Floating Bungalows, Happy Shakes & a Stare-down with a Monkey

We spent our last week in Thailand sticking pretty much to the backpacker's route and continued our adventures in southern Thailand. I was really excited for our next stop, Khao Sok National Park, because most travelers we met along the way had hyped up how beautiful the park was. But the real reason why people go (and get excited about it) is to spend a night in floating bungalows set up across Khao Sok Lake within the park. It’s like spending the night in Jurassic Park, with sprawling mountains, jungles, and huge limestone rock formations.

To secure your floating bungalow, you have to book through a hostel that organizes a 2-day group tour. I researched every corner of the Internet (read: TikTok) to figure out which was the best hostel to stay at that offered private rooms the night before the tour. We settled on Smiley Bungalows, which set up glamping dome tents, fully equipped with A/C, electrical outlets, comfy mattresses, and a private bathroom in Khao Sok town (Fyre Fest could neverrrr). We spent the day relaxing and planning our trip that day.

The tour left the next morning, and we met our group whom we would be spending the next 36 hours. The group consisted mostly of 20-something-year-old Dutch couples who were inevitably traveling Thailand/SE Asia for 1-3 months. There were also a few Brits. Everyone was super cool and most were on their post-grad college trips. Then there were the cutest Malaysian grandparents who randomly joined, and they were absolutely adorable. They were able to bring the median age up a few notches!

After an hour's drive to the park entrance, we boarded a long-tail boat for another hour-long ride to our floating camp. Sadly, we got caught in a rainstorm and huddled behind one another, acting as personal shields with life vests (I felt soooo bad for the Malaysians.. they looked so miserable lol)

We then settled into our bungalows, kayaked, swam, and chilled (while trying to stay dry from the frequent rainstorms). It felt like a mini-summer camp and was stunning! We went on two boat “safaris,” which basically involved bird watching with the occasional monkey sighting along the river (supposedly you can see wild elephants, but we were unlucky!). We also did a waterfall hike, which was the highlight for me. We hiked about 1 km through mud, waterfall pools, and even found the best water pressure in Thailand!

The tour was enjoyable but a bit overhyped, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong; the mountains and limestone rock formations were LOVELY. However, the vibes would have been better if the weather was nicer.

From Khao Sok, we took a sprinter van down to Railay Beach, which was supposed to take 2.5 hours (it took 4 hours, classic!). Railay Beach is a tiny town where most people take day trips from nearby Phuket or the Phi Phi islands. We were a bit confused by the vibe; it's super hippy-dippy, where they advertise mushroom “happy shakes,” weed, and have TONS of reggae bars. But at the same time, the vibe is also quite touristy.

We hiked up to the viewpoint, which involved scaling muddy (and slippery) rock formations while grabbing the occasional rope (that was also extremely slippery) to get to the top. We initially intended to hike to a lagoon, but after scaling one vertical rock wall, I said I was done. My feet kept slipping, and people below us who were closer to the lagoon looked like they were struggling to get down, it didn't feel safe. To Sam’s disappointment, we turned around and went back down the trail. (translation from Sam: Laura bottled it). I later regretted not completing the hike. We met Lauren and Alex on the hike, and we later ran into them in town, they said the lagoon was AMAZING (grrr!).

We went to the most stunning beach to cool off (and clean ourselves). I must say, Sam and I are really embracing the backpacker lifestyle now. On the beach, we were surrounded by vacationers enjoying their beach holidays in Thailand, while Sam and I used it as an opportunity to clean our nasty, muddy shoes in the ocean (probably looking like absolute homely travelers to them!).

Finally, we got back to the room to shower and chill. While relaxing on our computers, I heard the sliding door of our balcony open. I shot up from the bed and screamed. A monkey SLID OPEN the sliding door of our balcony and was staring at us without a care in the world. Sam yelled. The monkey didn’t move. Sam then had to grab a towel and throw it at the monkey for it to run back outside. We later realized there was a sign on our sliding doors that said to always keep them LOCKED. Oops. About a minute later, we heard our neighbors frantically yelling and screaming (another one bites the dust!). We peeked our heads out the door and saw the monkey had steamed through their room and ran out with their toiletry bag.

After two days, we headed out to the Phi Phi islands. Initially, Sam and I had no intention of visiting Railay or the Phi Phi islands, mainly because they seemed super touristy and were where all the vacationers go. We were also told that the west coast of southern Thailand was horrible this time of year and that they wouldn’t be enjoyable in July/August due to the rain/winds. However, all the other backpackers we met had recently visited both places and raved about these islands, so we decided to give it a try.

