Khao Yai National Park & PB Vineyard
Last Saturday we went on a roadtrip to the Khao Yai National Park and the PB Vineyard in Saraburi. We left Bangkok at 8am and arrived Khao Yai at 10:30. It was one of those days when you can smell the rain coming, but with the sun still peeking thru the clouds, so the drive from the park gates up to the visitor center was a pleasant one. It reminded me of my UP Los Banos days when my dad would let me practice driving thru the shortcut in Magnetic Hill. The 20-minute drive (mostly uphill) is like the drive to Puerto Azul or Punta Fuego, or even Highway 1 in Vancouver.
Located in the heart of Central Thailand, Khao Yai is Thailand's second largest park, covering 2,168 sq kms, encompassing 11 districts and 4 provinces -- Saraburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachin Buri, and Nakhon Nayok. We decided to start our game plan with the Visitor Center. The park ranger there informed us that we could either go hiking (they have different routes ranging from 1.5 to 6 hours) or visit the waterfalls since we had a van. An easy hike sounded like an interesting activity but then she warned us that there were leeches at this time of the year so we had to wear protective socks (that really looked like katcha Christmas stockings) -- since none of our friends seemed game enough for a 1.5 hour hike, much less with leeches, we decided to go further up the mountain to the waterfalls. We settled on a game plan: lunch near the falls, see the falls, and go to Saraburi.
We found a picnic spot near the path to the falls, and opted to stay at the stone tables rather than sit on wet grass. (Picnic lesson #1 -- always bring garbage bags, plastic utensils, and disposable tablecloth because you won't find them in most 7-Elevens in Thailand). True to pinoy tradition, we had our adobo, ensalada, rellenong bangus, and rice for lunch. The place was relatively devoid of noisy tourists and locals, and was a picturesque place because there were a lot of yellow butterflies fluttering about (think Voltes V -- The Butterfly Return).
After a hefty lunch, we walked to the Haew Suwat Waterfalls -- the biggest one nearest to the park office. I've seen it 2 years ago but at this time of the year, the water level is better (so what we saw weren't just trickles of water). It was a pretty quiet day so we thoroughly enjoyed the place. Surprisingly, there weren't any tourists when we arrived, so we had good photo opps without annoying extras. Rock-hopping to the farthest, biggest rock, and feeling a spray of water (that doesn't come from an Evian bottle this time) was worth the trip and memory card space.
Haew Suwat Waterfalls
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When tourists started arriving, we took that as our cue to leave since we had enough pictures and rock-crawling and balancing already. The other waterfalls in the park were either smaller or were too far to visit so we opted for a trip to Saraburi to visit a local vineyard.
An hour or so later, we were in Saraburi, looking for the vineyard's sign. After a missed turn and mixed translations that confused our driver, we found the PB Vineyard. Coming from Khao Yai, it is a little after Chockchai Farm, before the big intersection. The vineyard's entrance was not that grand -- it did not even have big signages or any touristy sign except for the rows of grapes on the right, and corn on the left. Our first stop was the wine store. Luckily, we were the only ones there so we were able to browse through the merchandise at our own pace. One of the vineyard's personnel (we couldn't figure out who he was) informed us that they could guide us through the place and we would be welcome to take pictures -- so we took the van and were led my a motorcyle-riding guard to the fields.
Walking thru the rows of grapes was quite an experience -- no wonder you can fall in love in these places (think A Walk In The Clouds). Besides being another perfect photoshoot, seeing all the grapes waiting to be harvested was something new. Ironically though, the vineyard's restaurant did not serve any of their wines, nor did they offer cheese and grapes in their menu. Good thing we brought our own cheese and crackers (and of course Anne's trusty cheese knife) to go with the white wine Anne bought at the wine store.
It was a blessing to have the weather on our side that day. The only time it rained was when we were on our way back to Bangkok. Apparently, there was a heavy downpour in Bangkok the whole afternoon. Imagine what it would have been like to visit a vineyard and not being able to walk through it because of the rain.
Here's to waterfalls, vineyards, and Thailand! Cheers to the good things in life!
For more pictures, visit my online album.
Located in the heart of Central Thailand, Khao Yai is Thailand's second largest park, covering 2,168 sq kms, encompassing 11 districts and 4 provinces -- Saraburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachin Buri, and Nakhon Nayok. We decided to start our game plan with the Visitor Center. The park ranger there informed us that we could either go hiking (they have different routes ranging from 1.5 to 6 hours) or visit the waterfalls since we had a van. An easy hike sounded like an interesting activity but then she warned us that there were leeches at this time of the year so we had to wear protective socks (that really looked like katcha Christmas stockings) -- since none of our friends seemed game enough for a 1.5 hour hike, much less with leeches, we decided to go further up the mountain to the waterfalls. We settled on a game plan: lunch near the falls, see the falls, and go to Saraburi.
We found a picnic spot near the path to the falls, and opted to stay at the stone tables rather than sit on wet grass. (Picnic lesson #1 -- always bring garbage bags, plastic utensils, and disposable tablecloth because you won't find them in most 7-Elevens in Thailand). True to pinoy tradition, we had our adobo, ensalada, rellenong bangus, and rice for lunch. The place was relatively devoid of noisy tourists and locals, and was a picturesque place because there were a lot of yellow butterflies fluttering about (think Voltes V -- The Butterfly Return).
After a hefty lunch, we walked to the Haew Suwat Waterfalls -- the biggest one nearest to the park office. I've seen it 2 years ago but at this time of the year, the water level is better (so what we saw weren't just trickles of water). It was a pretty quiet day so we thoroughly enjoyed the place. Surprisingly, there weren't any tourists when we arrived, so we had good photo opps without annoying extras. Rock-hopping to the farthest, biggest rock, and feeling a spray of water (that doesn't come from an Evian bottle this time) was worth the trip and memory card space.
Haew Suwat Waterfalls
Posted by Hello
When tourists started arriving, we took that as our cue to leave since we had enough pictures and rock-crawling and balancing already. The other waterfalls in the park were either smaller or were too far to visit so we opted for a trip to Saraburi to visit a local vineyard.
An hour or so later, we were in Saraburi, looking for the vineyard's sign. After a missed turn and mixed translations that confused our driver, we found the PB Vineyard. Coming from Khao Yai, it is a little after Chockchai Farm, before the big intersection. The vineyard's entrance was not that grand -- it did not even have big signages or any touristy sign except for the rows of grapes on the right, and corn on the left. Our first stop was the wine store. Luckily, we were the only ones there so we were able to browse through the merchandise at our own pace. One of the vineyard's personnel (we couldn't figure out who he was) informed us that they could guide us through the place and we would be welcome to take pictures -- so we took the van and were led my a motorcyle-riding guard to the fields.
Walking thru the rows of grapes was quite an experience -- no wonder you can fall in love in these places (think A Walk In The Clouds). Besides being another perfect photoshoot, seeing all the grapes waiting to be harvested was something new. Ironically though, the vineyard's restaurant did not serve any of their wines, nor did they offer cheese and grapes in their menu. Good thing we brought our own cheese and crackers (and of course Anne's trusty cheese knife) to go with the white wine Anne bought at the wine store.
It was a blessing to have the weather on our side that day. The only time it rained was when we were on our way back to Bangkok. Apparently, there was a heavy downpour in Bangkok the whole afternoon. Imagine what it would have been like to visit a vineyard and not being able to walk through it because of the rain.
Here's to waterfalls, vineyards, and Thailand! Cheers to the good things in life!
For more pictures, visit my online album.
