Day 2: Khao Yai National Park
May 26 - We woke up early the next day feeling refreshed after sleeping in our cozy (air-conditioned!) room. We started the day off with "American Breakfast" at the restaurant onsite (eggs, bacon, toast, fruit plate, coffee for me, tea for Michael), then we got into the songthaew with our driver and our guide, Ben, for the day, and two of the German tourists that we met yesterday on the Bat Cave Tour. We were so excited for the chance to see some of Thailand's wildlife up close, especially since we missed out on seeing gibbons in Laos. We were told that it was unlikely we would see elephants as it was just the beginning of the wet season (apparently the wet season is the best time to see a lot of animals), and there hadn't been any sightings in the past little while. At the entrance to the park we donned our very fashionable leech socks (basically a cotton "bag" with a drawstring at the top). Our first stop was at a look out point, and Ben explained to us that of all the animals in the park, the guar was the most dangerous. We looked out over the valley as it woke up - we could hear birds, gibbons calling and monkeys. We hopped back into the songthaew and it wasn't too long before we spotted our first wildlife in the park: a barking deer and then some playful monkeys outside of the visitor centre. The driver talked with other guides and drivers to find out if there had been any elephants spotted. We drove to our first hike and on the way saw a giant tree squirrel and some more monkeys. We pulled over and started our first hike for the day, eager for what we would come across. At the start of the trail Ben bowed his head slightly and whispered a prayer for protection. Their was a rough path through the jungle, but we were glad to have a guide as the jungle grew more and more dense. The vines would often be as thick as a tree, and would grow in spiral-like ways, covered in green and brown moss, they often resembled snakes to me, which startled me every now and then! We kept our eyes ahead looking for any signs of animals. Suddenly Ben stopped, and looked at the ground, "A snake has been here", he said as he showed us a piece of mottled skin. He instructed us to stay where we were, while he went ahead to have a look. He came back shortly after that, disappointed, "I didn't see it". My heart sank and rose at the same time. Michael's heart sank :) Onward we trekked through the jungle, stopping to climb a huge tree. Michael took on the challenge of climbing as high as he could, while I climbed a little ways up, facing my fear of heights and snakes. Suddenly, Ben stopped and paid attention to a sound he could hear in the distance, "Gibbons". We walked briskly following Ben until we could hear the distinct call that they make. Yes! We finally saw gibbons, and watched them for a long time swooping through the air, swinging from vine to vine, resting in the branches and eating fruit. We were able to get some close views by using the spotting scope and tripod that our guide carried with him. The end of the trail took us through grasslands, and Ben stopped to pick up a porcupine quill that he found. We walked past a watering hole and climbed a lookout shelter hoping to spot elephants, but as it was the middle of the day, it was unlikely. We got picked up by our driver and headed to a restaurant in the park for lunch. On our way, our songthaew stopped suddenly, and Ben ran out, looking at the pavement. From the back of the songthaew, we couldn’t tell what he was looking at, until he pointed it out. Muddy elephant tracks! He suspected that they were fresh, as they weren't there when we had passed in the morning. We pulled over and were told to stay in the songthaew. Ben went into the jungle, and the driver ran the other way, hoping to be able to track the elephants. We waited for quite awhile, and noticed other songthaews zoom right by the tracks on the road. We were definitely lucky to have such an observant and experienced guide! We were so hopeful as we waited and waited...hhhmm, hopefully Ben was OK? Then, he popped out of the jungle, did a quick happy dance and called to us "Come, quick, the elephants, they are here!!!!" We bolted out of the songthaew, raced through the dense jungle, hopping over fallen branches and vines, praying that we wouldn't step on anything under the leaves. Ben stopped and crouched down, and pointed "Look, there they are! We will stay our distance, so they don't feel threatened, but if I tell you to run, then run!" We watched as a bull elephant swung its trunk from side to side, pulled branches from trees and eating them, then slowly wondered down to the stream bed. We noticed its large tusks and hid behind a bush as we observed and snapped pictures. Then, it noticed us...oh oh...it started moving towards us. "Run!" We ran and suddenly I became aware that I was the only female in the group, at least a foot shorter than everyone other than Ben, and I was slower. Thankfully I didn't get trampled by the elephant. It soon felt less threatened by our presence as we gave it more space. Eventually the elephant started to charge towards us again and our guide told us to "run". Again we ran and got out of the area safely. It was inadvisable to continue following the bull elephant, so we headed back to the songthaew and drove to the