Khao Sok: Testing the limits of J'ai Yen

Bao was unavailable for two straight days, so I took my last opportunity to visit Khao Sok National Park. Though by car the park is only 2 hours away, this proved a more harrowing endeavor than I had anticipated.
As I rode the rickety local bus from Takua Pa towards Surat Thani, I knew only to go past the National Park Headquarters and get off when I saw a sign for a dam. I was looking for a beautiful reservoir rumored to have peaceful floating bungalows -- perfect for a relaxing short term retreat. The bus rolled through an increasingly complicated lanscape. Gentle hills gave way to steep rainfoarested mountains, then tall, crooked limestone cliffs, eroded into bizarre formations. When the bus breezed past the sign for the dam, I collected my belongings and scrambled to the front.
"Jute Ka!" (Stop the bus please) I asked as respectfully as possible, trying to keep my cool as we sped further away from my destination. The driver and his assistant only looked at me as though I had a cactus growing out of my head. I motioned that I wanted to get off the bus. The driver smiled and kept driving.
"No, no, I want to get off the bus. Please stop the bus (I thought I said. In reality I later learned I had actually been saying "Jute" when the real word for stop sounds more like "Jote." "Jute" of course has some rude sexual connotation. Apparently you don't make any friends exclaiming "Jute" on a public bus).
"Sit down" said the attendant, but my seat in the back had already been claimed by someone else. I stood there awkwardly with my bag, afinding it harder to stay calm as the kilometers ticket by.
"Please let me off the bus" I pleaded. The attendant grabbed my bag and shoved it to the floor, wagging his finger and shaking his head in disapproval. He made the motion of a wai (Thai sign of respect with hands placed palms together in front of the face) towards the windsheild and I realized that the shoes tied to my backpack had been pointing towards the Buddha shrine on the dashboard -- a huge faux pas. I didn't understand why they would not stop the bus to let me off. The bus had seemingly pulled over at all sorts of shelters to pick people up and drop them off the entire 3 hour trip until now. People had literally stepped off the bus into the bushes. Now as we sped past little yellow-roofed bus shelters I began to sense a grim paranoia. Maybe they were angry enough with me to keep me from getting off this bus altogether. At this point I was about to end up all the way in Surat Thani!
When the bus finally did pull over I found myself at a dusty intersection roughly thirty minutes north of my destination. I walked to a bus shelter and was immediately joined by a creepy shirtless middle-aged man. Although I understand only rudimentary Thai, I could tell that something was obviously not right about this man. He leaned in much too close and spoke words under his damp alcohol-laden breath (This may be the result of a misunderstanding due to the whole "jute" vs. "jote" conundrum, who knows..?). I could not understand his words but the tone told me I had to walk away, and fast.
I stood on the side of the road, exasperated. I had no idea where I was or how to explain where I was trying to go. I knew a bus would come but not when. Nor could I be assured that it would actually stop if/when it did arrive.
Just then a man pulled up on a motorbike asking where I was headed. When I tried to explain the reservoir he nodded his head in recognition and motioned for me to wait. He returned 10 minutes later in an air conditioned pickup. I soon found myself heading in the right direction, much to my relief. I was hoping he would drop me off at the intersection where I had seen the sign for the dam, but he turned and followed the arrow on the sign. The sign read: 'Rachamadajin Dam - 17 km.' I tried to explain that he didn't have to go so far out of his way to take me, but he just waved my words away with a smile and said "Mai pen rai" (nevermind). He didn't stop there. He proceeded to spend the next 40 minutes driving me to two different information stations until we found one that could take me to the floating bungalows. Only after I had a ticket (and at a good price), did he climb back into his truck, wish me luck, and drive away. Although he had spent nearly two hours driving and helping me, he refused to accept any money for gas. I hope I was able to convey the incredible gratitude I felt.
Thirty minutes later I was motoring across the lake in a longtail, stunned by the breathtaking scenery around me. Towering limestone spires dropped off to meet the deep royal blue water in all directions. After 45 minutes of pure visual bliss and dewy wind in my hair, we pulled up to a floating cluster of thatched bamboo huts nestled into a narrow cove. I was greeted by a suprised chorus of "Hello"s from both staff and vacationers. Several even wanted to take their picture with me. Few farangs make it out this far, someone explained. A light rainshower set in and I quickly settled into my little floating home for an afternoon nap. I awoke refreshed and took the camp kayak for a paddle and swim through misty jungle waters.

Floating bamboo bungalows

Afterwards, I followed a floating dock ashore, wher I discovered a muddy rainforest trail. I followed it through leafy vines and musty underbrush until the sun began to sink lower in the sky. On the way back I observed a family of gibbons high in the canopy above, their comical faces peering down to keep an eye on me. I ate a delicious dinner at the tiny floating restaurant admiring the sunset over misty mountain peaks. The food kept coming -- at least 5 or 6 courses -- all delicious. The steamed catfish I ate had come only minutes earlier from a floating cage attached to the kitchen.

View (sideways - sorry) out of my floating bungalow

After darkness fell I pulled out my headlamp and read on the little front porch of my raft, occasionally sneaking a peek at the stars. Someone played a guitar and sang Thai folk songs a few bungalows down. I fell asleep watching the stars through my little window as I bobbed gently up and down with the waves reverberating across the lake.

My (temporary) home in Khao Sok

Though I didn't request it, the cook prepared me a special western breakfast in the morning -- scrambled eggs and pineapple pancakes. A-ROY! (Delicious) I waved goodbye to the kind people I had met and enjoyed another scenic ride back across the lake. Before I could worry about getting back on a bus to Takua Pa, a boatload of people pulled alongside me at the dock. Seeing that I was clearly stranded in the parking lot, they motioned for me to hop in their truck for a ride back to town (i.e. random intersection).
They were college friends and members of a classical Thai string quartet, traveling on holiday with their elderly professor. I felt lucky to get a ride back to the highway, where I knew a bus would take me to Takua Pa. But when I asked them to let me out, they smiled and politely refused, insisting that I be dropped off at a "reliable" bus station. When we flew past the turnoff to Takua Pa, I began to feel my luck had followed suit in the exact wrong direction. I tried to explain that if they would just let me out, eventually a bus would come (they are scheduled every few hours along that route). "No, no" they insisted. "Everything OK." They reassured me by pointing at maps written entirely in Thai. "Mai Pen Rai!" All I could do was sit helplessly and enjoy they classical Thai music and the silly, playful company of these friends, all the while knowing I was speeding away from my destination (Again!).
More than two hours later I found myself at a bus shelter with only a vague sense of my exact location. I talked with a friendly young girl in my broken Thai and determined that a bus to Ranong would arrive soon. Sure enough it did. I was four hours south of my village and more than two hours south of my original starting point that morning. On the painfully slow local bus it took me 8 hours to backtrack north to Kamphuan (The drive from Khao Sok would have taken 2 hours in a car). It was a hot, cramped ride, but I was just grateful to be heading in the right direction.
Despite all the logistical complications I had such a wonderful experience at Khao Sok. I would absolutely do it all again. Only next time I would bring a map with English translations!