Tag: National Park

Mirador Cuentos – Torres del Paine, Chile – Without the W or the O Part 5

One of the things that they do not show you in the pictures of Torres del Paine is the weather. Well, they do show you the weather, but only one those days when it is perfect. The sun is shining. There is a slight breeze. People might even be walking around wearing shorts. This is the ideal, and I get why they show these pictures. This is the best way to sell a vacation to this part of the world. The reality of the situation is that Torres del Paine is on the tip of South America where the weather is unpredictable and though those beautiful days do exist, there are just as many rainy, cold, and windy days, even in the middle of the summer, so the hikes do not always go as planned.

We had this problem with one of the hikes that we had planned to go on to, Mirador Cuernos. This is a very popular hike with the tour groups. It starts off at a cafateria just a little down the road from the Hotel Pehoe, and after a leisurley twenty minute stroll it takes people to a big waterfall that many people stop at to take pictures and watch large portions of water dive over a cliff. But if you take this hike another three kilometers away, the crowds start to die down, and you are rewarded with some of the more impressive views of the mountains in the area. This is the reason to come out and take this hike.

The hike basically follows the lake that feeds into the waterfall that most of the people stop at. It is on a well-groomed path that is wide and basically flat. There are a couple of rises on it, but it is nothing to strenuous and most people should be able to complete the hike without any problem. In fact, I saw many people on the hike that did not even bother to bring water or any additional equipment with them, and treated the hike as a lovely Sunday stroll. But do not be deceived; that could be the worst thing that you do if you take this hike.

Like I said earlier, the weather in Torres del Paine is unpredictable. A beautiful sunny day that you see in most of the pictures of the area can turn on you really quick, and you might find yourself out in the middle of nowhere as a storm blows in over the mountains. And let me tell you that when I storm blows in, it is not at all a pleasant experience. The winds out there can be extreme. We experienced one such day where we struggled to walk and after certain gusts, even continue to stand. Even though, the path is flat and wide, the weather can add a new diificulty to the hike. There are even times when they will shut down the path if the winds are too strong which happened to us the first time we attempted to make this hike.

Still, we did not let this deter us, and we came back another day when the weather was perfect. It wasn’t shorts weather, but it was just crisp enough to make for the perfect conditions to make a hike. We packed layers just in case the weather changed on us, and we brought a small lunch to enjoy at the beach we came across on the shore of the lake. And when we finally made it to the viewpoint, it was worth the wait. The views were stunning, and the sun shining on the peaks made for the perfect conditions to take pictures. It was a great hike to take that gets you close to the same places on the W loop and it only takes a couple hours to do, easily worth the time for those that are not doing the bigger loops.

Thank you for following me on this exploration of places to go in Torres del Paine besides the W and O loops, and I hope it gives you some ideas for your trip out to this area.

Khao Sok, Thailand

There are many places in Thailand that bring visitors in, and most of them have guarantee a wonderful, and relaxing time. But they do tend to blend into each other especially if you drive up and down the coast. It is one beach resort after another competing for your money, and they will pull out all the stops with great restaurants, fun night time atmosphere, exotic beaches, and a sprinkle of culture so you can feel like you gained something by traveling half way across the world and visiting this place. It works well for those who might be here for a couple of weeks, but when you cannot leave Thailand, you start to look for something a little different. I would even say that after a couple of weeks, you would probably want the same thing. This is where Khao Sok comes into play.

Khao Sok is a national park located in the southern part of Thailand, right above the island of Phuket. It is a big reservoir that they made sure to limit the amount of impact that humans could have on it. There are a few resorts floating on the lake that was created, but they are far enough away from each other that it feels like the group of people that you came in with are the only ones on this big, huge nature reserve. 

And nature is allowed to thrive in this location. I personally did not see a wide range of animals, probably because they kept themselves hidden in the deep foliage that can be found on all of the mountains, but I was lucky enough to see a couple of hornbill birds fly in front of our resort, and one morning I got to experience a family of elephants foraging for their breakfast before taking a morning dip in the cool water. Despite this, Khao Sok is home to a variety of other animals including water buffalo, bears, panthers, and deer. They are not always witnessed because they like to hide in the forests that cling to the mountains, but it is always a good idea to keep a watchful eye out because you never know what you are going to see.

There are many places to say in this National Park, and they vary in luxury and the programs that they offer for people who stay there. We decided to stay at the Panvaree Resort even though this is a destination that more Thais go to rather than foreigners. In fact, we were the only English speaking people at this resort, and if it wasn’t for a couple of Japanese ladies, we would have been the only foreigners. It did not matter much because the staff there was still incredibly friendly with a couple of them speaking English fluently. And when things got tight, I still know enough Thai to get by.

