Flying hornbills was one of the the highlights
It had been a somewhat boring day in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. I was enjoying the beautiful scenery and the opportunity to adventure travel in a national park half a world a way from where I lived, however, we had been walking in the jungle for hours and I only had a broken sweat to show for it. We had seen hardly any birds or animals.
The majestic hornbill poses for me at Khao Yai National Park
The day before had been a completely different story. We had seen hornbills, hummingbirds, kingfishers, a giant squirrel, hawks, monitor lizards, wild dogs, and deer. There was wildlife around every corner. On this day we had so far seen absolutely nothing. I had been given a different guide, so I was beginning to blame this on my new guide as if he had mystical powers to conjure up animals in the jungle and today his mojo was off.
A wild dog crosses the road, but that happened the day before
Within about 15 minutes events completely changed and the afternoon took a dramatic turn. There is a saying that things happen in threes and this was definitely the case for me. First, we spotted a hornbill in a tree right above us. These birds spook easily and can be difficult to photograph. This one posed calmly on the tree for a few minutes before flying away. It turned out to be by far my best shot of any bird during the three days I spent here.
A few minutes later I was hiking along when movement of the slithering variety occurred to my very near right. It was a snake. I did what any normal hiker would do when observing a snake in a foreign jungle. I jumped about five feet in the air and yelled “SNAKE!”
The snake moved in an odd way. I thought for a second it might be injured. Then, I noticed something attached to it. I cautiously moved closer and observed the snake had a horny lizard in its mouth which it was trying to consume. I had interrupted lunch. Happy that the snake had something else in its jaws instead of my leg, I approached and took a few pictures before ambling off and letting Mr. Snake enjoy his feast. Bon Appetit.
Slender snake getting ready for a feast.
Five minutes after the snake confrontation another animal encounter took place. This one much much larger. My guide all of a sudden tore past me on the trail yelling “CHANG, CHANG.” From my limited grasp of the Thai language I knew this word was a Thai beer, but it also meant elephant. I did not think my guide really needed a beer all of a sudden, so I deduced that an elephant was running towards us.
I have heard conflicting reports about elephants. Some nature shows depict them as peaceful soulful creatures which only harm when threatened. Other reports I have heard describe them as stampeding dangerous beasts. Without much time to decipher my thoughts on elephants, I decided the best thing to do was follow my guide, so I took off after him. We hid around a copse of trees and peered down the trail.
In the jungle the mighty elephant stampedes up a trail today
My guide had recovered his composure, and he urged me forward to take a picture. I moved forward and the elephant and I were both on the trail about 100 feet from each other. I swung my zoom lens forward and focused to take a picture. I had the whole face of the elephant in the picture, and he swung his snout up. It would have been the perfect picture.
When I snapped it the picture would not take. There was not enough light and I also had a wide brimmed hat on. I took the hat off, but the elephant decided he had had enough of us and turned off the trail and lumbered through the jungle. I got an out of focus picture of his side as he crashed through the undergrowth. I turned and watched the amazing beast take off.
This is the out of focus side shot, but I have a great memory
Despite failing at the perfect picture, it was a memory and visual I will never forget. When you are hiking in the jungle and there is not much going on. Don’t blame your guide as just around the corner could be the most amazing sight you have ever seen.
For those in Thailand, make sure you visit Khao Yai National Park. Take a bus from the Mo Chit bus station to Pak Chong. It is about a five hour trip. Then jump on a jeep at the Pak Chong 7-11 and you are there.
Stay tuned,
TT
The goal of Traveling Ted is to inspire people to outdoor adventure travel and then provide tips on where and how to go. If you liked this post then enter your email in the box to get email notifications for each new entry. Daily travel photos are excluded from your email in order to not flood you with posts. There is no spam and email information will not be shared. Other e-follow options include Facebook (click on the like box to the right) or twitter (click on the pretty bird on the rainbow above).
Sounds like a great trip! Did you go through a particular agent for the adventure vacation, or did you plan it yourself?
Either way, it seems as though you had a blast!
Sorry, meant to ask if you RECOMMEND an agent or planning the trips yourself…
For Khao Yai I would recommend going on your own. You can secure guides really cheap at the park office. If you go through an agent it will be considerably more expensive.
Well, Ted, the elephant photo might not have been perfect, but your skill at placing your reader in the moment still is!
Jay Gordon recently posted..Cowboy poetry in Willits, Mendocino County
Thanks for the input Jay. Hope you are doing great.
Wow what a day of animal encounters! Very cool 🙂
Brooke vs. the World recently posted..My Chance to Make it to Canon Island!
It’s okay for you to yell “SNAKE”, but I’d prefer a guide to react calmy, even if there was danger-lol.
santafetraveler recently posted..Tidbits: Santa Fe events and holiday happenings
Great article! I also photograph wildlife, and it’s difficult to get some great shots in tough lighting and when they’re moving. The other shots you have here are awesome. Great job!
I found a clutch of baby brown snakes under an old log yesterday, while clearing around the barn with my steel rake. I put one in a jar and after some online research and the light of day discovered because of its round eyes and variegated armor plates below its anal plate, it and its siblings are non-venomous and so I let it go, happily. Perhaps you could use this scientific way of discerning good snakes from bad ones in the jungle! Oh and always take a photo for identification in case you are bitten. Medical professionals will need a positive ID, to administer the correct anti-venom, in case my scientific method is flawed do to geographical differences in species, just saying.
Robb714 recently posted..Handling The Holidays
This is one of my favourite parks in Thailand and oddly it’s quite under-rated as a tourist destination. That snake would have scared the ______ out of me too 😛
Nomadic Samuel recently posted..Thanks A Million!
Everyone goes to Chiang Mai instead. Chiang Mai is cool, but the scenery and wildlife around there pales in comparison to what is found in Khao Yai.
Every time I see virgin forests, it makes me think how God can created with his image and likeness.
Jenny Sanders recently posted..Best Accessories For Apple Iphone Owners – Essential!
@Jenny Sanders
This is indeed nature’s best!
Mike Stewart recently posted..Reason For Failure in Cake Making
This is very usefull post. Anyway, it was hard to find it – maybe consider doing some SEO for your blog?
KevinTrucer recently posted..Three blogging tips
Interesting post. Thanks for finding this for us. Do You work in tourist industry maybe?
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