I am walking towards the National Park entrance. It is still early in the morning but the Sun already is burning my skin. I stop at a small convenience store. A cute little girl is keeping it while her mother is at the neighbours house. I buy a few food items, like chips for salt or honey sweetened peanuts, to help me for today's hike. I only had a small breakfast this morning, toasts and a small omelette with bacon.
The National Park entrance fee is 300 Baht for foreigners, I pay and register. While hiking you have to write your name at the few check points scattered in between. It is beautiful here, unfortunately is is April, dry season, so the waterfalls are all dried up. I read that elephants can be encountered here as well as tapirs, I will only encounter beautiful lizards and a family of monkey. With my luck with snakes, I expected to see at least one on this hike, but saw none... ah maybe it's better this way. :D
I stay in the park the whole morning, there aren't many people around, but the park rangers pass me by with their pick up trucks at least three times, greeting me with a nice smile and a very LOUD honk each time. No wonder I haven't seen any wildlife, haha.
It is getting to hot to hike comfortably. Luckily I was already on my way back out of the national Park. I take one last look in the lush jungle and up the trees, hoping to see a snake or a lizard I haven't seen before. Lucky me; through the trees in the contre jour, in the far away I notice a big monkey playing in a tree. Totally cinematic, but no time to point a camera at it, it is this kind of situations where enjoying the moment is key. I pass the last check point, the parc entrance, take a quick selfie in the parc's bathroom and then the head quarters.
I stop at a tiny shop where I buy a coconut shake from an old lady. She tells me "hot hot today", I can only agree with her.
Back at my tiny bungalow, I take a short nap. I wake up feeling totally weird, light headed, thirsty, dry... dammit it is hot in here! It must be 70 degrees in my tiny bungalow, I am like a chicken roasting in an oven. The fan stopped working while I was asleep, and the sun started shinning all around my bungalow. I run to the shower to cool myself down, the water is hot as well from sitting in the pipes, I let it run, finally cold water. I head out to the restaurant area, to wait until the sun hides behind a tree or something. I'm a bit shaken; that could have ended with a heatstroke, luckily I woke up in time to feel it coming...
I head out to the resort next door for an early diner. The owner seems happy to see me again. "You coming back here?" yes, but just for a pad Thai and the nice terrace.
A needy friend is waiting for me at the entrance of my bungalow.
I fall asleep to the sound of crickets, frogs and a group of stupid drunk Aussie teenagers...
