Sam Roi Yot

Arriving at ‘Happy Minds Resort’, we were welcomed by Jan, a German ex-pat who had recently taken over the business with his girlfriend and business partner, Nan. He made us feel at ease and we knew that we would be in good hands. He apologised, mentioning that they were only about a month into running the place and were still ironing a few things out, changing the look and refurbishing the rooms. He upgraded us to a bigger room as the one we had booked was being decorated. How lovely!
A group of white semi-detached bungalows surrounded a verdant garden with an array of plants and flowers - a little green oasis of calm.
Jan asked us if we wanted to eat there that evening as Nan was preparing some Thai food. That evening it would be a Thai Curry. Excitedly, we both said yes. After a tiring days ride, much of it into a headwind, we both wanted to unpack, settle in, and not have to think about where to search for food. This turned out to be the best decision as Nan’s food was some of the best we have eaten. We ate at Happy Minds every night as Nan’s cooking was fantastic. You could tell by the way she enthusiastically chatted about food and what she was going to make, that she loved cooking and the enjoyment of guests appreciating it. Meals were prepared in small batches and Nan would adapt to offer vegetarian versions. It was refreshing to be given only one option and one that Nan wanted to prepare for us.
Some nice food was most welcome as was a chance to relax a bit.
I had picked up some form of cold or flu virus and felt slightly lethargic, ‘phlegmy’ and chesty. It had been bubbling away the previous couple of days, so I was looking forward to a few days rest, and hoped it wouldn’t get any worse.
We planned to visit Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, one of the lesser known areas of Thailand, in order to visit a couple of places we had found when researching it - The Phraya Nakhon cave and the Bueng Bua Wetland.

The next morning we jumped on our bikes to head to Phraya Nakhon cave.
The cave is part of a network of caves. One large sinkhole contains the mystical Kuha Kharuehat pavilion hidden within it. Resembling something from a fantasy epic, the pavilion gets bathed by the sun at a specific time of day. As the sun climbs in the sky, its rays penetrate the depths of the sinkhole, illuminating the temple and cementing its fame in travel blog worthy images.
About a 6 mile cycle, we needed to get our skates on to cycle over to Bang Pu village early, to allow time to walk over to the trail up to the cave and arrive before the light hit the pavilion.
The pavilion itself was built at the end of the 19th century for the visit of King Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V). Although it is not that old, it has become popular and embraced by the Thai public and Thai Royalty.

A steep walk, up a track in the hot sun took us over the headland and down into the shady beach, cooled by covering of pine trees. Another steep climb on slippy limestone shined by many visitors shoes brought us to the large gaping chasm, into which we descended, its cool air breathing over us.
It was a much larger cave system than we anticipated, with sinkholes open to the sky, stone bridges spanning the collapsed cave roof and full of wonderfully liquid looking calcium carbonate formations. Waterfalls of stone frozen by time and formed over thousands of years. Some stalactites and stalagmites had grown to meet each other. A large ten metre column had formed in an embrace that must have taken millennia to form. My mind boggled at trying to conceive how long it must have taken and how human time pales next to geological time.

A glimpse of the Kharuehat pavilion through the cave was surreal. Cinematographic, like a scene from an Indiana Jones film. Mystical, golden and ornate, it sat regally upon a mound.
It is difficult to put into words how wonderous it appeared and how magical the suns rays made it look when they passed over the pavilion itself. The gold coloured decoration popped and the red material lit from behind added to the drama.
We spent a while staring at it, walking around the cave floor, not quite believing it was real, and astounded that someone had decided to build it there.

As we headed back through the forest we spotted some dusky leaf monkeys (also known as spectacled langurs) cavorting in the treetops, they bounded across small branches between trees in balletic fashion, gangly arms and legs perfectly syncopated. Then, Amanda noticed that there was a small one in tree directly beside the path. Jammed into the crook of a branch it seemed relaxed and unconcerned by our presence.

