Khao Yai

Thailand is jam-packed with national parks and a while ago I was lucky enough to pay a visit to one a few hours from Bangkok. This trip came about from the Thai teacher Tiu that I assist in grammar classes (and whince when she thwacks the kids with a ruler). She invited me out for the day to visit the Tan Dan Dam in Khao Yai with her husband and his friends. So I was ready Saturday morning and off we went. Once you've driven for a few hours outside of Bangkok, you start to remember where you are! It's a jungle out there. Bangkok may be a spralling city but it's in the middle of a rainforest. So it was a good way to regain a perspective on the environment.

Teacher Tiu's husband and friends are policemen and they drink, heavily. It seems that every policeman i've met is a big drinker. In most bars near my apartment, the main conversations I have are with police! Which is very useful if there was ever any trouble. The police know I'm not a disrespectful, angry farang that goes around causing trouble. Quite the opposite. So I went out for the day with the local police near Khao Yai and visited the biggest dam in Asia, designed by the King, it supplies fresh water to hundreds of thousands and is a staggering feat of engineering. Good old Rama IX!

After visiting the dam we went down to an eating/drinking area below with great views and a river to swim in. This was a very native experience as Teacher Tiu explained, many of the children there probably haven't seen a farang before so they were quite intrigued by my presence. Plus, the particular spot we were at was not a tourist attraction. That was on the other side of the dam which we passed on the way up. It was a very intense day because I had to learn as much Thai as possible to communicate. As Tiu was the only other (barely) English speaker there! It was a tiring but fun way to learn a rather complicated language and a good day out in the beautiful scenery of Thailand.