If you've heard Thailand, I'm pretty sure you know the reasons why people visit the place. Beautiful people, beaches, and elephants. Over the years tourists rode elephants as part of their activities despite the fact that these elephants are thin, not properly managed and taken care of.
So, if you want to go to Thailand and want to see elephants in their natural habitat, Khao Yai is the place to go!
This is our second time to visit Thailand, having Bangkok as our first one. So far, we love this place so much we would love to go as much as we could if possible.
Our trip was a total of 5D4N, but I'm just going to highlight the activities that we did.
Day 1
Arriving in Bangkok at noon, riding the A1 bus from Don Mueang Airport to Mochit New Van Terminal or Minibus Station Chatuchak for a van from Bangkok to Pak Chong District. Make sure to buy tickets to Pak Chong and not Nakhon Ratchasima Province since there will be different routes to take.
We had bought our sim cards in the airplane so that we didn't have to stop by anywhere and get to the van terminal on time.
The van fare was 320 BHT for 2 people. It was a usual van that could fit around 7-8 people excluding the driver. The ride was wearying since it was hot, the AC in the van wasn't working well and both of us were sitting all the way at the back with very little legroom. Travel time was around 4-5 hours since there was traffic as well. There was one stopover for toilet break. It is best to have drinks and snacks on the ride.
Train is available, but it usually takes 60 minutes more than riding a minivan and we prefer to be there asap.
Here is some info of the train and minivan schedule: https://thailandlife.info/how-to-travel-from-bangkok-to-pak-chong/
When we arrived, we had rented a motorcycle from At Home Hostel in Pak Chong which also provided helmets for us and we drove to our hotel (Escape Khao Yai Hotel) which was around 30-40 minutes drive and a distance of around 34.4km.
Since we were so tired, we just drove back to Pak Chong after unpacking our stuffs to eat at McDonald's for a quick dinner, stopped by a 7/11 which was 9km away from the hotel and the closest convenience store for some snacks and drinks.
Day 2
The main reason why we were there, to see wild elephants walking around! Khao Yai International Park, the third largest national park in Thailand consisting of 300 square kilometers!
Entrance fee for 2 foreigners was 830 BHT.
Since we were on our own motorcycle, we could take our time to do what we want and visit where we want.
It was such a beautiful place. Khao Yai in itself was quite cold, having a temperature of almost 16°C at night and around 20-30°C during the day and since we were riding, we had to wear jackets/sweater or it will be too cold especially that it was a rainy season.
We got caught in the rain as well so it was super cold during the ride!
One thing we regretted was that we didn't see the elephants and other wild animals we expected to see. Though we we did see a lot of Elephant poop on the road.
We think it is best to stay one night in the park and join the night tour. Since people aren't allowed to enter the park after a certain time, staying in a hotel or camping is the best solution. Also, most animals are nocturnal.
We think it is best to stay one night in the park and join the night tour. Since people aren't allowed to enter the park after a certain time, staying in a hotel or camping is the best solution. Also, most animals are nocturnal.
We then bought our dinner at Pak Chong Night Market and ate it in the hotel balcony. We basically had breakfast in the hotel and only dinner.
I had the chance to hold the cat in my arms until she noticed I wasn't the owner. 😅
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| Crawfish, sausages and others |
Day 3
Visiting other tourists spots in the area.
Morning: Exotic Bonanza Zoo with an entrance fee of 400 BHT for 2 foreigners which includes 1 cup of sliced carrots per person to feed the animals.
Here we saw Meerkats and our favorite animal, Giraffe!
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| There were many kinds of monkeys too |
Our reason for visiting this zoo was to play with lion cubs, but it seems they grew fast in just 2 months time from when we saw them online. Thus, we couldn't play with them, though we were able to see a lot of lions, sleeping on their back. There were no photos since it was hard to locate and take photos of them. So, we just let them be.
Lunch time: For the chocolate lovers, like ourselves, you'll surely love this place and would love to go every day!
The Chocolate Factory, which is both a restaurant - serving Italian and Thai cuisine - and a chocolate shop and cafe. Although we only went there to buy some cookies and only bought 7/11 toasties for lunch.
Dinner: Ban Mai Chay Nam Resort & Restaurant, a very vintage restaurant that offers Thai food in affordable prices. It was surprising at how affordable the food was considering how much they had to maintain the whole place filled with antique things.
Day 4
This is a rather hot day for us, we were basically basking in the sun in this one. And sweating out!
Right after breakfast we packed up to go to Wat Thep Phithak Punnaram which is a Buddhist temple. I am not Buddhist by religion and hubby isn't an official Buddhist by religion as well but it didn't stop us to visit this temple. It is a grand temple, as you may know Thailand has grandeur Buddhist temples. This one is very very noticeable even from the highway due to its large white colored Buddha with a backdrop of the green mountains.
It was a bit tiring to walk high up the stairs. There were a lot of rest stops but the view was splendid! The climb was worth it! We were even amazed when we see women and young men carrying bamboos to the top to maintain the statue. We could hardly walk but they were climbing up like they were walking on a plain.
To recharge our energy and feel rewarded, we visited Dairy Home for some delicious ice cream!
Then went ahead to Primo Piazza to touch the Merinos and Alpacas! Yes, that is our priority. We had some photos taken in the European themed Plaza but we were more exhilarated by touching and feeding the animals.
We really love the backdrop in every photos.
Dinner was at Tesco for KFC with Unlimited Drinks! How I wish my home country has Unli Drinks and very spicy chicken like here.
Day 5
Stopped by The Chocolate Factory for some souvenirs for me, myself, and I for the love of chocolate.
Returned the scooter, rode a van back to Bangkok and this time for a better seat arrangement. Fare was the same, at 320 BHT for two people. There was also 1 stopover for toilet break and snacks. The ride was faster so we were very on time on our evening flight.
We did want to do some strawberry picking but it wasn't the season yet. So, the next time we visit, we should be able to do that and see a wild elephant. We also only had two bags together and so I felt like a real backpacker.
Expenses (for 2 people):
- Entrance Fees: 1,630.00
- Motorcycle rent: 1,000.00
- Sim Card: 199.00
- Van fare: 640.00
- Gasoline: 370.00
- Food: 4,311.21
- Bus fare: 60.00
Total Trip Expenses: 8,210.21 BHT
Thank you and I hope you enjoy your read. Do anticipate for our next travel or food post!
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