restaurant. The restaurant was on a riverbank near a camp office and we saw many sambar deer, not very perturbed by human presence and sitting outside of the washrooms and office. As we waited for our stir-fry lunch to be prepared, we saw a four foot long monitor lizard. After lunch we did a boardwalk hike and were afforded more beautiful views of the park valley. Afterwards, as we were driving through the park, we stopped at the side of the road, along with many other songthaews. A family of elephants were grazing in the grasses beside the road. There were babies and at least ten adults including one large male. We watched for a long while at a safe distance on the side of the road. At one point, the park officials told all of us to get back our vehicles as the elephants started to walk towards us. After the elephants moved on, we drove to the campground in the park and Ben rented us tents and sleeping bags and got hot takeout containers of chicken fried rice from the restaurant across the road. Michael and I had booked the overnight tour, which meant we would be camping in the park with our guide, while the two Germans were finished and would head back to the hotel with the driver. We were told that we could explore the area while Ben set up our tent - and were relieved to hear that it wasn't supposed to rain. Shortly after the driver had left, he returned with the German tourists - we thought they had forgotten something. "Get in! We just saw more elephants!" We all piled into the back of the songthaew and drove to where they had last seen them, hoping that the elephants would still be there. We were in luck! We saw nine elephants walking on the road ahead of us. We were able to drive slowly behind them, and at one point one of the juvenile elephants decided to turn around and charge the vehicle for a short distance. After the elephants had enough of us following them, they headed off the road into the cover of the jungle. Once back at our campsite, we had a little picnic with Ben and then took some time exploring the area while he rested in his tent. I found out that there was a canteen nearby and was having a serious craving for chips, so Michael and I walked to it. Many deer were around the open air canteen hoping for a snack too! I was in luck (unlike the deer who didn’t get a snack from us)! In addition to the many fish and shrimp flavoured snacks, they also had plain salted Ruffle chips. What a treat! We snacked as we walked back, then used the washrooms to get cleaned up and ready for the night. I was exhausted, but Michael suddenly had a second wind, so decided to look around the vicinity of our campground for photo opportunities. As I settled into my sleeping bag, I heard the tent unzip, and Michael excitedly proclaimed that he had seen a family of civets. I put my shoes on and followed him back to where he had seen them, but unfortunately they were no longer around. Michael also found a three-horned rhinoceros beetle, and decided to keep it in the Rubbermaid Tote box for the night so that he could photograph it in the daylight tomorrow. Sweet dreams....
Fruit, tea and orange juice, the first course of breakfast before heading into Khao Yai National Park
Riding in the back of the songthaew on the way to Khao Yai National Park
Leah and I at the entrance to Khao Yai National Park
The view looking back down the valley towards Pak Chong
Leah and I wearing our stylish leech socks
Driving on the main road through the park
A small barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) eating on the side of the road
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)
Northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina)
A baby northern pig-tailed macaque
Black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor)
Great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) - it may not look it but these guys are massive with a 152 cm (60 in) wingspan. When they take off you know about it from the sound of their beating wings.
We looked down and saw leeches crawling towards our feet from all directions. I am not quite sure how they knew exactly where we were, but as soon as we put our foot down, they made a bee-line (or leech-line?) towards us at full speed!
White-handed or Lar gibbon (Hylobates lar)
Trekking through the jungle
Michael climbing a strangler fig tree
Millipede size in comparison to Leah’s hand
Our guide Ben closely watching the bull Asian elephant he found
Our first glimpse of the wild bull Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Wild bull Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator)
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)
Lunch - rice with vegetables
Boardwalk to a lookout in Khao Yai National Park
Mother and baby Asian elephants
Wild Asian elephant family
Northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina)
Leah riding in the back of the songthaew
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)
Our accommodations for the night
Another family of wild Asian elephants
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)
Mother Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)
Two baby Asian palm civets
Three-horned rhinoceros beetle
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)
Common tree frog (Polypedates leucomystax)
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