The Phi Phi islands definitely have the best beaches in Thailand that we visited. Contrary to popular belief, we experienced the best weather during our 3-week stay! They have white powdery sand, turquoise waters, and stunning scenery (and obviously, they're touristy for a reason!). We spent our time relaxing on the beach and negotiating with tour guides to find the best deal for the next day's island hopping tour. We settled on the “early bird” tour, which left at 6:30 a.m. to beat the crowds at the various snorkel stops and beaches. Although it was the low season, we were glad we chose the early tour because the island still felt crowded with tourists.

Thailand’s Reliance on Tourism: We want to research and read up on countries before going to them, and saw that Thailand has > 60M+ tourist arrivals per year (the 4th most in the world behind France, Spain & the US). It’s the biggest industry in Thailand and is the highest-paying job opportunity for the majority of the population. Ultimately, we found there really aren’t any ‘hidden’ gems and relatively untouched places in Thailand - not that we found, anyway! The most desirable places have been discovered and commercialized.

However, that didn’t stop us from being surprised during a couple of interactions we had on the boat tour. During the tours, all boats stopped at the same places. On one hand, the famous Maya Bay (where Leonardo DiCaprio filmed the movie "The Beach") had unfortunately closed 2 days prior for the next 2 months. They closed it for restoration and recuperation from all the tourists - something they do multiple times per year. Although we weren’t able to relax on Maya Bay, I was glad to hear that Thailand was taking steps to conserve the environment rather than allowing tourists to visit year-round. On the other hand, once we arrived at a different hot spot, Monkey Island, that sentiment quickly changed.

Monkey Island is a famous bay where monkeys walk on the sand and are literally a foot away from you. We were briefed by our tour guide to be extremely careful with the monkeys; they often bite tourists who come too close or become aggressive if they see someone holding food or drinks. We were told to stay in the water (not on the sand), never turn our backs to the monkeys, and not bring food out of the boat. I was glad our guide was emphasizing respect for the monkeys.

However, once we got off the boat, those rules went out the window. Our guide had his pockets full of pineapple and was encouraging our group to grab pieces to feed the monkeys. People were excited, and one by one, they put their hands out to feed them. Our guide then started positioning people (with their backs to the monkeys) and placed pineapple on their heads and shoulders.

I overheard the guide saying that without feeding the monkeys, the monkeys would no longer frequent that beach. So, in order to keep the monkeys coming back, the guides feed the monkeys multiple times a day. Sam and I left Monkey Island with a bitter taste. If the monkeys aren't supposed to be there, why are we forcing them to come back for our enjoyment?

We were left very conflicted after we noticed a guide catching a squid while we were snorkeling. I initially thought he had caught the squid to attract other fish to come closer to the tourists. Instead, the tour guide was actually catching it for food. Our guide shared that most of the locals on Phi Phi rely on fishing for their food. It made me wonder how hard living conditions might be for locals during the low season. Whether he caught the squid out of desperation or just to enjoy a fresh piece of seafood later, I don't know. But it made me realize that tourism is a complex concept.

While planning our trip, I watched, "The Last Tourist," a documentary that digs into the dark side of tourism, zooming in on stuff like the drunken Full Moon parties on Koh Phangan. It shows how irresponsible tourists mess up the environment and put a real strain on the locals living there (trash pollution etc.). I really want to be conscious of the way we travel this year, and although we are tourists, I think it's important to consider how we interact with a place and its people.

We decided to skip the Full Moon party (partly because of this, but also because it seems to attract a very young crowd). Still, I have this internal conflict knowing we avoided one tourist trap only to unknowingly fall into another (Monkey Island). I left a bit disappointed but the situation made me stop and think again about how Sam and I need to be more conscious travelers while we visit places.

Don’t get me wrong, Thailand was amazing. Its food, people, nature, and customs were an incredible starting point for us. But it also gave us insight into how tourism plays into economies and the livelihood of many locals (tourism is the most sought-after and highest-paying occupation in Thailand). After three weeks of traveling and feeling like we were constantly on vacation (Sam insert: we are on holiday every day 🙂 ), it felt like it was time to move on. So… we leaned into the Phi Phi party scene, complete with fire breathers and buckets of alcohol, to enjoy our final hours in Thailand before jetting off to Sri Lanka (country number two!).

We've had a slow start in Sri Lanka, thanks to my stomach acting up again. After a few days of sharp stomach pains and a visit to the doctor, I've had to recover from Gastritis and switch back to bland foods. My doctor's visit and all medicine cost us a whopping $6.50!!!). Basically, I ate too much acidic/ spicy/oily food in Thailand, and my stomach got inflamed. Alas, we ‘haddd’ to check into a nice resort to recover for a few days before we started exploring Sri Lanka ;). Sam insert: who’d of thought, the Brit’s stomach is thriving eating everything and anything while the Mexican can’t hack it. We won’t be getting too far if she doesn’t toughen up soon.

For the next two weeks, we rented a scooter to ride around the northern part of Sri Lanka! Hopefully, no backseat driving from me this time!

Laura (& Sam)