Kaeng Krachan
Kaeng Krachan
Thinking of spending a couple of days up there and exploring the park. Has anyone been, whats the accommodation like?? Any recommendations to stay, see and do whilst there?
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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Bamboo Grove
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I´ve done a boat trip on the lake (quite boring and not that scenic if you have been to Khao Sok in Suratthani) and the river rafting (very easy but good fun for a beginner). They have some accommodation just before you enter the park area, near the dam by the river. I´ve eaten there a few times and looked into the rooms but never stayed there. Might be worth a try.
Back in Bamboo Grove
http://bamboogrovestories.blogspot.com/
http://bamboogrovestories.blogspot.com/
Ive been many times just before you get to the park/dam gate on the left are quite a few huts and rooms for rent,they do have a website but its all in Thai,prices seem OK,but gets busy weekends with trippers from bkk i think,a few restaurants too ,fishing's OK and boat trip are not too expensive,worth a couple of days for a romantic break 
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Wanderlust
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The golf course has bungalows for rent and there are loads of resorts dotted along the river.
Check out www.kaengkrachanresort.com
Check out www.kaengkrachanresort.com
That golf course looks nice, hopefully we can find babysitters there and it'll be quiet during the week so I won't kill anybody by driving up the wrong fairway.
Would like to explore the park too, I've read they do a good night safari there.
Would like to explore the park too, I've read they do a good night safari there.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Kaeng Krachan
Hi Buksida,buksida wrote:Thinking of spending a couple of days up there and exploring the park. Has anyone been, whats the accommodation like?? Any recommendations to stay, see and do whilst there?
I did it over one day with my motorbike and I'm eager to get your report after your trip
May I suggest you leave the highway as soon as possible and you drive across the countryside. It's another world, so quiet, so peaceful.
Have a look here :
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AK ... UvZfkUftGw
François
And me, still the most self satisfied of men
I was almost as drunk as myself
(Jacques Brel)
And me, still the most self satisfied of men
I was almost as drunk as myself
(Jacques Brel)
Right, and it'll probably take me until nightfall to get round the course!flyfifer wrote:Maybe more chance of finding your golf ball then
Francois, those pics look good, I'm hoping the weather holds up and Noul stays away!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Alrighty, here comes the photo-trip-report.
The Kaeng Krachan area can be reached from HH in about an hour, head north through Cha-am and hang a left at Ta-Yang, just follow the signs to the dam. The town itself is a dusty collection of small shops and street side restaurants, all of the resorts are down small country streets on the left.
It is actually quite difficult to find anything unless you can read Thai. The whole area seems geared towards weekend Bangkokians, it was completely dead during the week.
We were the only ones in our riverside resort ...
The only sounds came from the babbling brook and an occasional angle grinder ...
Took a drive over the dam just before sunset ...
And here is the backend ...
Hard to imagine all that water is held back by a pile of dirt and pebbles ...
Wrenched out of bed at some ungodly hour, bundled into a 4WD in pitch darkness, and hurtled towards a national park where I'm deprived of an inflated entrance fee. (It was 04.50 am and I couldn't be arsed to tell them that I actually pay tax here too.)
This place should be called Jurassic Park, our driver did well to avoid the mounds of Triceratops crap as we motored for what seemed like hours through thickening jungle on tracks that make central African roads look like the M25.
Ascending up into the hills we expected the odd Velociraptor to dart across the track but wildlife must have been on holiday on this particular morning, you definitely need to be on foot for these things.
The destination was a number of lookouts where you can view the famous sea fog or "talay mork" (ทะเลหมอก) in Thai. Twitchers and ramblers were in abundance, the big attraction for the Bangkok Thais was obviously being able to freeze their cojones off at high elevation ...
At about a kilometer above sea level you could look down on things as the day started to lighten ...
The cacophony of the jungle waking up was pretty impressive, whooping toucans, rodents, gibbons and other such arboreal life gave the whole scene a weirdly surreal ambiance ... couldn't see any of the buggers though.
Wildlife watchers, film crews and photo buffs were not impressed by the noise made by the buksi clan that were, by this time, growing hungry ...
A rare glimpse of a pair of yellow banded squawkers bathing in a river ...
Some of the smaller things that stumbled in front of the camera lens ...
So now the important stuff ...
