Sorry for the delay in posts. My two bars strong of internet access does little more than load google at two miles an hour. The next few should hopefully make up for it and full you in on my last fortnight in Thailand....
Our first stint of travelling confirms three things:
1. It's definitely rainy season.
2. National parks are usually closed during rainy season
3. Some rainstorms can actually last for 24 hours.
Chumphon to Khao Sok takes us five and a half hours; we are the last ones in our van as it creaks up the steep hills and into the rainforest. The trees and mountains steam with condensing rain and everynow and then we spot a working elephant trudging through the mud. It's a far cry from the coastal city of Chumphon.
There's an unspoken competition to the weekends amongst ETAs. Frenetic weeks of teaching make our weekends even more sacred and after days of gazing longingly out of the classroom windows, there's a frenzy to wanting to see as much as possible. I voted national park...turns out not a great choice in the rainy season. Most attractions, including the infamous waterfalls are closed due to risks of floods. We trudge back, sodden, finding refuge in the shelter of a very tourist friendly area. Soaked we opt for a kayak through the jungle...how much wetter can you get?
It pours. Rain and river seem to merge. But our kayak guide strokes at the river patiently, as if calming an old friend, and smoothly cuts our path through the rapids, overhanging trees, snakes and reeds. He doesn't notice the rain, despite wearing only shorts and a t-shirt, and he laughs heartily at my own attempts to shelter from it under my orange jellyfish of a pac-a-mac. Occasionally a face appears on the bank, patiently fishing or watching the rumblings of the jungle, but it is largely deserted. Shadowed by mountains, thick rainclouds and sprawling interwined trees; you feel small and insignificant compared to these natural giants. The air is thick, humid but clean and nourishing, but after an hour my fingers are prunes and I'm ready for some hot pad-thai.
It's late by the time we get back to our tree-house home for the night and for the first time in Thailand, I'm cold. Luckily we have a hot shower for the night. Despite the rain, failing to see a waterfall and spending a majority of our time on a bus the contentment of our kayak guide, the warm, sticky wet calm of the jungle stays with me for the rest of the week as I go back to staring out the window and imagining our next adventure.
Our first stint of travelling confirms three things:
1. It's definitely rainy season.
2. National parks are usually closed during rainy season
3. Some rainstorms can actually last for 24 hours.
Chumphon to Khao Sok takes us five and a half hours; we are the last ones in our van as it creaks up the steep hills and into the rainforest. The trees and mountains steam with condensing rain and everynow and then we spot a working elephant trudging through the mud. It's a far cry from the coastal city of Chumphon.
There's an unspoken competition to the weekends amongst ETAs. Frenetic weeks of teaching make our weekends even more sacred and after days of gazing longingly out of the classroom windows, there's a frenzy to wanting to see as much as possible. I voted national park...turns out not a great choice in the rainy season. Most attractions, including the infamous waterfalls are closed due to risks of floods. We trudge back, sodden, finding refuge in the shelter of a very tourist friendly area. Soaked we opt for a kayak through the jungle...how much wetter can you get?
It pours. Rain and river seem to merge. But our kayak guide strokes at the river patiently, as if calming an old friend, and smoothly cuts our path through the rapids, overhanging trees, snakes and reeds. He doesn't notice the rain, despite wearing only shorts and a t-shirt, and he laughs heartily at my own attempts to shelter from it under my orange jellyfish of a pac-a-mac. Occasionally a face appears on the bank, patiently fishing or watching the rumblings of the jungle, but it is largely deserted. Shadowed by mountains, thick rainclouds and sprawling interwined trees; you feel small and insignificant compared to these natural giants. The air is thick, humid but clean and nourishing, but after an hour my fingers are prunes and I'm ready for some hot pad-thai.
It's late by the time we get back to our tree-house home for the night and for the first time in Thailand, I'm cold. Luckily we have a hot shower for the night. Despite the rain, failing to see a waterfall and spending a majority of our time on a bus the contentment of our kayak guide, the warm, sticky wet calm of the jungle stays with me for the rest of the week as I go back to staring out the window and imagining our next adventure.