I have heard so much about Khao Yai and its all the craze now on Instagram and slightly off the beaten track travels on blogs and seeing friends on Facebook one after another doing trips to Khao Yai makes me wonder what there is in Khao Yai.
My cousin did tell me one thing .... skip Khao Yai ... its all fabricated for the tourist he said.
Still I had to see it just because I am now aware of it and good or bad, travelling is always about the experience and not the outcome. From Ayutthaya I headed for Khao Yai thinking I would stop for the night at Pak Chong town where the nearest hostel was but as I ride, before I knew it, I was already at the entrance to the Khao Yai National Park. The entrance fee was 400 baht per entry plus 30 bath for Bluey.
My cousin did tell me one thing .... skip Khao Yai ... its all fabricated for the tourist he said.
Still I had to see it just because I am now aware of it and good or bad, travelling is always about the experience and not the outcome. From Ayutthaya I headed for Khao Yai thinking I would stop for the night at Pak Chong town where the nearest hostel was but as I ride, before I knew it, I was already at the entrance to the Khao Yai National Park. The entrance fee was 400 baht per entry plus 30 bath for Bluey.
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| Khao Yai National Park Entrance |
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| Admission Fees to Khao Yai National Park |
Entering Khao Yai National Park, it was a waste to do it just for a few hours and I decided to overnight at the National Park hoping there was some kind of campgrounds with tents to rent. I glean very little information from the internet but decided to take the risk and rode on.
The weather was cool, and the further in I ride the more fresher the air became with the smell of greens and the sounds of birds chirping everywhere. It was really something of a new experience for me riding inside a national park instead of hiking in. A little cheat for the older people like me allowing us to enjoy the inner peaceful sanctuary of a national park.
I got to the main Visitor Center Headquarters easily and they guided me to the camping areas, food and water zone, time of closure and the things to do inside the national parks. Mentally I blocked out all the hiking routes and went with the riding routes all around the national parks.
Pha Kluai Mai campsite was the campsite I decided to stay for the night, the more quieter one with almost nothing to do other than hike to a waterfall. Tents were 225 baht for one night with extra such as sleeping bag(150), pillow(20) and tatami mat(50) costing a bit more each.
The other Lum Ta Khong campsite which I also visited was a large campground with locals setting up luxury glamping style camp which fully equipped truckers are parked close by supplied with all kinds of food, drinks and comfort for staying the whole week.
I wonder why my cousin told to me to skip Khao Yai ... it was not fabricated for the tourist and heck it was a national park and from what I have seen it was taken care to be not destroyed by tourism.
Traveled on : Nov 2018
Pass the entrance and pay my respect to the entrance shrine, I was now riding inside the national park on a small road cut into thick dense forest.
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| Shrine by the road entrance to Khao Yai National Park |
The weather was cool, and the further in I ride the more fresher the air became with the smell of greens and the sounds of birds chirping everywhere. It was really something of a new experience for me riding inside a national park instead of hiking in. A little cheat for the older people like me allowing us to enjoy the inner peaceful sanctuary of a national park.
I got to the main Visitor Center Headquarters easily and they guided me to the camping areas, food and water zone, time of closure and the things to do inside the national parks. Mentally I blocked out all the hiking routes and went with the riding routes all around the national parks.
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| Riding inside Khao Yai National Park |
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| View Point Khao Yai National Park |
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| Khao Yai National Park Visitor Center |
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| Khao Yai National Park Attraction Map |
Pha Kluai Mai campsite was the campsite I decided to stay for the night, the more quieter one with almost nothing to do other than hike to a waterfall. Tents were 225 baht for one night with extra such as sleeping bag(150), pillow(20) and tatami mat(50) costing a bit more each.
The other Lum Ta Khong campsite which I also visited was a large campground with locals setting up luxury glamping style camp which fully equipped truckers are parked close by supplied with all kinds of food, drinks and comfort for staying the whole week.
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| My Rented Tent in Khao Yai |
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| Locals with their Luxury Glamping Tents at Khao Yai |
I could understand the lure of Khao Yai now for the locals. If Malaysia had such cool and nature place to drive a vehicle all the way in to camp in the nature without paying loads of money (locals only pay 40 baht for entrance), It would be a glamping hobby too.
The next day I packed up after a night of blistering cold which forced me to wake up digging into my bag for more clothes before having an inner fight between staying in the comfort of the sleeping bag and going out to the toilet to pee. The enjoyment of nature, yep one night is enough. Time to move on.
Naturally I had to ride around Khao Yai National Park and the few things I felt possible to do for this unfit traveler was the Pha Diao Dai Nature trail and riding up to the military Khao Khiew Radar Station.
The next day I packed up after a night of blistering cold which forced me to wake up digging into my bag for more clothes before having an inner fight between staying in the comfort of the sleeping bag and going out to the toilet to pee. The enjoyment of nature, yep one night is enough. Time to move on.
Naturally I had to ride around Khao Yai National Park and the few things I felt possible to do for this unfit traveler was the Pha Diao Dai Nature trail and riding up to the military Khao Khiew Radar Station.
I wonder why my cousin told to me to skip Khao Yai ... it was not fabricated for the tourist and heck it was a national park and from what I have seen it was taken care to be not destroyed by tourism.
The next day I headed down to Pak Chong to stay for the night and riding around the outer skirts of Khao Yai national park, I could now understand the misconception Khao Yai sometimes brings.
Khao Yai Floating Market, Strawberry Farm, and all the photo scenic farm life that is promoted to tourist was not in the National Park but outside and surrounding area where the locals farm highland produce but at the same time like my cousin said fabricated all these picturesque area to attract the tourist to visit. Oh well ...
Khao Yai Floating Market, Strawberry Farm, and all the photo scenic farm life that is promoted to tourist was not in the National Park but outside and surrounding area where the locals farm highland produce but at the same time like my cousin said fabricated all these picturesque area to attract the tourist to visit. Oh well ...
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| Khao Yai Floating Market |
Traveled on : Nov 2018
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