Accommodation was very 'Thai style' in that nearly all resorts there cater for groups - the rooms are designed for 6-8 people and the cheapest one is about a grand a night. Since we had the entire place to ourselves we lived with it, the staff were very attentive ... when he was awake. The website for the place we stayed at is www.kaengresort.com
The food is damn good (scuse the pun), cheaper than Hua Hin, and there are plenty of lakeside restaurants serving excellent fish straight from the water. Nightlife is non-existent but the beer is cheap. We were the only customers in the restaurants so I'd definitely recommend heading up that way during the week if you want peace and quiet - according to the locals it gets mobbed at weekends.
If you want to actually get up close and personal with the wildlife you can camp in the park and venture out on foot. Sitting in a cold damp place for a few hours should reward you with a glimpse of something. At nearly 3,000 square kilometers Kaeng Krachan is the largest national park in Thailand and definitely something that anyone staying in Hua Hin should pop up the road and see (did I mention its quieter during the week?!)
The Kaeng Krachan area can be reached from HH in about an hour, head north through Cha-am and hang a left at Ta-Yang, just follow the signs to the dam. The town itself is a dusty collection of small shops and street side restaurants, all of the resorts are down small country streets on the left.
It is actually quite difficult to find anything unless you can read Thai. The whole area seems geared towards weekend Bangkokians, it was completely dead during the week.
We were the only ones in our riverside resort ...
The only sounds came from the babbling brook and an occasional angle grinder ...
Took a drive over the dam just before sunset ...
And here is the backend ...
Hard to imagine all that water is held back by a pile of dirt and pebbles ...
Wrenched out of bed at some ungodly hour, bundled into a 4WD in pitch darkness, and hurtled towards a national park where I'm deprived of an inflated entrance fee. (It was 04.50 am and I couldn't be arsed to tell them that I actually pay tax here too.)
This place should be called Jurassic Park, our driver did well to avoid the mounds of Triceratops crap as we motored for what seemed like hours through thickening jungle on tracks that make central African roads look like the M25.
Ascending up into the hills we expected the odd Velociraptor to dart across the track but wildlife must have been on holiday on this particular morning, you definitely need to be on foot for these things.
The destination was a number of lookouts where you can view the famous sea fog or "talay mork" (ทะเลหมอก) in Thai. Twitchers and ramblers were in abundance, the big attraction for the Bangkok Thais was obviously being able to freeze their cojones off at high elevation ...
At about a kilometer above sea level you could look down on things as the day started to lighten ...
The cacophony of the jungle waking up was pretty impressive, whooping toucans, rodents, gibbons and other such arboreal life gave the whole scene a weirdly surreal ambiance ... couldn't see any of the buggers though.
Wildlife watchers, film crews and photo buffs were not impressed by the noise made by the buksi clan that were, by this time, growing hungry ...
A rare glimpse of a pair of yellow banded squawkers bathing in a river ...
Some of the smaller things that stumbled in front of the camera lens ...
So now the important stuff ...
Accommodation was very 'Thai style' in that nearly all resorts there cater for groups - the rooms are designed for 6-8 people and the cheapest one is about a grand a night. Since we had the entire place to ourselves we lived with it, the staff were very attentive ... when he was awake. The website for the place we stayed at is www.kaengresort.com
The food is damn good (scuse the pun), cheaper than Hua Hin, and there are plenty of lakeside restaurants serving excellent fish straight from the water. Nightlife is non-existent but the beer is cheap. We were the only customers in the restaurants so I'd definitely recommend heading up that way during the week if you want peace and quiet - according to the locals it gets mobbed at weekends.
If you want to actually get up close and personal with the wildlife you can camp in the park and venture out on foot. Sitting in a cold damp place for a few hours should reward you with a glimpse of something. At nearly 3,000 square kilometers Kaeng Krachan is the largest national park in Thailand and definitely something that anyone staying in Hua Hin should pop up the road and see (did I mention its quieter during the week?!)
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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Randy Cornhole
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When the Cornhole's ventured there, we motored for over an hour across a big lake thingy to a small island on which were housed assorted sized monks sporting the standard orange garb.
We fed some type of fish thing and dutifuly lit candels at a bhuddary type alter.
We then sat deafened for a further hour or so going back to where came from, worrying some harrased looking monkeys on the way...
We fed some type of fish thing and dutifuly lit candels at a bhuddary type alter.
We then sat deafened for a further hour or so going back to where came from, worrying some harrased looking monkeys on the way...
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