Khao Yai

This past weekend I went to Khao Yai National Park. I chose this destination because, quite frankly, because I couldn't stand weekend excursions into Bangkok anymore. I am fascinated by Bangkok, particularly, the beautiful temples, but the pollution and traffic is unbearable. Bangkok needs to undergo drastic changes in this regard. I have gotten sore throats and runny noses from walking down the streets, inhaling all the pollutants. Last weekend I resorted to wearing a mask while walking through the city. I felt a little silly but plenty of Thais do it. In fact, almost every police man, traffic official, and tuk tuk driver (local three-wheeled open taxis) wear face masks. Thailand is a place of contrast, conflict, and change. It is home to some of the most beautiful beeches with pristinely clean waters, lush jungle habitats, and the busiest, dirtiest cities in the world. In Bangkok you will see some of the poorest people in the world, children, elderly, and disabled people literally rotting on the sides of the street with amputated limbs and infections. At the same time, the richest business people in the world walk by them as they leave the Oriental Hotel, voted the best in the world and costing over $1000/night. Mystical Buddhist temples are nestled amongst skyscrapers. Right when you think Bangkok will never end, the dense buildings keep going on and on and on..and on, you hit a rice paddy where a farmer is sowing seeds with his oxen.

Khao Yai is the second largest National Park in Thailand and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Grant and I left Friday afternoon and took a third class train for three hours northeast. Because trains are always left, we had time to see a local dance festival at a nearby temple. Dances ranged from traditional dances from the Ramakien to little boys dressed in skirts and makeup. Very interesting and entertaining. I'm glad we stumbled upon this show because ti was being held for the children's parents and other local people. Earlier I had seen a dance performance but they were catering to quite a different audience, tourist. We stayed at a little lodge run by a German for $6/night. Saturday and Sunday were spent trekking through the jungle. As soon as we left the road and cut into the dense forest, we entered another world. The noises around us were so eery. Monkeys shrieking, birds chirping, insects doing whatever insects do, and the faint sound of rain hitting the tree canopy far above us. The species diversity is incredible. After only a few minutes of walking, I had already seen three spider species I didn't know existed. BIOTEC actually does a lot of species identification in Khao Yai. This week there is an exhibit in the lobby on the fungal species that have recently been discovered in the park. Leeches are also quite abundant in the park. After 1 minute in the jungle, I had at least ten leeches crawling on me. This number increased exponentially throughout the weekend. Fortunately we were given "leech socks" and were able to flick most of them off before they began to suck.