Thailand : Day 12 : Phuket Amari

Today we settled into our new home for the next five days. The beautiful Amari hotel and resort is nestled on the end of a lovely beach in Phuket. It sprawls  across a hillside affording all of the rooms fantastic views of the sea. There are lovely pools, great restaurants and super facilities. I’m sure we’ll have a great time here. 

Today was a rest day so just a bit of a yoga and the odd hike into town was on the cards! 

Thailand : Day 11 : Park to Phuket

We started our second day at the National Park on the water early - kayaking before breakfast. 

As we paddled through the inlets and sounds we saw all manner of wildlife from our boats - monkeys, eagles, herons, and kingfishers. It was beautiful. 

We then had a few hours to relax on the porches of our floating tents before checking out. 

After lunch we sped in our long boat back to shore where we were reunited with our luggage, before being transported further south. 

Leaving Elephant Hills behind we were soon to be reunited with the rest of our party in the hedonistic beach island of Phuket. 

Thailand : Day 10 : Khao Sok National Park

In 1982 the Thai National Electricity Company and the Thai National Wildlife Trust had a battle on their hands. A battle that the Wildlife Trust was to lose. 

In 1982 Thailand’s population was growing fast. And it needed power. Electricity, and lots of it. 

It had long been known that he ancient rainforest of Khao Sok - the oldest jungle on earth - in central Thailand, was slap bang in the middle of a huge rainfall catchment area. 

A catchment area surrounded by limestone mountains - mountains known as elephant hills as they had been sculptured into the silhouettes of elephants over the millennia - that formed a natural barrier. 

A natural barrier that would be perfect to form a massive man-made reservoir. 

A man-made reservoir that could generate upwards of 250MWatts of hydroelectric power. Enough power to feed most cities in Southern Thailand. 

So you see, the battle was one of need. The need of the people vs the need of nature. 

You can guess how it went. 

The Trust predicted, if you flood 170 sq kilometres of beautiful ancient rainforest you’re going to have a lot of dead animals on your hands. Or animals that are stranded on small isolated islands that would go on to die out due to reduced gene pools. 

And sure enough, that is exactly what happened. 

The dam was built. For 7 years the waters rose. 100m in all. The beautiful reservoir was created. The attempts by the Thai government to rescue the animals were well publicised, but largely unsuccessful. Hundreds of thousands of animals fled or perished. 

But the story has a happier ending. Following a national outcry, a National Park was formed around the lake and way beyond to protect the surviving creatures from poachers and woodland from logging. Over the next 10 - 15 years the animal populations all but recovered. Some even ended up thriving - returning to, or exceeding, pre-reservoir levels. 

The Khao Soi National Park was a massive success. 

So Thailand kept its lights on, created a beautiful reservoir, and eventually helped its wildlife too. 

It was this reservoir we came to yesterday; to sleep on (posh floating tents), to trek near (290m mountain jungle climb followed by vampire bat, spider, and snake-infested caves), and to swim in (catfish nibbling at our toes). 

A delightful place. A checked history. Much to marvel at - and much to learn and appreciate. 

Thailand : Day 9 : Elephant Hills

Back in 1989 logging in Thailand was (thankfully) banned. An unfortunate consequence however was that thousands of domesticated elephants were suddenly unemployed, and to a large extent unwanted. 

Unadapted to living in the wild some were simply released and then roamed the Thai city streets or villages scavaging for food. 

Others were more lucky. They were adopted by one of the many elephant sanctuaries that sprang up to look after these amazing creatures. 

However feeding an elephant is an expensive business (they typically feed for 16 - 17 hours a day consuming upward of 250kg of food). So sanctuaries need to offer ethical tourism - you pay to get in and then get to help feed and wash the elephants. And your entrance fee gets to go towards nelly’s upkeep. No riding, no tricks, just food, watering, washing, education and protection. Seems like a good solution. 

So today we found ourselves at such a place. Elephant Hills. Elephant visits are limited to 75 mins (feeding, bathing, the odd selfie) and then the elephants go off to laugh at the tourists and the tourists feel they have done their bit. 

They offer lots of other experiences too at Elephant Hills (boat rides, lake tents, jungle hiking) but today was all about the jumbos. 

Glad we came. Good to see these gentle giants getting some sort of after-care. A sort of elephant retirement home. 

Thailand : Day 8 : Bangkok to Surat Thani

We took another train journey today - a little under 9 hours right down the centre of Thailand - from Bangkok to Surat Thani. 

And this time it was a way better experience than our last journey; far more comfy, marginally better food, and of course with great company!

En route we got some locally made egg custards from a station stop. And you know what, they were lovely. 

Our faith in Thailand Railways has been well and truly restored.