The Hot & Steamy Rainforest: Khaosok

Sitting on the bus watching the world go by at a much faster speed, we looked out the windows. Roads zip by our field of view at what seems like the speed of light. Not sure how we feel about that….Let me out! It’s hot on the bus! Wait, I wanted to see that! Yep, it was different on the bikes. Better, I think. I think we have Bike Separation Anxiety. (Perhaps I speak only for myself) I resisted the urge to stick my arm out the window to yell “Helloooo!!” We are now mere spectators in this land. Celebrity status—over.

We met another cycle tourist the other day. He rolled into the same resort as us, increasing its occupancy rate by 33%. There’s an instant connection with others we meet while touring by bicycle, seeing the world in the same way. We can’t pronounce his name because he was Dutch and it had a whole bunch of rolling Rrrrrrrrrs. But we did enjoy a great dinner & conversation with him. He’s heading northbound to Chiang Mai after having begun in Malaysia. We wish him safe travels!

Riding a scooter here is a way of life. Whole families are transported on them. And if you have a little sidecar, you can run a little passenger shuttle business. Put some barriers up the sides you can operate a mobile-bbq joint. Most people wear no helmets. Young children who have just learned to walk ride with their Moms, no seat belts, car seats or safety devices of any kind. From our speeding-bus window we saw woman riding her scooter, a young boy holding onto the back and a baby asleep in her arms while she drove. Personally, I fear for many of those young lives…

Let’s talk Khaosok National Park! Our first day bikeless we decided on communing with nature and have come to the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world. The ticket agent, the shuttle driver and other bystanders were all shocked that we were headed to Khaosok without a reservation. (Reservations? What reservations?). When we arrived we negotiated a ride in the back of a rambling old pickup truck with home-made wooden seats in the truck bed. Good enough for the likes of us! We headed to a hotel down the road and just like that, we have a room!

We also have a rainforest to explore! We headed out for a late afternoon walk into the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world. Everything you imagine a rainforest to be, it was. Steamy, drippy, hot, buzzing, hoots, whistles, and squacky tropical noises surrounded us. Towering, massive bamboo, and rustling in the trees above. Macaques! Monkeys bouncing to and fro in the tree tops. We felt pretty comfortable in our steamy surroundings till we saw…The Hole. Just a little ole hole in the side of the eroded soil. Kinda harmless. Till we overheard a nearby guide tell a couple of people it was a tarantula hole. So that’s where they live! Not sticking around to confirm that. Onward! Next hole was even bigger, maybe 6” in diameter. A black scorpion hole. Okay, so there are a lot of things living in the rainforest and we are okay with knowing it, but not necessarily seeing it. It was a rainforest—hot, sticky, steamy, and sweaty. Hair flopping, Dripping sweat—but ever so fascinating when you know you are no longer at the top of the food chain!

Tarantula hole

Black scorpion hole