Light of the Kingdom

In the dawns when thou shalt wake

To the toil thou canst not break,

Heartsick for the Jungle’s sake;

Wood and Water, Wind and Tree,

Wisdom, Strength, and Courtesy,

Jungle-Favour go with thee!

~Rudyard Kipling, Outsong in the Jungle

The wooden prow of our traditional Thai long-tail boat sliced through Cheow Lan Lake, sending refreshing mists of fresh water into the air. I extended an arm outside of the boat, to take advantage of the cooling spray. On the horizon, wild stands of trees grew on the sides of whimsically shaped limestone mountains.

We, along with about twenty other vacationers, were on our way to the Praiwan Raft House, a floating hotel nestled between the mountains that surround the most beautiful lake in Thailand. It was strange to think that a mere fourty-four years earlier, Cheow Lan Lake didn’t exist. The water we were floating on used to be a vast, forested valley, inhabited by around 2,000 people. In 1982, the EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand) began a project to divert the Klong Saeng River and construct a dam. Commissioned by King Rama IX, the project was completed and inaugurated in 1987. The king named the dam “Rajjaprabha” which means “Light of the Kingdom.” By the time the dam opened, 71 square miles of jungle had been flooded. In the process, all of the inhabitants of Ban Chiew Lan village had been resettled and compensated with new land, along with a monthly stipend. There was also an effort made to save the valley’s wildlife, but only 1,320 animals were successfully saved.

Today, the ecosystem has adapted to the lake. The forests are once again filled with wildlife, and the locals have taken up rubber farming and guiding within Khao Sok National Park. The Rajjaprabha dam provides electricity for the surrounding communities, and the park and lake are now preserved to protect wildlife. Foreign and domestic tourists alike now flock to the park to enjoy its beautiful scenery and wildlife, and one of the best ways to do that is to spend a few nights in a raft house on Cheow Lan Lake.

The allure of a chance to see wild elephants was what had drawn me to book a two night stay on the lake, and with budgeting constraints after spending so much time SCUBA diving, I’d selected a multi-day tour through Seek Sophie. Their large groups allow for cheaper pricing compared to similar experiences, so we wouldn’t be getting a private, luxury stay, but we’d still get two days of exploring the lake and rainforest in search of wildlife.

Our long-tail boat wove its way between the remaining pinnacles of the drowned mountains, and past ghost trees, their bare branches still reaching towards the sky. After about an hour, we arrived in a narrow finger between two mountains. Tucked in between them was a group of floating bungalows that make up the Praiwan Raft House. The bungalows were obscured from the main lake by the row of mountains, making this the perfect little hidden oasis with an unimaginably beautiful view. Everyone aboard the boat gasped at the first sight of it, and we were all eager to step onto the floating dock when we finally arrived.

The entire resort sat on top of creaky, wooden deck boards, that covered a matrix of large pontoons. The structure bobbed in the water as we walked across it, luggage in tow, toward the bungalow that we’d been assigned for our stay.

It was a rustic accomodation, with only a fan to cool it. The generator that supplied its power was only turned on at night, and the cabin was just big enough to hold a double bed and our luggage, so there was no real reason to hang out inside of it other than to sleep. But just outside of our door was a porch shaded by thatched roofing, and a platform for jumping into the inviting lake water. Beyond that, we had a view of another row of bungalows, seated in front of a picturesque mountain ridgeline.  So, as basic as the room was, it still felt like our own little piece of paradise.

Our stay at Praiwan Raft House also included all of our meals and activities, starting with lunch. After we’d settled into the bungalow, we ambled over to the open-air dining room where we’d be eating for the next couple of days.  Vince and I were assigned a table with a Dutch couple named Hilde and Daniel, and we hit it off with them right away.  We talked all throughout the meal, which was more of the standard Thai food (except with far less spice than locals use) that we’d grown accustomed to during our trip.

When we’d finished our dessert of fresh fruit, it was time to get back on the long-tail boat for the day’s only organized activity.  The boat carried us to a nearby beach where we had to pay 200 Baht each to use a hiking trail that led into the rainforest.

We, along with all of the other guests, followed our guides uphill through the forest, stopping every now and then when the guides found something of interest to show us. They found various kinds of reptiles, including a flying lizard, which uses membranes that look like wings to glide through the air.  There were also a pair of trapdoor tarantula holes, expertly camouflaged alongside the trail, and a pathway leading up into the forest which had been created by elephants.

But by the time the trail dead-ended at a tranquil lagoon, Vince and I were both growing weary of hiking in such a large group. It was difficult to see anything the guides pointed out because there were so many people crowding around, and it was a bit of a relief that it was now time to begin the next phase of the excursion.

Everyone got onboard a pair of bamboo rafts, a traditional and very old mode of transport in Thailand, and we floated across the placid tributary as rain clouds gathered in the sky above us.

When we reached the other side if the lagoon, we followed our guides up a steep hill and entered the mouth of coral cave. Walking between impressive stalagmite columns, I used my dive light to illuminate our surroundings. The cave was full of interesting textures, and one of my favorite features, cave crystals which sparkled like glitter as my light passed over them.

