"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." -Charles Dickens
I thought of this quote today because we finally got a taste of spring; it felt great outside in the sun and I ate my lunch and wrote some letters on the steps of my front porch.
I definitely took the warm weather in Thailand for granted after awhile and I am missing it now as I huddle up next to my heater wearing slippers and wrapped in a blanket.
Day two in Khao Sok National Park involved floating raft houses and caves. Sean and I joined a group tour for the day and were really lucky to be with a fun group of people. We started the day with a longtail boat ride across the lake which allowed for more views of incredible limestone cliffs that stuck dramatically out of the water. We arrived at the floating raft houses and had time for swimming which was a lot of fun. The floating raft houses are just like what they sound - small bungalows made out of reeds, sticks and bamboo that float on the lake. You can stay overnight there and we really wanted to but we didn't have time. There was even a homemade diving board made out of bamboo that everyone enjoyed launching themselves off of and into the lake. After swimming and exploring the raft houses we had lunch (sweet and sour chicken with vegetables, omelets, fruit and rice) and then we loaded up once more into the longtail boat and headed to the main cave of the park.
To get to the cave was about a two hour trek in the jungle and on the way we saw a lot of interesting (and quite big) insects, bamboo and gigantic trees. The opening and the inside of the cave was huge at the beginning but got narrower and narrower. While we walked we could see impressive and varied formations and towering stalactites and stalagmites. We had been instructed to wear sturdy shoes and clothes that could get wet and we all quickly realized why. In many parts of the cave we had to wade in waist-high water with a fast current. In other parts we actually had to swim through huge and deep passages while holding on to a rope. As if swimming in almost-complete-darkness through freezing water with a fast current when you can't touch the bottom wasn't unnerving enough, the guides were always pointing out new creatures they found like blind catfish, cave toads, bats, and ridiculously huge spiders. I don't think I have ever seen Sean swim as fast as he did through that cave.
After finishing our cave tour and hiking back to the boat, we returned to the floating houses to snack on some exotic fruits. Then we took the boat back to the pier where Sean and I caught an overnight bus to Bangkok so we could be back in time for the ultimate frisbee tournament. It was kind of a rushed tour of Khao Sok National Park and though we saw most of the highlights, I wish we could have stayed longer and enjoyed some more hikes and the peace that the park offered in comparison to the crowded and very touristy beaches.
This gave me the willies to read. You couldn't pay me to do that cave visit!! You should really do one of those shows like the amazing race or something.
Sarah, those hairy strawberry looking things in your last post are my FAVORITE!!! We had them in Guatemala, and I couldn't get enough of them. I was SO jealous when I saw the picture of the whole plate of them! :)