In previous years when I’ve gone to the GCircuit parties during Songkran in Thailand, there’s been a little side trip tacked onto it so the whole thing isn’t just one long party. The first year we went to Angkor Wat, the second year to Hanoi and Halong Bay, and last year was Luang Prabang in Laos. 

This year, GCircuit was a very last minute decision. Recently single, I’d decided to join my friends in Bangkok for another year of debauchery. However, the thought of going somewhere before hand was strong, but in the midst of all the recovery, I didn’t really want to do anything that would require a lot of extra planning.

I considered going to Flores so I could see Komodo Dragons, but it was all getting a bit much to coordinate, so I looked for something that wouldn’t require multiple flights and a boat ride to get to. 

Previously when in Bangkok, I’d wanted to go to Khao Yai National Park, which is a few hours north, but hadn’t been able to make it work. With very little research, I realised it was all doable over a couple of extra days. I love getting out into nature and if there was a chance to see some wild animals as well, then why not?

I booked my train travel and accommodation, and found a tour company that offered a two-day tour of the national park, with a night safari add-on, and booked that. I paid a premium to be by myself. 

I was asked if I wanted to go with other people as it would reduce the costs, but I figured that I wanted to have the option of cutting the tour short if I got bored or it was awful and then wouldn’t have to feel guilty that I’d ruined anyone else’s trip.

In the end, I was so glad I did.

I arrived in Bangkok on Sunday night, then on Monday caught the train to Pak Chong. I’d paid for 2nd class, which included a slightly more comfortable seat and some air conditioning. The trip was supposed to take about three hours, but in the end I think it was closer to four. I worked on an assignment and the time passed in a humid daze.

It was only when I arrived in Pak Chong that I realised my hotel was quite a way out of town. I must have put it into Google Maps wrong when I was planning, or just assumed it was closer than it was. 

A slight panic set in as I got off at the very hot train station and was immediately set upon by a taxi driver. I declined, then fortunately managed to get a Grab to take me the 30 minutes to the hotel just outside the national park.

The resort itself was lovely: a big room and bed, a beautiful swimming pool, and almost no one else around. I think I saw scant evidence of about four other sets of guests. 

It felt a bit like I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, where the characters find themselves in an empty hotel on an island in the middle of a storm. I felt something similar when Shawn and I were in Alert Bay too.

Being alone in a deserted hotel played a little havoc with my emotional state. Since the breakup about two months earlier, I hadn’t really been alone for any stretch of time. I’d been fortunate to have wonderful friends to stay with and had been surrounded by a lot of love, so to then be flung into the jungle by myself was a bit of a shock.

But I forced myself on. I had a late lunch at an organic biodynamic eco farm, which was delicious, and in the evening got a Grab to the Pak Chong Night Markets. I wandered up and down trying to find something to eat. 

I’m not adventurous with street food, being excessively vigilant about not eating anything that’s been sitting in the heat for too long, but the downside is that it’s almost impossible to find anything of substance. I settled on some rice and vegetable patty things, mango sticky rice, and a freshly cooked roti with egg.

It was hard not to compare it with previous similar experiences with others, but I was happy with my finds. I wasn’t there long, but it was enough. Then I returned to the hotel, excited and anxious about the next day.

Into the park

When researching the national park, I came to the conclusion that I might see some macaques and some birds, but I really shouldn’t expect to be blown away by many and varied types of wildlife. Yes, elephants lived in the park, but you’re far from guaranteed to see them. 

So when I was collected from my hotel and loaded onto the back of the truck, my expectations were low. I’d have a nice day out driving around, maybe see a few things, and then probably regret having booked a second day.

Oh, how wrong I was.

From 8am to 8pm, it was a feast of delights. Once past the gates of the national park, we were immediately treated to a large troop of macaques on the side of the road – adults and young. We watched them for a while as they sauntered about, sliding down the large tree vines to dangle and sip from the river below. Macaques. Done. Great. Wildlife spotted.

But then a little farther down the road, we stopped where there was another group of tourists and looked through a long lens (and I’d also brought my binoculars too) at a family of White-handed Gibbons in a tree faaarrrrrrrrr in the distance. Gibbons? Here? Wonderful! And there were two species in the park – the other being Pileated Gibbons – only they’re not so easily seen. (Not that these ones were either.) I thought that getting this glimpse of distant gibbons was a treat.

From there, it was up to a lookout where we saw a Giant Hornbill – there are four species in the park – as well as a cicada (pretty cool!) and a Giant Black Squirrel – amazing! All pretty close to each other. Surely there wouldn’t be MORE to see. Hadn’t this been enough?

But we drove on and from here it all becomes a bit of a blur. We stopped at the visitor centre and saw a Water Dragon, then had an even better look at another family of White-handed Gibbons, plus a Water Monitor swimming in the river, and yet more hornbills (different species this time). No otters unfortunately, but this spot was a real gem.

From there, we went to a waterfall where we saw a viper resting in the trees, close enough to strike. Then we went in search of the bull elephant that had been seen along the track recently, though alas nothing for us. So we got back in the truck…and not that much later down the road, there he was up ahead. Just hanging out. Eating leaves. Doing his thing.

Traffic stopped. We were fortunate enough to be at the front, so the closest to him, and had about 40 minutes of prime viewing watching this giant. I’ve been up close to Asian Elephants before, both in zoos and at sanctuaries, but this was something else, something I never thought I’d get to witness. It was phenomenal, and just slightly on the edge of dangerous, especially as we eventually had to drive past him.

