traveler318

Starting to plan a trip for next Jan/Feb to SE Asia. This will be our third trip to the region. We will go to Luang Prabang and Burma, plus have a few days in Bangkok. We have been to Bangkok, Siem Reap/Angkor, northern Thailand and Phuket on a previous trip.

We have about 3 nights not accounted for, possibly 4. I was originally planning a beach destination like Koh Samui, but am thinking we’d probably enjoy something else more, and it would be good to avoid another flight. I started looking at things that are w/i a 3 hour +/- drive from Bangkok. A friend I trust told me she didn’t think Sukhothai was worth going to, especially since we have been to Angkor, and it is somewhat further from BKK, I think. We’d probably like some nature (national park/wildlife) as a contrast with the rest of the trip, but no “trekking”. My husband says he does not want to go to Kanchanaburi/River Kwai, and we won’t go to an “elephant camp.” So I’ve narrowed it down to the Hua Hin area with a day trip to Kaeng Krachan NP or Khao Sam Roi Yot, or Khao Yai and surrounds. It looks like a trip to the Khmer ruins at Phimai would be feasible, but Phanom Rung might be a stretch.

I’m leaning toward the Khao Yai/Phimai combo, since it looks like Khao Yai might have more wildlife (would like to see gibbons if possible or some other primates), and depending upon where we stay, we could have two days in the park as opposed to a day trip to Kaeng Krachan. I’ve looked at pictures of Hua Hin, and can’t say the beach looks as nice as the Andaman coast or Koh Samui, so we’d really be going there because there are suitable accommodations and things to do on day trips. There also see, to be some luxurious places to stay further south, near Pranburi. We do like a certain level of comfort.

Anyone offer any insight regarding Khao Yai NP or Phimai? What about wildlife, ruins etc. near Hua Hin, etc? Should we consider Sukhothai anyway? It is a World Heritage Site, after all, but so is Khao Yai.

Any help is much appreciated! Thank you in advance.

Hanuman

Khao Yai - wanting to see wildlife without trekking will be very hard. You might be able to see wild elephants while driving around there but gibbons will be hard to spot. Perhaps with a local guide you can limit the trekking but definitely you will to consider some. Some nice resorts in Khao Yai but quite pricey.

Sukhothai is over a 5 hours drive from Bangkok so that will be too far for you. Angkor was abandoned while Sukhothai was burnt and sacked so very different. More important for locals and does not provide the "wow" experience of Angkor.

If you are interested in Phimai you should consider Phanom Rung, Muang Tum as well since they are in the same vicinity. I would say that the drive from Bangkok to the area will be around 4 or 5 hours. Not much else to offer within the area with only mediocre accommodation.

Hua Hin and tha national parks around there. Hua Hin beach, from the Central Sofitel to Khao Takiab has the best beach and the best hotels. The resorts around Pran Buri are not as nice but cheaper than Hua Hin. The beaches down there are not that nice either. As you have said, the beaches on Andaman coast are better but Hua Hin is closer to Bangkok.

I like Sam Roi Yot national park. Can be explore by car, boat and some walking. You can see primates quite easily as the park is not heavily forested. What I like best about the park:

1. Phraya Nakhon Cave - long tail boat from the beach inside the national park follow by about a 30 - 45 minutes hike.

2. Boat ride around the mangrove forest - hire a boat cheaply from inside the park.

crellston

I liked Sam Roi Yot, as Hanuman says, it provides a nice mix of transport but foot, car and boat and has some great scenery. The boat trip is a great experience. Kaeng Krachan NP was a pleasant day out hiking in the park but I don't recall seeing too many animals.

Khao Yai was ok for a couple of days but we stayed in a hotel on the approach road to the park rather than camping or staying in the park lodge and so didn't get far enough into the park to see much wildlife apart from the monkey which seemed to be everywhere! Some nice waterfalls to walk to ( allegedly some scenes from The Beach were filmed there).

traveler318

Thanks for the replies.

Hanuman, I would be willing to do some hiking, but would prefer to limit to hikes of no more than 2 hours or so, since we are really not used to humidity. Would certainly get a local guide or tour in any case--no self drive. I did consider the Phanom Rung area, but it does seem accommodations are limited to standard hotels in Khorat. The resorts at Khao Yai seem to be in similar price range to hotels that I would pick for Hua Hin, so that is probably not the determining factor. Will investigate Sam Roi Yot further. Have been to mangroves before in several places, including Phang Nga Bay, but this may be what we are looking for.

