We’d come to Khao Sok national park because we bumped into a young German woman who said it was lovely. She was right.
But I was the one who found the restaurant just down the road, where they did rice and two curries for 100 baht, one of which turned out to be probably the best massaman curry I’ve ever tasted, with wonderful flavours and meat you could chew with your tongue and roof palate. Just blissful. Though I have to say my mood turned a tad grumpy when we got hit for 120 a pop for beer that shouldn’t cost more than 100 at the very most, even in a restaurant. (59 baht at the 7-11.) We’re definitely going back tonight – the food is fantastic – but no beer for me thanks all the same.
This morning we got on the scooter and headed off for the first attraction of the day – a Buddhist temple and cave, just down the road. The temple proved to be large and brightly coloured, but very new, so really not that interesting, but the cave was good, and featured many monkeys amusing themselves playing around and not being thieving, vicious bastids. Which, I’ll be frank, is how we prefer our monkeys.
Spotting a rickety staircase heading up the cliff-face, we decided to investigate, and got a flight or so up before being hailed by a woman with a group down at ground level. “You can’t go up there,” she announced, in an officious French accent, “It is only for monks.” We looked down. She didn’t look like any kind of an official. “Who says?” I shouted down. “Where are the signs saying we can’t?” We rapidly agreed the officious French woman could go stew her head, and carried on up. Only to be met, a few steps later, by two large monkeys.
Muttering about discretion, valour, that sort of thing, we started to turn tail. Only to be met, moments later, by a young couple also coming up, with an official guide. Who assured us that there was indeed no such prohibition, before continuing up the stairs, where we soon encountered the two monkeys vigorously engaged in, well, it wasn’t backgammon, and who ignored us as we edged past and up the ever steeper, ever more rickety stairs, until we found the main cave complex. Which proved to be deep and dark, though beautifully multi-coloured near the entrance, and full of bats. The guide, having actively encouraged us to join his little expedition, and lent Virle his torch, refused her offer of money, with grace, twice, and left us with a happy rest-of-day wish and a lovely smile.
After the caves, and the temple, further attractions seemed to be a bit thin on the ground, but we headed off for a local viewpoint, where we took in the view (‘very nice – next!’) and a waterfall, which, it being the dry season, was barely a water trickle. We decided to go a bit further afield – a ride would be fun anyway, on such a lovely day – and went to another temple/cave complex, where you could apparently feed fish. And so it proved. Ravenous little buggers they were – a mad thrashing in the water when you flung in a handful of the dogfood pellets you received with your 20 baht admission. And the landscape was lovely. And though we never did find anything resembling a temple, the gold Buddhas everywhere were striking.
On the way back, we pulled over at a tiny little cafe by the roadside – the kind of place used only by locals, and not that often at that. The kind of place where it’s a case not of can we see the menu but what do you have. Which in this case turned out to be broth, with a choice of beef or chicken and these noodles or those. We both opted for chicken – with chickens running around, we thought it would probably be good and fresh. And so it proved. (“I do find it a bit macabre,,,eating chicken while they’re all around us” – V.) Delicious, and the old feller came over and put a hand of those little stubby bananas on the table for afters. Also delicious – in fact, as I said to Virle, ‘probably the most banana-ey bananas I’ve ever tasted.’ A really excellent lunch, and all for 100 baht all in – barely more than two pounds.
Now Virle’s found mention in a blog of a nearby waterhole on the river, where you’re apparently welcome to take a dip and enjoy a beer bought from a local mini-mart at a non-larcenous price, and watch the sun go down. Time to get back on the hog and go check it out…