Photo Trip Report: Camping Thailand's Northwest

[buksida]

Camping season had arrived, that small window of great weather in Thailand when it isn’t hotter than the surface of Mercury or wetter than the Amazon rainforest, and overnight temperatures are conducive to sleeping in a tent, especially up north!

We decided to take advantage of it before smog season kicked in with a two-week camping trip in the mountains and national parks up the northwestern provinces along the border with Myanmar.

Kanchanaburi Province
To get a chunk of the driving out of the way on Friday, we headed to a small resort near the Blue Sapphire golf course about an hour north of Kanchanaburi for an uneventful stopover. Opposite the brand-new bungalows was another one of Thailand’s curiosos, a mockup of Stonehenge made out of vans and cars creatively called Carhenge.

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To follow: Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park

[Bamboo Grove]

That Carhenge, any idea who invented it? Not sure if I like it but interesting anyway.

[buksida]

It was made by the Grand Prix Motor Park in 2021 who said they built it after seeing a similar installation using 39 American cars in Nebraska.
...

Heading north the next morning, we found a quiet reservoir called Huay Kra Proi with a nice camping site right on the lake, which was empty on a Saturday mid-morning. After setting up camp, it was time to check out the cave and waterfalls in the Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park, just a few kilometers away. A walk through a cave followed by a 3-kilometer jungle trek rewarded us with our first falls of the trip, which were pretty spectacular, even more so with us being the only ones there.

Back at camp, six kilometers of hiking later, the sunset over the lake and clear star-studded sky that evening was also spectacular.

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To follow: Laem Taphoen

[Bamboo Grove]

Very nice photos. Do you have a map, or are you adding it later, of the roads that you drove towards north?

[buksida]

Yes, all pinned on Google Maps; ignore the most westerly and easterly pins, and these are the places we visited. We took mostly rural roads skirting that mountain range and avoided the highways wherever possible.

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[Dannie Boy]

The wooden “bridge” looks a bit rickety to say the least!! Other than that it looks great.


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[Big Boy]

DSC1937 looks like a pier. Is that where the water rises to during the rainy season?

[buksida]

The reservior hadn't been that high for years, so its more of a 'selfie platform' these days. Despite Thailand's year of flooding, this part of the country remains pretty dry.

[buksida]

Suphanburi Province

After breaking camp, we headed north for an hour to Lam Taphoen, which is a very popular camping spot around a picturesque lake. This place gets mobbed with Bangkok weekend warriors being around a 3-hour drive from the big smoke, and there was an ongoing exodus of hi-so glampers with their designer tents, iPharts, foo-foo dogs, and fancy SUVs as we arrived on Sunday afternoon.

We had another campsite to ourselves for the afternoon, so I spent it fishing and enjoying a cold one. The sunset that night was even more impressive than the previous night’s. Being a popular spot for Bangkokheads meant it was the most expensive campsite of the trip at 300 baht per head.

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To follow: Phu Toei National Park

[buksida]

A tricky offroad drive was in store today as we ventured further into the wilderness, heading to the peak of Khao Tevada in Phu Toei National Park. The tiny remote hill village consisted of a few ramshackle sheds and a handful of campsites. We picked one near the start of the climb, where the friendly owner made us feel welcome. The first visit was to the Ta Phoen Khi Noi waterfall, which was a little underwhelming but easy to get to.

The main attraction here is the sunset from the peak of Tevada (angel mountain) at 1,123 meters, the climb however was a little testing with almost a kilometer of steep steps to negotiate. We had the summit to ourselves as most people come here for the sunrise, which made it worthwhile. Getting down in the dark was a bit tricky!

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To follow: Yod Khao Tevada sunrise

[STEVE G]

How cool is it up in those hills at this time of year?

[caller]

How cool is it up in those hills at this time of year?

Fleece weather at the start and end of the day!

[buksida]

Yes, it drops below 15 at night.

It was a chilly 4am start to tackle those stairs again for the view at the top, where most other people up there were more interested in taking photos of themselves than the spectacular views from the highest point over three provinces. The descent was a little painful on my aging knees, which needed a rest after two trips up and down.

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To follow: Uthai Thani province

[Big Boy]

The ground looks wet, but the sky doesn't look as though it was rain. Was it early morning Dew?

[buksida]

Yes, pretty much every morning the tent was wet. No rain at all.