Crellston, did you tour Khao Yai on your own or with a guide? I would not camp or stay in the park. Was more thinking about resorts like Muthi Maya/Kirimaya or Greenery Resort and local guide or tour into the park. Hikes to waterfalls sound nice.

Thanks again.

khunwilko

Sam Roi Yot has also the possibility of staying at a beach front hotel. THere are some really rather nice resorts of the beach in that area, The downside is the place is surrounded by shrimp farms, and mosquitoes can be a nightmare.

Khao Yai is probably the most popular NP in Thailand - you might want to do guided tours.....you'll have no difficulty in seeing Macaques and deer......there was some plan to restrict vehicle access to the park...this doesn't seem practical, but that never stopped the Dept NP before. It's best to visit away from the week-end and public holidays as it is extremely popular with Bangkokians and Koratians (Nakon Ratchasima - second biggest city in Thailand)

Kaeng Krachan is te biggest park in Thailand, their is a large lake formed by a dam. Rather than staying down in Hua Hin (not my favourite resort town) you might find the Boathouse Paradis resort at Kaeng Krachan more interesting.

http://www.boathouseparadise.com

THis place has good facilities and is on the lakeshore....long-tail boat trips, kayaks, big pool, restaurant. Trip to the temple on an island or the caves across the water. Play your cards right and you could have the place to yourself
From there I'd recommend you organise a trip up to the top of the mountain in the national park itself. This is accessible by a 4WD track, with views at the top over the forest canopy. If you're interested in birdwatching, it is one of the most popular spots in Thailand. Accommodation at the top is rudimentary (camping) so an overnight might not be to your taste, however in the morning at certain times of year you find yourself above the cloud level looking down on a white sea of clouds.

I saw a lot of wildlife on the drive up.....dusky langurs, clouds of butterflies etc etc; bring a telephoto lens! I'm also told it's a migration route for raptors!

January the weather can be deliciously cool at night, especially on top of the mountain......

There are several resorts of varying quality along the lake shore and on the roads leading up to the dam; try google

Hanuman

The city of Nakhon Ratchasima (AKA Korat) is not the second largest in Thailand. I believe it's the 5th largest. The province of Nakhon Ratchasima is the second largest province in Thailand.

khunwilko

Nakon Ratchasima - One of the biggest cities in Thailand, next to Hat Yai and Nonthaburi- Jan 2013

Hanuman

Yes it's one of the biggest city, number 5 in Thailand in terms of population, but not the second largest as per your quote.

crellston

Traveller318 - we visited Khao Yai on our own without a guide. We had rented a car in Bangkok and were on a roadtrip around the country. We stayed outside the park and drove in daily we really only needed our guidebook and the basic maps we got from the park office

khaoyaiandbeyond

Hello traveller318,

I live outside of the khao yai national park and can recommend a visit if you want to see wildlife- especially gibbons. The chances of seeing wild elephants on a visit to the park are about 50/50. I would recommend a guide as they use alternative trails to the main trails and know where the animals are more like to be found at each specific time e.g. where and when the hornbills are nesting, which fig trees have fruit...a determining factor in attracting animals etc. They can judge form the call of the gibbons how far away they are and make every effort to find them. They also carry equipment such as spotting scopes so that you can get a better look.

I was there with my sister in law yesterday and not only did we watch a hornbill feeding at the nest, but we saw gibbons and then an elephant in the jungle wallowing in mud. The elephant was off the trail but the guide had recognised the sound of branches being broken and knew what it was.

There is plentiful accommodation outside of the park and you can get very nice rooms for about 1000 baht.

If you want to see a bit more about what's available I have a blog and website on www.khaoyaiandbeyond.com where I have put a lot of photos of the wildlife.

Hope this helps ....I joined the forum to ask a question and have now got completely side tracked!

khunwilko

Lot of hornbills in khao yai.
I camp there from time to time and in the morning you can hear them flying around - they make quite a loud noise, not dissimilar to a bull-roarer - very impressive.