Already, this was such an extraordinary day and more than I could have hoped for. From there, a walk to a lookout, more birds, including all four species of hornbill, and a giant macaque troop. Oh, at one stop, I left my bag in the back of the truck and we came back to chase off a macaque that was rifling through it. He took my chips and my nuts but left the cash. Lesson learned.

Lunch was at a restaurant, very tasty, and I was shown dropped porcupine quills – but didn’t expect to see any. Saw some Sambar Deer and Barking Deer. The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around, enjoying the fading light and basking in the glow of such an experience.

And while relaxing on the back of the truck, I realised how glad I was that I’d booked the tour by myself, with no need to worry about anyone else or have to make conversation with people I didn’t know. I didn’t have to worry that this wasn’t high intensity enough for someone else, or that they were having a good time. With such surroundings and such experiences and such a feeling of being centred, I felt sublimely happy. It was the first time in weeks that being alone made me feel lighter.

But wait…there’s more.

We headed back to the restaurant where I had another good meal and almost got accosted by a bolshy porcupine and his mate as they tried for my food. Porcupines! More hornbills and deer. And then, driving to the visitor centre, the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes.

“Daniel! Bear!”

I couldn’t see one. “Where?” I shouted back.

“Behind you!”

I spun around, camera at the ready, to catch a SUN BEAR loping across the road and disappearing into the forest. A sun bear! I thought an Asian Elephant in the wild was something, but to see a sun bear, this small, shy, incredibly elusive animal just wander past was next level. The video I took has me literally gasping at the sight of it. And apparently, with good reason. 

The driver said he’d been working in the national park for four years and had only ever seen three. Another guide had never seen one. It was the high point of a day that was already stratospheric in its wonders.

After the pleasure of a Sun Bear sighting, we then joined the night safari, led by the park guides, and were treated to two types of civets, more porcupines, a big male Sambar Deer, and a jackal. I could barely believe the spectacular day I’d had. 

The tour went for about 45 minutes and then they drove me back to my hotel…only to find a big bull elephant outside the national park being herded back out of town. TWO ELEPHANTS IN ONE DAY!

The whole day was unreal from start to finish and there aren’t enough superlatives to capture how wonderful it was. It surpassed all expectations and lifted my heart.

And there was still another day to go!

Gibbons galore

The second day started with seeing two whip snakes climbing trees along the side of the road. How the guide spotted them, I have no idea as, even though they’re orange, they’re still very thin and look like vines. After that, we went searching for gibbons.

I’d expressed interest in them the day before so my guide was keen to find Pileated Gibbons for me to see. But first, we were treated to a family of White-handed Gibbons in the trees beside the road, much closer than the previous day’s sightings. Plus they were calling, which was so beautiful to hear.

Next, we travelled further into the park and heard Pileated Gibbons calling. In an attempt to triangulate their location, we drove to a couple of spots to pinpoint where they might be before stumbling across them beside one of the roads. And not just a couple, but six gibbons from three species! Three species? Well, there was Pileated and White-handed and then a hybrid of the two.

We stayed for a while watching them call and swing and groom and feed. They were an absolute joy to watch, especially the baby. Who could ask for anything more?

From there we went to a spot for a hike through the jungle. The walk was about 5km along a designated trail that you cannot be on after 2pm. Why? Because tigers, gaur and elephants like to traverse through there so, for safety reasons, people shouldn’t. Tigers??? Gaur??? Surely that’s where we WANT to be!

As it was, we hardly saw any wildlife – a lizard and a hornbill. We saw giant strangler figs but that was about it of interest. It was strange to think that you see more sitting on the back of a truck than getting into the actual forest. But the walk was good, nice to stretch the legs, and I also felt like I wasn’t missing out on anything by not doing more hiking.

After that was lunch by the river, watching macaques steal people’s bananas. And after lunch, we drove around some more, hoping to find more elephants, but they proved elusive, so the afternoon wasn’t as exciting. But honestly, the whole tour had been better than I could have imagined, so it would have been hard to top it.

We dropped off the guide at the visitor centre as she was making her way to her home town on the other side of the national park from us, then I was driven back to my hotel. A macaque family was my final animal sighting in the park, just as they’d been my first the day before. 

On the drive back, I sat in the front with the driver and, through a translation app, he asked me why I hadn’t come here with friends so I could make the tour cheaper. I didn’t really want to go into all the reasons why I was there alone so just said they weren’t available, but that it meant I got to do everything on my terms. 

And while it would have been nice to share it with someone, I still had the most remarkable time and I cannot believe, even a month on while writing this, how lucky I was to see as much as I did.

A different kind of wild

The next day I was gouged on a taxi fare to take me to the airport, slightly panicked that I wasn’t going to make my train. Fortunately, there was nothing to worry about.

When I boarded, I attempted to lift my 26kg suitcase onto the rack above — which I’d somehow managed on the way there — only for it to slip from my hands and land directly on the legs of the woman sitting in my seat. Seemingly uninjured, I apologised and moved elsewhere. 

Three hours later, after a very hot third class ride, I got back into Bangkok and made my way to the hotel where eight of my friends were staying, ready for a different kind of wild life from the one I’d just experienced.