Khao Yai National Park Part 1: The First Night

Last weekend we decided to tag along with a large group going to Khao Yai National Park. After class on Friday we met in the lobby of our apartment at 1pm. and then hailed taxis to take us to the Bus Station. We would meet a bunch of people already at the park who hadnt had classes on Friday. We had to take two cabs to fit everyone in. Our cab seemed to go really slow, traffic was not cooperating (which is how it usually is in bangkok). It was interesting to see armed guards around government buildings and institutions. Many buildings in bangkok are fenced in and have a guard or two at the gate. This is a normal sight. Now those guards are in battle fatigues and are holding automatic rifles.

When we finally arrived at the Bus station we looked around for Emily, who was meeting us there. We called Jeff, who was in the other cab to see if he was there yet, and he said that he had had to turn around and grab something from the apartment that was forgotten. (reason i dont like big groups #1. More waiting). After a while all 8 of us were finally together an organized we bought tickets and headed to the bus. Somewhere along the way to the bus we lost someone, and the bus had to wait. (#2. more waiting) A short time later he showed up and the bus went on its way.

Whenever the bus would stop to pick up more passengers, people would get on the bus to sell us food. I had stocked up well at the train station 7-11 so i didnt need to buy anything from them, but this was the first time ive seen people boarding a bus to sell things.

When we arrived at Pak Chang, the city from which we would travel to Khao Yai from we were told that the public transport to the park stops at 5. Unfortunately we had arrived after 5. Therefor we had to go find a songteau to hire. Jennifer went into the nearby 7-11 to ask where to find one, and was told that there should be some at the other 7-11. Off we went, in the direction that we were told, asking other people every so often to make sure we were going the correct way. As we walked down a backstreet we were greeted with the surprising sight of an elephant sauntering through town with his Mahout riding leisurely on its back. It was a very Thai sight.
We walked through a market, that seemed to be shutting down, but there was still a fruit vendor open, who some of us purchased fruit from.

When we arrived at the second 7-11 we took some time to stock up on supplies, and then went to bargain with the driver. I let everyone else do the bargaining, when the price was settled on, we all clamored into the vehicle. All but one of us. who had to use the bathroom. So we waited. (#3).

As we rode to the park, the darkness descended on us. Eventually we could only see outlines of treelines dark against the black sky. Our driver stopped at the park gate, and we pulled out our student IDs so that we could get in for 40 Baht instead of 400 Baht. We paid up and then our driver started driving accross the park to our campsite. Mist started to swirl around us, and gave us an interesting show as the headlights from corners behind us would be outlined by the waterdrops floating in the air.

Eventually we arrived at the campground and walked over to the ranger station to purchase tents. As we headed towards the other tents we heard the voices of our friends who had arrived a few hours earlier and started setting up. It quickly became evident that not everyone was all that prepared for camping. Many of the other people asked how much food and alchohol we had brought with, since they had assumed there would be a 24/7 convenience store on the campground, and there seemed to be no more than 3 flashlights for a group of twenty. (#4 babysitting). It wasnt too much of an issue and luckily most people were willing to share.

After we went to bed, most of us awoke to sounds of a thunderstorm bearing down upon us. Luckily the tents were in good enough shape to keep all of the water out of the tent, but that combined with the hard ground made for a fitful nights sleep.