Our guide led us around, offering to take pictures and cracking jokes. He even made a shadow puppet out of a stalactite. When he shone a light against it, the shadow it cast looked like an old man with a hooked nose. He made spooky noises ad he moved his light around behind the formation.

When we reemerged into the light at the cave’s entrance, it was time to retrace our path back to the raft house. We rode the bamboo rafts back across the lagoon, then hiked back along the kilometer-long trail. This time we saw a family of dusky langurs up in the trees, but they didn’t come close enough for me to get any photographs. Still, the knowledge that there were monkeys around excited me, and there would undoubtedly be more opportunities to see them.

Back at the raft house, Vince and I picked out a tandem kayak, and went out for a quick paddle and swim before dinner. Then we dried off and walked over to the dining room as a soft sunset crept across the sky.

We ate dinner with Daniel and Hilde, then the four of us stayed at our table talking and drinking beers until the stars came out. When we finally decided to turn it, the black sky was filled with starlight, that reflected across the dark waters of the lake. I stayed up just a little longer to gaze at the night sky before climbing into the bungalow to sleep.

It was still dark out when I awoke the next morning to a loud cry coming from the forest. Some sort of animal was nearby, making sounds not unlike that of a car alarm. I quickly got dressed and went outside to see if I could find the mystery creature, but I couldn’t manage to spot it. Our first activity of the day was a sunrise boat safari, so I decided to just stay up and prepare for that. I got my camera ready to go and then lounged on the deck waiting for the tour to start.

At sunrise, the whole group from yesterday met at the long-tail boats, and we all climbed aboard them and set off on the lake. Tendrils of mist hung low around the mountains, and the eerie cries of the unseen animal still echoed across the lake.

Our guides knew exactly where to go to find wildlife that morning. They steered the boats into a nearby bay, and stopped underneath the largest tree on the waterline. The first animal we saw was another dusky langur, followed shortly thereafter by a glimpse of a pigtail macaque. But the real excitement came when a larger brown figure swung into view on arms that looked far too long for its tailless body. This was my answer as to what was making all the noise that morning. The new primate stared down at our boats, its inquisitive face ringed with white fur. It was a white-handed gibbon!

In fact, I soon realized it was an entire family of white-handed gibbons, as more of them swung in and out of view through the treetops. It was so much fun to watch them fling themselves around acrobatically. I may have chosen this tour in the hopes of seeing wild elephants, but this was even better, because it was only the second species of ape (after orangutans) I’ve seen in the wild.

The gibbons remained in the area, gracefully jumping across limbs. Meanwhile, even more species of wildlife emerged into view. Our guide was able to predict within a few minutes when a great hornbill would land in the tree. Apparently it shows up every morning around the same time to eat berries.

Not long after that, a family of long-tailed macaques came into view, each balancing in turn along a hanging vine. They were much closer to the ground than any of the other animals, and their antics were an entertaining end to the morning safari.

When the last of the macaques melted into the forest, our guides took the long way back to the raft house, stopping in a few more hidden bays to check for wildlife. We had no further luck, and eventually returned to Praiwan to eat breakfast. Afterwards, we had several hours of free time to use however we pleased. Vince and I decided to go out kayaking again, and this time we paddled much further than we had the previous evening.

The gibbons were still calling from the trees, so went in search of them. We followed the sounds, but they weren’t close enough to the water to be seen this time. So we set about paddling over to all of the inlets the boat had taken us to on the morning safari, just in case any animals had decided to show up in the intervening time. In my wildest dreams, I was hoping we might find the elephants, although I knew it was unlikely.

Between the bustle of Bangkok, visiting some of the busiest attractions near Phuket, and the constant humming sound of the engines on our liveaboard dive boat, our trip so far had felt very crowded so far. But floating underneath towering trees with only the sounds of the rainforest interrupting the silence felt like the first peaceful moment we’d had in the past two weeks.

We glided over a shallow area where the remnants of tree branches lay just underneath the water’s glassy surface. Covered in algae, they were a reminder of the forest that used to stand in the lake’s place. Now we were in the furthest of the bays that the tour had visited earlier. As we slipped further into its depths, a persistent buzzing grew ever louder. It sounded like a drone was flying overhead, but we soon realized it was actually a bees nest high up in a tree. We could just see the hive swarming around far above us. My gaze dropped from the bees to the shoreline, where I noticed large areas of trampled vegetation, and massive, round footprints in the mud. Clearly this was a spot frequented by the local elephants, but apart from their trails of destruction (and some enormous piles of scat) there was no sign of them.

Vince and I floated in silence, hoping the herd might magically appear. Several minutes later, we heard something moving in the forest, but unless the elephants had learned to climb trees, this had to be monkeys. We paddled towards the noise and sure enough, a family of dusky langurs was hanging out nearby. This was the closest we’d gotten to them yet, and we floated underneath them for a while as they leapt from tree to tree.

