Cheow Lan Lake

After one night at Our Jungle Camp, we headed out after breakfast for an overnight at rafthouse on Cheow Lan Lake.  On the way to the pier, we stopped at a market and bought a hand of mini bananas and stewed local durian (mochi-like).  We took a relaxing and picturesque tail boat ride the Phutawan rafthouse.

See the modern looking units on the left with private bathrooms and AC?  We didn't stay in those.  

We had three of the simple units on the right.  Ava had her own and was sandwiched between Iyla/me and Oren/Eric.  The rooms were comfortable and clean and each had their own deck area with a ladder into the cool turquoise water.  I was concerned about the floaty-ness since I get seasick.  During the day it was bobbing around from all the traffic, but fortunately at night it was stable.

However, the shared washrooms were a minute walk away, which is fine except I had to pee at 4:30 in the morning and my imagination was quite active after we watched an episode of "A Murder at the End of the World" before bed 😰😆.

After lunch at the rafthouse, we went on a scenic boat tour of the lake, walked through Pra Pai Petch cave, and went for a short hike.  Then it was back to the rafthouse for a swim before dinner.  

There is a small fish farm at Phutawan, but Oren and Iyla enjoyed feeding the giant wild lake fish that swam up beside the restaurant (too boney to eat and not legal to fish anyways - we asked!).  They were massive and clearly well fed by the tourists.

The next day, we went for an early morning safari at 7 am.  It was beautiful and peaceful in the national park.  After breakfast and a swim, we headed back to the pier.  

Our guide for the lake tour was KC (which appropriately sounds a lot like "crazy").  KC was full of energy... and all he has for breakfast is kratom leaves.  He said that local guides often just chew on kratom leaves since they wake up early and eat at odd times, so it helps with stomach issues.  I've learned that kratom leaves have opioid like properties and stimulant effects.

KC was a great guide and he said he likes to bring joy to tourists.  He succeeded!  He made the time for special touches (especially when he saw that we "eat same same Thai people"): getting fresh rambutan at the market to go with our lunch, surprising us with a delicious sticky rice banana dessert as a snack, getting us an actually spicy pad gra pow (basil pork) for lunch at the end of the tour instead of the standard chicken fried rice, hooking us up with the driver's wife's homemade stewed durian, and stopping at the side of the road for local durians (much smaller, bigger seed, less meat, but very fragrant).  We bought 2 for 70 baht (about $3)!

The only thing that would have made this tour better was if the Liangs were able to join us.  Unfortunately, Elise contracted dengue fever and required daily blood testing, so they headed to Koh Samui early (hospitals are more accessible there than in Khao Sok).  She is recovering well now ❤️