Pescator Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 This area is little visited by foreign tourists. In fact, I have never seen a foreigner around here. We left the Morning Mist Resort in Khao Sok early morning and headed further south. Ridiculous name by the way, I have no idea how they came up with that name. The snake residing in the growth surrounding the restaurant did not seem to mind us taking off. Paradise tree snake related to the more commonly seen golden flying snake. Neither did this critter. We were heading for a waterfall that I had previously visited. My last visit was only 17 years back, so of course I knew the exact location. While we were on our merry way, we noticed a billboard boasting a cavern, by the name of Tham Le Khao Kob. Never heard of it. So we just followed the signs which were plentiful for the first couple of miles and then dried out completely. I drove for like 15 miles without a single sign and was just about to give up. But lo and behold there it was. At first, I was not very enthusiastic about visiting the place. There were 3 busses loaded with thai tourists visiting the place (it was on a saturday) , and we are not very fond of crowds. So we went to have some grub first at a nearby restaurant. The staff did not exactly seemed thrilled to have customers. Customers can be such a pain, I know that myself. But they managed to find a menu, which the girl slapped on our table while saying: I hope you can read thai, because we only have menu in thai. Just to piss them off, I ordered 3 different dishes and a Heineken beer which they did not have. So she had to send a foot soldier off to buy one at a shop. "That was mean, dad" My youngest son said. "Why is that? There are 3 people working in this restaurant, we are the only guests and I think they have the time to go out and get me my beer". With large portions of phat thai, tom yam and neua phat nam hoy under our belt, we headed for the cavern. By now, it was late afternoon and most of the thai visitors had left. But not all, a thai woman sitting next to us while we waited for a boat to come pick us up, was very interested in my oldest son. She would not stop trying to chat with him, but as he knows fok all thai and she knew fok all english, it was a romance that could never be The boat came along and we boarded. Pretty nice cavern, but not something we hadn`t seen before. Now what is this? Okay, we can do this. Now, you are scaring me. We got stuck a couple of times during the 570 metres boat trip in the belly of the mountain. And i envisioned myself having to swim back in total darkness with 2 kids. Due to the rainy season, the water level was high and about to reach the ceiling of the cavern. Ahh, safety at last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Nice report and great photography. You have a good eye! The location of the resort looks fantastic, but the cave trip during rain season is nothing for people with claustrophobia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 And for people who don't like to drown! My link My link My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 And for people who don't like to drown! My link My link My link Yeah, I recall one of these incidents you link to. So we didn`t visit this year and by the way tham thalu is officially closed this time a year, but apparently that didnt stop some. A bit more to the travelogue... After the unexpected thrills of the cavern, we decided to go to safer grounds. The waterfall Roi Chan Phan Wang, 100 levels, thousand palaces. I knew of course the exact location, as I had previously visited. It only took me like 3 stops to ask local thais about the location. "But there is a big sign leading to the waterfall, didn`t you see it"? No, I did not see the sign for obvious reason. It was embedded in a massive bush and you would have to have friggin xray vision to see it. My kids were beginning to have serious doubts about my pathfinder abilities. But with a combination of sheer luck and persistance, we found it. It was like I remembered. The roads were paved by now, and not like when I went there first time 17 years ago, got a flat tire on my motorbike and dreaded the thought of pulled the bike 15 miles up the dirt road to get to a shop. I only dragged the bike for like 5 minutes, before a thai guy came by on his bike. "Wassup mate" ? The answer to that question was most obvious. "Be right back". He took off on his bike, came back 5 minutes later with his mate, who repaired my flat tire and even brought 3 cold ones. Only in Thailand. He would not hear of me paying more than 30 baht for the repair and the cost of the beers. Well, we arrived at the waterfall. The nature is incredibly lush. Ton Hoo Chaang. Elefant ear plant. Love it. The waterfall, not impressive, but in my mind quite magical. And there are indeed 100 levels and you will have all of them to yourself. Me lads at the waterfall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Hi, Not sure if I'd have liked that cave that much , but the waterfall (and the pics!) looks quite nice. Thanks for the write-up. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Great report and great pics. Now it's time for Phil to post his recent trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horneytorney Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 thanks for sharing this and indeed great photos! I have been myself in tham le khao kob a couple of years ago and also during rainy season. It was indeed a adventurous boat trip through the cave. we were the only visitors. the water level was so high, that we had had to lie flat in the boat and push the boat deeper into the water and at the same time forward to not get stuck. And we needed a lot of force for that after the trip they said, that the next days they might have to shut down as they might not get through anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Great report and great pics. Now it's time for Phil to post his recent trip. i'm not much of a wordsmith .....suffice to say i enjoyed this post/pix, we will look this place up. imho, you cant beat the south/andaman sea area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 This area is little visited by foreign tourists. In fact, I have never seen a foreigner around here. We left the Morning Mist Resort in Khao Sok early morning and headed further south. Ridiculous name by the way, I have no idea how they came up with that name. Since you didn't supply the Thai script I can't be 100% of what you mean by "Wang Wiset," but I'm assuming วังวิเศษ "superb/splendid palace"...what's so ridiculous about that name, given the majestic caves and all? Nice photos and report, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I think he is referring to the name Morning Mist Resort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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