Dusky langurs are typically only found in Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and Myanmar,  although a few of them have popped up in Singapore in recent years. Unfortunately, these monkeys are endangered due to habitat loss, but inside of Khao Sok National Park, they seem to be thriving. After floating underneath the langurs for a while, we decided to head back to the resort, and we stopped to explore a couple more inlets along the way back.

Back at the Raft House, we went for a long swim before drying off and heading to the dining for lunch. This time we were assigned a table right next to the edge of the floating platform, and a school of carp circled in the water beneath us. I’d purchased a couple of bags of fish food back at the Rajjaprabha Pier the previous morning, and this explained what they were for. I hurried back to the bungalow to grab the food, and Vince and I tossed it into the water for the fish while we waited for lunch to arrive.

When we (and the fish) had eaten our fill, we decided to spend the remainder of our free time back at the trail we’d hiked yesterday.  Our hope was that we might get better wildlife encounters without the crowd of people. This time we kayaked over to the trailhead, where the attendant let us use our tickets from the previous afternoon.

We hiked up the trail and this time the only sounds around us were the chirping of insects and, and the now-distant call of the gibbons. We stopped on top of the highest hill along the trail to check out a view of the rows of bungalows down at the raft house.

Shortly after that, we came across a couple of Thai hikers who were looking up into the branches of a tree. My eyes flew upwards to find that there was a group of dusky langurs right above us. I was delighted to see that there was even a mother monkey with her golden-furred baby looking inquisitively down at us.

One of the other hikers remarked that it’s rare to see baby dusky langurs like this, as all four of us took pictures with our cameras and phones. We stood on the trail, making as little noise as possible, and eventually a few of the monkeys descended down from the treetop to swing through a nearby stand of bamboo.  One langur clambered onto a branch right next to the tail, and sat there as if it were posing for our photos.

This was the best encounter we’d have with the langurs during our stay, and I was very glad that we’d decided to do the walk again. We stayed and watched them until they moved further back into the forest. When they were out of sight, Vince and I continued down the trail until it ended at the bamboo raft dock. There was an orb weaver spider near there that I hadn’t gotten a great look at the previous day, so we swung by her web to check her out.

We also stopped to read an interpretive next to a broken down motorcycle that sat alongside the path. It turned out the bike belonged to one of the rangers that had worked on constructing the trail, but he abandoned it because it was trampled by an elephant.

After completing our hike, we kayaked back to the raft house, where we watched a spider feasting on a bee until it was time to go out for our evening boat safari.

We set out just before sunset, and this was our last hope at finding elephants. Unfortunately, the herd had moved further inland since the week prior, and while we could briefly hear them trumpeting far back in the forest, we didn’t end up seeing them.

But the boat ride was beautiful nonetheless. The scenery was lovely, and we did come across several more long-tailed macaques, and a couple of wild boars. I also had the opportunity to speak with one of our guides more. He gave me a lot of interesting information about the lake’s wildlife, and also offered some insights into what it was like to have to move when the dam was constructed. He was very young when the project happened, but his grandfather told him a lot of stories about what life was like before the lake. He told me that in the end, he’s glad that the dam brought different job opportunities to the area and that he likes working in tourism.

Evening melted into night as we floated on the lake, and when there wasn’t enough light left for sightseeing, our boat returned to the raft house. Once we were there, we went straight to the dining room for dinner, where we watched another family of wild boars wallowing in the mud on the lake’s shore. The little piglets rambunctiously chased each other around, only to be met with scolding from their parents.

It was our last night night at Praiwan, and we again spent it talking with Hilde and Daniel, while our guide performed an amazing fire dance as a send off for our group.

The next morning, it was time to head back to the pier. Our long-tail boat took the scenic route this time, weaving into some hidden coves where we got to see one of the most famous spots on the lake, Three Brothers Rock. This is a little tucked away bay that has three limestone karsts that all rise from the green water in a row. The dramatic looking rock formation made for a great picture, especially with the prow of the long-tail boat in the foreground.

When we arrived back at the pier, we said our goodbyes to Daniel and Hilde, and then starting driving back towards Phuket to catch a flight back to Bangkok. Later that evening we would meet up with our friends, Rachel and Jared, to spend a few days in Myanmar. I regretted having to leave so soon, and if I could go back in time and replan our trip, I’d take a day or two away from the time we spent in Phuket and give us an extra couple of days in Khao Sok. It really did feel like paradise, and we really only scratched its surface. In particular, I wish we’d had time to go on a rafflesia flower trek, because we were there at the time of year that they bloom. When I was planning our itinerary, I had to choose between trying for elephants and trying for rafflesia flowers and the potential elephants won.  Obviously that didn’t work out, but we still had a very nice time.

I don’t think I realized it until we got to the Praiwan Raft House, but I was worn out.  We’d been traveling for over two weeks, and diving and snorkeling can really sap your energy. Our time at Cheow Lan Lake was rejuvenating, and by the time we left, I was feeling recharged and ready to take on the last leg of our trip!

You can find more details of this amazing destination on my YouTube channel!