Hey there, here with Part II of the trip ✌
DAY 3
15 Jan 2018, Toscana Valley, A Cup Of Love, Bonaza Exotic Zoo, The Chocolate Factory and Ban Mai Chay Nam Museum/Restaurant
One piece of advice from us- check if the attractions are open! We had wanted to visit both Pete's maze and Farm Chok Chai but they were both closed on Mondays 😭
First stop of the day was Toscana Valley (which wasn't even in our itinerary). HAHA, suspect the driver wanted to visit the place and take pictures 😛 Anyway, the place was quite pretty so well, you might wish to stay there.
And opposite of Toscana Valley was a random sunflower field (which I don't know what the name is still) but sunflowers are love.
Sunflower paradise.
Next up, A cup of love where we fed fishes and goats. Realise this trip is a lot about animals hahaha.
Meh, ewe goat to be kidding me right?
Cute house for picture taking?
Who needs a BTO when you have such a quaint cottage? I kid.
Headed over to Farm ChokChai to realise it's closed -facepalm-. So if you want to head over to the farm and milk some cows, please remember they only open on weekends.
So we had dessert instead.
Rum and raisin ice-cream outside of the farm and The Chocolate Factory.
Will recommend the iced chocolate (so damn rich) yummmm.
Headed back to our accommodation before dinner at this restaurant, Ban Mai Chay Nam which was a stone's throw away. It was a restaurant, museum and resort (see what I said about Khao Yai's attractions).
Gotta say, I love the ambiance and the decorations of this place (so many collectibles!!). The food was normal but a bit on the pricier end, guess we are paying for the ambiance haha.
Getting my tom yum fix and hi vegetables cause we are healthy girls
Fried rice and fried pork (which was damn fatty oh no).
So after food, we explored the museum section of the place. Love how they have games e.g. foosball, table hockey (which I lost by a close margin I insist haha).
Yup, coffee is a necessary evil.
DAY 4
16 Jan 2018, Khao Yai National Park
I am such a terrible friend, forcing people to hike on their birthday 😐 But I have to say my favourite attractions have to be either the park or the sunflower fields. What to do, introverts like to be alone 😯
So first order of the day was breakfast at our accommodation, which is The Goodville Cottage. I love the exterior of the cottage, the breakfast but the bed is a little too hard 😰 This reminds me how my back is so stiff and I probably should find a good yoga class to go for.
Said breakfast and breakfast view
So, yup it was time for Khao Yai National Park, which is a UNESCO Heritage site. We met animals like monkeys, deers (many of them), lizard (ew) and porcupine (aww).
Because Khao Yai is still a relatively young travel destination (I think), many of the signs/facilities are a bit lacking (not sure if that's the right description). Hiking in this national park is a bit scary (not much concrete paths, signs are not aplenty and it makes you appreciate Singapore's hiking trails a bit more (hehe).
Here's one with Haew Suwat waterfall
We actually wanted to hike all the way to but realise it's not concrete path and takes 3 hours for one way so... luckily we have a driver?
Haew Suwat Waterfall again
Was googling for the exact name when I saw this fact. Do you know that the movie, The Beach's jump scene was shot here? (Ok actually I don't even know the existence of the movie but hey, Leonardo Dicaprio starred in it).
Views from Pa Deo Dai Cliff which was pretty amazing
Except that the drive there was up a terrible winding road which made me carsick oh nooo. Was it worth it? Probably, but I might not do it again hahaha.
Had a quick dinner (sadly the entire place only have one decent food place I think) before it was the night safari tour.
Well, it was quite disappointing cause I didn't get to see elephants (haha) but there's many deers and porcupines I guess.
Next up, the highlight of the trip... Lala Mukha Tented Resort. 10/10 will recommend this place! There's 3 types of room namely Eco-Safari Tent, Deluxe Savanna Tent and Loft Tree House and the latter 2 has its own toilets. We stayed in the Eco-Safari tent which was amazing and the common toilets were so clean (so no worries about not having own toilet).
Bed 10/10 in terms of comfort
DAY 5
17 Jan 2018, BKK
Humble abode for the past night
I guess the only regret was how we didn't have enough time to chill at the place, given how we only checked in at night and had to check out around 10ish.
Pool
There's something about soaking in a pool that is surrounded by nature (and also having the entire pool to yourself fyeah.)
We rushed to BKK for... After You. Finally get the hype over their Shibuya toast 😋 (Can I go back to BKK just for food now)
That's it for my Khao Yai's adventures 😔 Given how Khao Yai's transport system is not very well-developed, I would strongly recommend getting a drive. We actually hired our driver from Klook and he was damn nice (even though we can't really understand each other). He wasn't required to send us to the airport after After You at Siam Paragon but he was worried that we couldn't catch the flight in time... so he waited for us at the mall while we gobble down the desserts.
Can't wait for my next trip again (cause work is 💩). Vietnam (Hanoi), Indonesia (Bali,Yogyakarta, Padang), Japan (Okinawa, Hokkaido) anyone? 😆
