old turtle hatchlings

The Turtle Nursery in Thap Lamu is definitely worth a visit. 

Here you can see the development of the Green Sea Turtle. The smallest ones are just a few days old, while there are also a few which are already fully grown up to 1 meter. While looking at the turtles, Ben feeds us with plenty of information about the animals and about the Nursery Station. After having seen all the different sized turtles we head on back to the bus, as we still have lots to see and do today.

Bamboo raft through the jungle

Our next stop is the Bamboo Raft Station. On our way, Ben tells us about the importance of rubber export in Thailand and we even stop to have a closer look at one of the trees to see how the collection of latex functions. Once we arrive at the bamboo station, the rafts men already await us and we can hop on the rafts two at a time. The 45 minute ride on the Wang Khiang Koo river anticipates an amazing jungle feeling. We listen to the sounds of birds and cicadas and look out for sleeping snakes in the trees, while the rafter tells us about flora and fauna with a mix of Thai and English. 

Small Sandy Beach

Back on shore again, we have gotten a little bit wet on the ride, it is just the right time to go to the beach to dry in the sun or to get even wetter while having a swim in the beautiful waters of idyllic “Hat Lek” or “Small Sandy Beach”. With the minibus it only takes about ten minutes to reach the entry of Lamru National Park from where we take a short jungle walk down the hill. The sound of the jungle is astonishing and reaches from the shrill chirping of the cicadas, to yelling monkeys and finally, as we get closer to the beach, the breaking of the waves.  Once we arrive there, we realize: We are the only visitors this afternoon. The only other person at the beach is an employee of the National Park, at whose bar some of our guests treat themselves to a fresh coconut. 

After one relaxing hour on the beach, we make our way up to the minibus again, which takes us to the restaurant at Ton Pling waterfall. A delicious Thai lunch is served here, including Massaman Curry (curry with chicken and potatoes), spring rolls, Thai omelet, vegetable soup and of course rice.  After all guests have finished, we treat them to some fresh watermelon for dessert and a cup of coffee before slowly heading to our next and last stop of the day. 

Elephant trekking at Sairung Camp

The elephant trekking is the highlight of the tour for most of our guests… When else do you get the chance to trek through the amazing jungle on a 3 meter tall animal? As big as the elephant might be, it is astonishing to see how gentle they are and how well they can balance their huge feet.  The ride might be a bit shaky at first but you will get used to it very fast and then you can just enjoy the lovely ride, passing by many rubber and palm oil plantations.  After the one hour trek, our guests have the chance to thank their “jungle taxi” by feeding them some bananas or pineapples, before we all head back to the hotels in Khao Lak.

After having dropped off all our customers, I can look back on a great tour: we had perfect weather, an excellent tour guide and most importantly: super happy guests.

Sounds interesting? Find out more about this tour, prices and other Khao Lak tours.

If you want to find out more about us and our other tours, please visit also our Website.

Phangnga Bay - So much more than just James Bond Island

After plenty of days of summer, sun, beach and ocean I wanted to do something different. Therefore, I have decided to visit Phang Nga Bay with Khao Lak Land Discovery.

James Bond Rock

Phang Nga Bay is famous for the so-called James Bond Island from which Richard Moore, in the movie “The Man with the Golden Colt”, 1974, dramatically escaped the villains. But Phang Nga Bay has so much more to offer, which I would like to share with you.

Canoeing

Our trip has started with a 45 minute drive to the harbour where we have swopped the minivan with a typical Thai long-tail boat. We drove past limestone’s and mangrove forest on our way to our first stop – the kayaking station. Lightly drenched from the ride on the long-tail boat (the swell was slightly stronger than expected) we have made our way on a canoe into the mangrove forests.The best part was that we did not have to paddle ourselves, but were paddled by a nice Thai. Thus we were able to enjoy the view and to capture the memories on camera. There was plenty to see. For example, we have seen amazing limestone rocks which are partially protruding up to 300 meters high out of the bright green water. Also, we got to see stalactites and stalagmites along the way. To get into the lagoons we sometimes had to duck in the canoe to pass the narrow passages. 

 

After the canoe ride, we continued our journey with the long-tail boat to follow the footsteps of Roger Moore. The James Bond Island seemed to be drastically smaller than you would expect it from the movie. Moreover, the stunt of the action hero Richard Moore did not seem as dramatic and dangerous anymore. But still, it was very nice to look at.

Koh Panyee School

Koh Panyee village

Nobody had to go hungry, because our next stop was Koh Panyee, a gypsy village which was entirely built on stilts. Moreover, up to 2000 people life on this stilts village that also provides a school, a mosque and a soccer field which hosts a well known soccer team that is famous all over Thailand. After we walked through the "small town" and visited the Koh Panyee School, we had lunch with a variety of typical Thai-Muslim food. The treats that we had eaten have strengthened us for the rest of the day. This made it easy for us to enjoy the rest of the long-tail boat ride back to the pier.

Tuesday Buddha

Back on the mainland, our nice driver has taken us to the Suwanakuha temple. There, I decided to get blessed by a monk. A bit of luck never hurt anyone, right? After I have felt blessed I marvelled at the huge Buddha statue that can be seen in the temple. It is covered in gold. Our tour guide told us that this is the Tuesday Buddha, which is presented in a lying position. Furthermore, we were able to see and feed monkeys that chose the temple as their headquarters. Before we’ve left the temple I had to get a prophecy that will lead my future. Apparently, if your prophecy is bad you have to leave it behind in the temple. But as my prophecy was outstanding I took it with me outside the temple that it can become reality.

All in all, it was a great day with Khao Lak Land Discovery to explore the Phang Nga Bay. 

Written by Diana Schob