The Rambling Writer Visits Thailand, part 12: Around Our Jungle Treehouse

Join Thor and me as our Thailand virtual vacation continues with a nature walk around the eco-lodge at Khao Sok National Park.

NOTE: “And now for something completely different.” Thor and I made our first trip to Asia — the beautiful country of Thailand.  We were lucky to squeak through the pandemic flight closures in January/February of 2020 as we returned from our three-week trip. Since more travel has now become a distant prospect, we hope you’ll take a virtual vacation with us in the following weeks. (This blog series started on June 13.)

Last time (post #11) we arrived at Our Jungle House, an eco-lodge on 25 acres of rainforest nestled against the Khao Sok wilderness. After the crowds in Bangkok and on the island of Koh Samui, Thor and I caught grateful breaths of serene quiet here in our treehouse suspended in green nature. Our “Liana” treehouse perched next to a beautiful, clear river, a welcome place for a swim to cool off in the muggy heat.

Looking upstream, you can see the karst limestone cliff towering over the river, where monkeys — long-tailed macaques — shelter in holes. We’ll see more of these lively critters in an upcoming post, but the top photo above shows one munching bamboo next to our deck.

The lodge aims to have as little impact as possible on the environment, and it was lovely to wander along the narrow trails past the treehouses perched among and on giant trees, surrounded by greenery.

The office and the clubhouse where they served tasty meals. We did a lot walking back and forth on the 1/4-mile, twisty path from the clubhouse to our “end of the line” Liana Treehouse.

Someone had made ingenious use of one of these huge leaves:

Beautiful surprises all along the pathways. I think the small white blooms at the lower left, below, might be the magical drifting pods from the Mother Tree in the “Avatar” film:

The first morning, Thor and I wandered along the nature trails that started where the paved path ended at our treehouse.

The tall bamboo rose high above our 20′ high deck, where the macaques munched on leaves and whatever they could snitch from unwary guests. As we followed the dirt trail, we watched out for various obstacles, like these fierce spines:

Thankfully, the green canopy sheltered us from the blazing sun. Did I mention the heat?

This spider was about 6 inches across (including legs). We gave her web a wide berth.

We forgot to ask what these pods/fruits/nuts were. Does anyone know?

Shrines are everywhere in Thailand, even in the forest.

We found our ultra-lightweight cotton clothing, bought in the market on Koh Samui, perfect for mornings and evenings here. I think the white drifty pod-blossoms liked Thor, too, as they seem about to land on him….

Next week: We feed and bathe a retired elephant at the Hillside Retreat Elephant Sanctuary.

*****

You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com

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