Last week I was excited to visit Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, which is about 45 minutes south of Hua Hin. We hired a taxi service to pick us up at 8AM, agreeing to a set list of locales within the national park we could visit during the day. How long we stayed and what we opted to visit was entirely up to us – basically she (Aud) was our driver for the day.
A lady showed up 45 minutes late spouting a story that her driver had an accident, colliding with a scooter. Funny thing was, it was Aud, our assigned driver as stated in previous emails. She was making up some phantom driver??? Next she said ‘HE’ was at the police station and didn’t call her??? I think she just slept in and made up a bunch of ‘bull’ which we didn’t believe which we relayed back to the office. Anyways, we eventually hit the road …
After arriving at the park entrance and picking up our park pass at approx $7.75CDN for the day, our first priority was a hike to Phraya Nakhon Cave. Okay, running almost an hour late it after 10:00am and the temp was already close to 30°C.
The route was to ascend 500m …
… then descend to Laem Sala Beach. Okay, I’m sweating like a crazy man as I wore long pants, expecting an onslaught of mosquitoes (there were none!) but it was crazy hot out. We reach the beautiful beach in good cheer!
Reaching the beach, I was pretty excited to grab some great pics. I setup for a great shot on the beach when a rouge wave hit the shore, as I had the camera viewfinder up to my eye, and soaked my shoes. Not good … because we were only halfway to the caves. GD!!!!
Then the cave trail started again from the beach where you climb another 430m and start the descend to the caves. It was really awe inspiring, feeling like a ‘tiny spec’ in the big scheme of things.
No disrespect but in this country temples are plentiful, and I mean – they are everywhere. So we reach sea level again and find the Royal Pavilion – built by King Rama V. Our timing was actually perfect – the sun began to blast thru the sinkhole directly above soaking the temple with shafts of sunlight. It was pretty magical!
We did the return climb/descend 430m to the beach area opting for a boat road back to park HQ (also $7.75CDN). We were toast, another climb just wasn’t in the cards! Well worth it, as I was soaked in sweat – everything from my hat to my toes was drenched.
After a change of clothes, a bit of lunch was in order at a local restaurant. Ice water (buckets of it!), squid, noodles and coconut milk ice cream were on the ticket! A canal ride and second hike were ruled out. We opted for the Thung Sam Roi Yot freshwater marsh on the northwest side of the park, a 1K boardwalk with covered gazebos, high grasses, fish and lots of birds. It is the largest freshwater marsh in Thailand, nestled at the base of the towering limestone mountains.
There were very few people there and we just walked a bit, hung out in the gazebo rest stops, watched the birds and fish ‘doing their thing’. It was very relaxing after the morning hike.
A cappuccino at the park cafe hit the spot! Then it was the drive back to Hua Hin – a great day!
Feel free to leave a comment below. If you wish to contact me, my email is blaisemcneil@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you’ll return soon for my next adventure…. Blaise
loved your trip wish I was there. Take care and come to this island sometime. the b & b is always open. love Joyce (Mudder)
Beautiful! Looks so serene without crowds, it does look hot though!