Trekking in Khao Yai National Park

January 17, 2018

Trekking in Khao Yai National Park

-Khao Yai National Park-

After spending weekends away in cities and bustling villages, a peaceful weekend was much needed. My roommates and I had heard good reviews about a place called Khao Yai National Park, specifically a hostel known as Green leaf guesthouse. The park is specifically known for its preservation of wildlife and also national park guides that are highly trained in animal tracking and also have extensive knowledge of the species of vegetation. They know the ins and outs of the park and offer tours daily! After having caught wind of this exciting information we immediately booked a one day Khao Yai National Park Trek through Green leaf Guesthouse. The weekend didn't cost much at all! We paid a total of 1700 Bhat/ 54 USK for the full day trek complete with transportation from the train station and lunch, as well as accommodation for two nights and meals! This is a steal! The guides that both run the guesthouse as well as lead the treks were absolutely amazing. They were very knowledgable and extremely helpful. The first night we arrived, Emily and Meghan found a big lizard in their room. Although this is a very normal occurrence in Thailand along with cockroaches, it is something that you have to take care of in order to sleep at night. Since we arrived at our hostel at 10pm and had to be up at 8 am the next morning, Meg and Em's last ounce of energy did not want to be spent on chasing the Lizard around the room waiting for it to escape. Emily, who has absolutely no issue at all asking anyone questions at any point in her life, asked one of the guides to come and trap the lizard in their room. Five minutes later, I heard a commotion outside of my room and I walked outside to check it out. The guide had coaxed the lizard into a "coma" also known as a Lizards' defense mechanism. It looked as if it was sleeping soundly on its back in this guys hand. We all moved our faces really close as if we wanted to check if it was still breathing. Anyways the night ended in the Lizard snapping out of its coma and jumping onto my leg causing all of us to scream like three year olds and run around in circles for approximately a full minute. The guide laughed at us and wished us a good night.

The next morning we were up at 8 am, enjoying a breakfast of amazing scrambled eggs and coffee served by the guesthouse and herded into a large Song Theaw, our means of transportation for the day. You know how I love my Song Theaws out here! Meghan, Nikki, Emily and I were in a group of people including two other boys from Holland who were around our age as well as an older Married couple from Germany. The whole bunch of us couldn't be more different, but it made for lovely conversation and funny moments of selfies and conversations of travel and language difference. We had a blast meeting new people! We spent the day driving and trekking through the National Park, our longest trek being about three hours, through a thickly dense rain forest filled with viper snakes, oversized squirrels, 'banana' birds (look very much like a Tucan), and Gibbons (specific specie of monkey). Our guide trekked in front of us taking in every single detail of the forest, the movements around him and the layout of the jungle. He pointed out Elephant tracks, burrows and dens of animals around us, explained to us details of the specific time of day or season these animals thrive and what to pay attention for. The forest itself was magical. For the first time in a long time, I was reminded that we were visiting the animals world, their sanctuary and that we did not belong. As much as we could have gone through the jungle ourselves and some locals do, I felt much more secure with this guide. We ended the day eating vegetarian lunch on the bed of a waterfall in the middle of this forest, taking in the view. It was breathtaking. I would do this day over again if I could.

- PB Valley Winery-

Sunday morning we awoke early and found ourselves in another Song Theaw, strolling through the Sonoma country like hillsides of Khao Yai, making our way towards a winery.... in Thailand. We arrived 45 minutes later a gorgeous winery complete with a open floor plan open air building overlooking the vast acres of mountains and grape trees. As it was a lovely 75 degree, sunny day, we chose a long oak table outside the restaurant closest to the views. We sat, played games and tried different kinds of wine the entire afternoon listening to live music. We strolled around the vineyard and ate amazing food. They had italian pizza made the real way in a fire wood brick oven. The winery offered tours at a very good price, but to be honest? Unless you are a Wine Drinker and dying to know more about the way in which wine is produced, I would say that you can self tour yourself and relax and truly enjoy the scenery on your own! To say that we were content is an understatement. We found bliss in this countryside winery. The prices were not bad at all! Bottles were priced at around 400-1000 Bhat each, we were able to split and taste each other's wine and legitimately relax. This was the perfect ending to the most amazing weekend of exploration. Silly on wine, we made our ways home with full bellies and pleasant memories. I would highly recommend this winery to any friend. Below is tips for our Khao Yai weekend.

Khao Yai National Park Tips:

Definitely book a guided tour of the Khao Yai National Park
Greenleaf Guesthouse was a great option for cheap accommodation complete with great food, and amazing national park guides. Reach out by email! They offer both half, full, and two day tours prices listed online. They will even pick you up and drop you at the train or bus station.
Downtown Khao Yai has amazing night markets that are open until around 10 pm on the weekend, great vegetarian options and fresh fruit!
Consider camping in Khao Yai national park and booking a guide separately fares are very cheap and the grounds are lovely. You can rent tents and bring your own food and beverages.
Be patient on the tours! We were waiting to see Elephants all day but we made sure to voice this to our guides who were very diligent in helping us find one at sunset! Perfect timing if you ask me.
Bring a good camera. There was so much to capture in this National Park! The climate was cool and refreshing, the deeper we ventured into the forest, the more humid it became.
At sundown the temperature dropped about 20 degrees so bring layers!

Khao Yai PB Valley Winery Tips:

From Downtown Khao Yai, the best transportation is taxi or a Song Theaw for bigger groups to save money
Ask the location you are staying for help booking transportation as the winery does not supply transportation through their facilities
Get there early to lock down the best seats!
You have the option to book a tour online or at the front desk! If you plan on doing so please do do in advance! They book very fast.
Give yourself a day, we planned a half day at the winery and decided to extend our time. We had such a pleasant morning that we decided to extend our afternoon a few hours. I would definitely have put aside a full day if I were to return!
Dress up! Luckily with the breathtaking views and luxurious facilities, you can allow yourself to wear that one dress you packed for a 'what if' occasion
Treat yourself! In the end how much money you felt you spent will be a lot less than a winery anywhere else in the world from my experience so far!

Full-day Khao Yai National Park Trek