So it was beautiful and sunny when I got up in the morning. I was actually already sweating just walking over to breakfast in my long sleeves and long pants (which was what I’d been instructed to wear to be more covered up during my jungle trek). 

I had breakfast at the hotel: toast, eggs, and pancakes as well as some pineapple and some fruits I don’t know the names of, but ones that were clearly picked from trees right at the hotel grounds. Apparently the same ones the monkeys like to snack on when they come visit the hotel grounds. 

Then I was picked up and driven over to the national park entrance. I paid my fee and then met my guide to go trekking. I was the only one signed up that day, so got a private tour. I would have preferred a group especially after the fun I had in Khao Yai, but I nonetheless wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to go into the jungle. 

We started out on a nice wide flat trail. My guide pointed out lizards, insects, spiders, plants and more. 

The trail then took us down along the river which was absolutely beautiful.

After a while walking on that trail we arrived at a little rest area with restrooms and a covered shelter. We took a short break and ran into a little dusky tree monkey there. He was clearly very comfortable with people, grabbing chips from the little snack stand, climbing on people, grooming my guide. He tried to bite me actually, so I gave him a wide berth after that and was definitely glad I’d been wearing pants so his teeth didn’t break my skin.

We took off again into the jungle, this time heading on a very narrow windy up and down trail along the river. It was very pretty. We saw some more monkeys: macaques and more dusky tree monkeys. 

Probably thirty minutes along that trail it started to rain. I initially thought it would just be a sprinkle, but it became a steady downpour. I tucked my phone away in my dry bag I’d thankfully thought to bring as my pack for the day. I didn’t have time to tuck it in the little waterproof case since I wanted to protect everything else in my bag. Hence why my photos are somewhat lacking for the rest of this post.

The guide and I kept going. I think he and I both thought it would stop or slow down at some point, but just continued coming down harder and harder. The trail became pretty slippery in places and I went down hard on my bum in a puddle of mud at one point. 

We stopped at a place along the river and the guide told me I could swim if I wanted. My suit was in my bag of course, and figured it wasn’t worth opening at that point. But as I was pretty much soaked from head to toe anyways and could use a chance to wash off some of the mud I went ahead and went in about waist deep. With the clothes on I didn’t feel comfortable enough actually swimming, but did feel nice to get some of the muck off my body.

My guide gave me some oranges to eat. I think it’s normally where he stops for lunch on the route, but as the rain was still coming down so hard there just wasn’t a good way to eat easily. He asked if I was okay going back a little early. The trails were really becoming hard and the wildlife just wasn’t able to be spotted super easily.

I agreed maybe turning back was for the best. So we started back along the trail, clambering up muddy inclines and carefully going down steep and slippery descents. I did get one leech on my leg, but it didn’t seem to break the skin before I caught it. Otherwise I was okay, even without leech socks on. 

We stopped back at the shelter where the monkey was. My guide gave me some fried rice and eggs to eat and some pineapple he chopped up fresh. He then asked if I drank coffee. He made a fire and then a few minutes later brought me over some coffee in a little bamboo cup he’d made with a stir stick. I’d seen him chopping some bamboo when we stopped. I went ahead and tucked it away to take home as a souvenir. 

After lunch we headed back down the trail, thankfully the flat and wide part that was easier to do. But even that had become super slippery and muddy. It had basically just become a pathway for water at that point. 

We got back to the park headquarters and I just walked back to the hotel rather than waiting for a ride since we were early. It was very close, and honestly at that point I couldn’t get anymore wet than I already was.

At the hotel I showered with my clothes on to get all the dirt and grime off before taking them off to try to dry out. Everything actually was dry by morning other than my tennis shoes. Thankfully I wasn’t planning on doing anymore hikes or trekking so I figured I’d be fine with sandals and could let them dry out the next day.

I had a lazy afternoon on the deck of my place drinking some more coffee and admiring the birds and squirrels in the trees as the rain slowed. No more monkeys sadly, but it was still very beautiful and peaceful. 

Again, my restaurant options were limited in the park area. Since I was disappointed with the Thai food I had the day before, I opted to get pizza instead at Chao Pizzeria. The location at least was beautiful right along the river. I had one with olives, mushrooms, ham, and artichokes on it. It was pretty good overall, definitely hit the spot after such a crazy day.

I then went back to the hotel for the night. It had finally stopped raining. I scanned the area for anything interesting as it was getting dark and saw a couple frogs but nothing else too interesting. Headed to bed, exhausted from the busy day, but ready to go on to some beaches and islands the next day.