I lean from the canoe and skim my fingers across the surface of the shallow, rushing Sok River. It is clear and warm and the colour of coriander, and it feels as if we are bobbing in a delicate yellow-green Thai soup.
I am in front of the boatman, attempting to recline in idle Cleopatra fashion, but there is far too much to see and a constant shifting of legs is necessary to prevent cramping. It's not the most comfortable passage and temperatures are hitting the business end of the 30s but, despite the clinging humidity, there's a liveliness to it all that is utterly beguiling.
We have set out from Temple Cave, adjacent to a busy entryway to the Khao Sok National Park, near Khao Lak in southern Thailand. Khao Lak is 190km north of Phuket and its coastline was badly affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. But here in the hinterland, in this long, shadowy tunnel of swift river and trees sweeping their leafy skirts in the water, the tourists are back in force and all is peace and dappled light.
You can find the full article here
No comments:
Post a Comment