Swimming in a Thai bath

Khao Sok National Park is, it is said, one of Thailand’s most stunning natural areas. Hundreds of square kilometers of one of the oldest rainforests in the world, with a lake in the center. I do, however, have questions.

Getting to the deck on our floating bungalow involved a flight South, then a hour’s drive, and finally 45 minutes on a long-tail boat. We were worried that 45 minutes would stretch when the enormous engine powering the little propeller overheated and we came to an unscheduled stop in the middle of nowhere.

Moving again, we motored through canyons past steep karst cliffs, green with jungle. It would be pretty anyway, but the contrast with shivering in snow in Bhutan a few days ago is stark. That contrast was driven home more forcefully when we went for a swim in the lake which is, quite literally, like swimming in a warm bath.

Undeniably beautiful as it is, there are those pesky questions. The Khao Sok National Park is surrounded by an ocean of date palm plantations: It is an island of pristine rainforest in a sea of environmental disaster. And then there’s the lake which is actually a dam completed in 1982. Sorry, can’t help myself – context is important.

Anyway, returning to the beautiful, our bungalow has a view North up the lake to the karst cliffs. There’s a little island with a red-rock base glowing in the sunshine. Long-tail boats are buzzing past in the distance and there’s a gentle breeze knocking a degree or so off the temperature. Idyllic really.