The main reason that we picked this resort over the other was because it offer a two day, two night package where most of the other place get you in and out within one day. This allowed us enough time to go and see what it was we wanted to see while still having a little downtime so we did not feel exhausted.

The food that they served was all traditional Thai food, and it came out in huge portions with the option for being able to get a refill at any time that we wanted. It was authentic home made Thai food as well. With us being farangs (foreigners), they believed that we could not handle the spice that they gave to all over the other people staying there, and though I would tend to agree that I cannot handle the spice that many Thai people can, being raised on Mexican food, I can hold my own when it comes to spice. I kind of wished they added a little bit more of a kick to our food, but that did not detract from the overall pleasure of the meals.

They also created our itinerary for us, and made sure that we had plenty of activities. There were a couple of boats rides to take us to the various sites in the park, and give us the perfect picture opportunities. We got caught in a rain storm in one of them, and they had to bring us back early, but they made sure to reschedule it for the morning so we could make sure we could take in all of the beauty of the park. The sunrise probably made for a better picture opportunity rather than the sunset, so I am glad that it worked out this way, and all I had to do was endure a little bit of rain in the process.

There was also a little hike through the forest. Many times this would be the place where you would see the wildlife, but we were not that lucky this time around. It wasn’t too strenuous either. Most of the time when I go hiking out in Thailand, I come back a sweaty mess, but that was not the case with this hike. There was a little uphill and a little downhill, but it led us to a little alcove and a couple of boats that would take us to our next destination.

The boat could have been one of the most interesting things I witnessed on this trip. Most of the time when I hear the term boat, I think that they have at least a couple of sides to them to help them keep them afloat, but this boat was nothing more that a few bamboo logs lashed together with a walkway on them and a motor to take people to their destination. It did not look like the safest thing in the world, but we were not going far, and everybody seemed okay with it, so I went along for the ride.

It was worth the trip too because it took us to another of the natural wonders in this national park, a cave that can only be reached from crossing this small inlet. It was not the most amazing cave I have ever seen, but the people in the park have a healthy respect for nature and made sure that nobody disturbed anything in the cave in order maintain all of the natural features that can be found in it, and there are quite a few.

Khao Sok has easily become one of my favorite spots in Thailand, and it is must see for anybody coming out here. I know that it does not have the name recognition as some of the island resorts or bigger cities, but it is that hidden gem that is really worth finding. It only takes a couple of days to truly enjoy the experience and everything will be taken care of if you find the right place, so please make sure you try to pencil it in.

Otherwise, thanks for reading and I hope that you can get back out there soon to see what the world has to offer.

A Holiday Delayed – Khao Sok, Thailand

It was supposed to be the last hurrah during the holiday season, and we were supposed to be wowed by what we were going to experience. But then the Thai government threatened to close down the boundaries between the provinces, and because we were worried about being stuck in a part of the country and not being able to get to work, we cut our vacation short and cut out the couple of nights at Thailand’s national park, Khao Sok. We were lucky that they told us that we would be able to reschedule our trip for a later date when the Covid crisis had calmed down a bit. Not every place we had booked had been so generous, and I am glad that this place in Thailand made this concession.

It wasn’t necessarily the best time to leave work, but my time in Thailand is starting to tick down and this was one of the places that I wished to visit before we left. So considering I have not really taken much time off from work while living out here, I took the day off to enjoy what I now consider a mini Spring Break.

Khao Sok is a remote place in southern Thailand where the connection to the grid is a little spotty. It is part of the reason that many people book a place down here. There are a few resorts dotting this huge lake surrounded by jagged peaks. The only way you can get to one of these place is by boat, and once you arrive, there is nothing else around. They supply all of the meals and subject you to an itinerary of hikes, and boat rides that will introduce you to many of the amazing sites around as well as the wildlife that inhabits this location. I have already seen one of Thailand’s famous hornbill birds soaring over our resort, and we have not even gone on one of the tours yet.

When not hiking or visiting the sites, there are many other things to pass the time at the place we are staying. They have a whole fleet of kayaks that we can borrow at any time to do a little exploring on our own, and the water is warm and clear. It is the perfect place to float around in and see the mountains that tower over us. I have not done a lot beyond travel to the place and unwind from the last couple of months of work, but I am looking forward to the adventure that this place will provide. I am happy that I will be able to enjoy the holiday that almost didn’t happen, and I am excited to squeeze in this corner of the country before I have to go.