The following day was a first for me. First time driving a scooter! I was initially terrified at the prospect. We had asked Jan if he could sort out a hire scooter but due to a small number of available hire ones in the town, and as the
majority of tourists want one, none were available. However, Jan and Nan kindly let us use their personal scooter for a small fee (practically nothing).
Their Honda PCX was quite nippy, and as Jan said, much better and safer to ride than the basic hired ones. This kind and trusting gesture added to the pressure of my first ride, Jan kindly gave me a ‘Scooter 101’ the previous night. I rode it up and down the road outside, stiff limbed and with sweaty palms. The prospect of riding with Amanda pillion to Beng Bua wetland and back (about 90Km) filled me with a bit of trepidation.

After breakfast, wearing our loaned crash helmets and looking like Daft Punk on a backpacking holiday we set off gingerly. We stuck to the hard shoulder at a modest 45Kph.
Starting, stopping and tight turns took some getting used to but we arrived at the boardwalk and wetland by mid morning in one piece. It would have taken us a whole morning by bicycle.
Note to Amanda: maybe we should change from bicycles to motorcycles on the next trip?

The drama of the wetland landscape was stunning. A water world, covered with reed beds and lotus flower leaf pads floating on still water, with a backdrop of high craggy mountains looming behind.
We wandered along the wooden boardwalk raised on stilts above the water. Egrets, herons and water fowl skulked amongst the vegetation below us. Shoals of fish languidly swam about in water that was clear and transparent.
A man punted along in a small narrow boat, disappearing into one the water channels between the grass. A monk was transported across the lake by motorboat, noticeable by his vivid orange robe. Other than these sightings, there were hardly any other visitors. Those that arrived seemed to depart quickly.
A tranquil place, seemingly untouched by mass tourism, so far.
On our way back, we stopped by Phra Prathun Cave, a recommendation by Rick and Nic, Canadian tourists staying at Happy Minds. First impressions on arrival were that it seemed a sparse, run down and unremarkable Wat. We climbed the steps up to see a large Buddha statue. Close to the top, we discovered steps down into a cave, tree roots spilling over the entrance, masking secrets within. A small monk in a burnt orange robe rose from his seat and asked us where we were from. He then guided us through the various levels of the cave pointing out the rock formations and what they resembled. He shone his torch into the cave walls to illustrate the milky translucence of the veins of quartz. Fleet footed and business like, he continued without pausing for breath, moving quietly over the rocky cave floor as if he were floating. We descended through locked iron gates and across walkways to the other levels. The cave was huge and the limestone formations were intricate and spectacular. He pointed out the bats hanging in recesses in the ceiling, the strange cricket like insects that foraged amongst the bat guano and the cave art depicting animals. All in all, the visit was a great experience and a surprise in its understated presentation. First impressions can often be wrong. Not Wat (😃) we expected at all!

Returning to the peace and comfort of Happy Minds, we got chatting to our chalet neighbour, Richard, from Bexhill.
We had seen each other at breakfast and around the garden but hadn’t spoken at length. Richard was on a trip to Thailand, escaping the UK winter!
A most friendly and warm gent, he spoke to us about himself. One of his former lives was as a street artist, performing on Grafton Street in Dublin. His persona as the ‘silver man’ - appearing as Abraham Lincoln, donned head to toe in a silver costume created by himself and recreating the art of being very still. He even got a mention in the Irish Parliament such was his notoriety and fixture of the Dublin thoroughfare in the 1990’s.
He moved onto Gran Canaria after his Abraham Lincoln days and learned the guitar. He performed as a a busker, and spent many years entertaining the people with songs, right up until Brexit.
His job as a Tour rep fed his love for travel, and he visited many places during his career. We could see this love had continued when he spoke about exploring more. He had walked The Camino Francés and hoped to walk another, and had future plans to visit Madeira. He mentioned his dad died recently and all that comes with bereavement. I feel that when such things happen it causes one to think and weigh up. The realisation it gives - that we only have one life. It certainly rings true for me and has a way of placing things into perspective. Good on you Richard. Just keep exploring!Read more