DAY 1 | ARRIVE IN BANGKOK
Fly into Bangkok where you’ll be greeted and transported to the quaint Silom Serene Hotel in the heart of the city. The hotel is on a quiet street with plenty of restaurants that stay open late. It’s been a long day but venture out for a bite and Bangkok’s thriving nightlife. Then, return to the hotel in the evening.
DAY 2 | WEST TO ERAWAN NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, head west. There’s a three hour drive to Erawan National Park, a part of the Western Forest Complex, the largest protected forest in southeast Asia. Take lunch. Have a trip briefing and head right into the jungle. With a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees, the park is home to an array of wildlife--tiger, elephant, gaur (the world’s largest wild cattle), Sambar and Barking deer, serow (mountain goat), wild boar, and bears. In the evening, take a leisurely walk to the Wild Watch Thailand tented camp for your first night in the forest. Porters will carry your goods so you’re free to enjoy the jungle wonders unburdened. Spacious and comfortable, the tents are a hospitable homebase for the next few days. Wind down the day with a hot shower and delicious Thai cuisine for dinner. [B,L,D]
DAY 3 | I SPY IN ERAWAN NATIONAL PARK
Rise and shine for an early start. Go birdwatching from a tree platform before breakfast. Then, make like a detective to hunt for animal tracks and other signs of wildlife. Head to the watering hole. You’ll be sure to spy some wildlife there: possibly a black-naped oriole, Asian Fairy bluebird, or some colorful woodpeckers and cuckoos. During the dry season, some of the largest and most colorful migratory birds like the Crested Honey-Buzzard and Blue-winged Pitta make their return. Learn Thailand’s tropical botany and ecology. Experience the flowering, fruiting and edible plants of the forest. Take in the lessons from your guide about the nocturnal rhythms of various frogs, spiders, shrimp and crabs that inhabit the freshwater bodies. [B,L,D]
DAY 4 | BACK TO BANGKOK
After breakfast, walk out of the forest and back in time to visit the Hellfire Pass Museum just outside the park. The Museum details POW horrors when building the railroad under the Japanese during WWII. Next, have lunch at a rustic restaurant close to the Kwae Yai River where your lunching partner may very well be a domestic elephant. Check in to Thai House, an original Thai-style wooden house. This small, traditional, cross-ventilated guesthouse offers the Thailand of old with some modern twists. Enjoy a home-cooked dinner from the famous kitchen that’s known to share culinary tips during cooking lessons. [B,L]
DAY 5 | SOUTH TO BUDO SUNGAI-PADI
In the morning, have breakfast at the Thai House. Now, move away from the Western Forest Complex and the bustle of Bangkok and fly south to Budo Sungai-Padi National Park. Upon arrival, an introduction to the Thailand Hornbill Project through a forest walk and lecture on hornbill ecology is up first. The park is home to such diverse creatures as langurs, macaques, flying lemurs, barking deer that make deep, yapping sounds if a predator is sensed, the Malayan tapir, fruit bats and the clouded leopard. Stay overnight at the Royal Princess Hotel in Naratiwat tonight and for the next few days. Stocked with amenities, the hotel has a pool, bar and coffee shop. But, Naratiwat is a coastal town so you’ll want to stroll along the shore where finding a restaurant with one of the many fresh catches of the day will be easy. [B,L]
DAY 6 | BIRDING IN BUDO
After breakfast, take a forest walk to view the endangered hornbills. Thailand has twelve species of hornbills and all are slowly losing their habitats to the illegal bird trade. These highly intelligent and large creatures have a unique gestation period. The female hornbill is sealed in a tree cavity for three months to lay eggs. She is completely dependent upon the male to feed her through a small hole in the tree. Although primarily frugivores, hornbills eat insects and small birds especially during breeding season from February to October. Depending on the season, you can nest watch or tour the fruiting trees where the hornbills feed. Stay overnight in the Royal Princess Hotel. [B,L]
DAY 7 | TO KHAO YAI FOR AN ECO-EXPLORATION
Leave the hornbills and head to Khao Yai National Park via Bangkok. Three hours northeast of the capital the park mixes tropical rainforest, deciduous and evergreen forests. Over 2,000 plants and 300 birds and various large animals like the elephant, white-handed gibbon, gaur, Asiatic black bear and tiger all have a refuge here. Naturalist Mark Read will lecture on the park’s conservation goals, general history and its wildlife. Take dinner out on the town at one of the many good local restaurants. Then, return to the mountainside Juldis Resort Hotel for the evening. [B,L]
DAY 8 | KHAO YAI CONSERVATION PROJECT
For those taking the three day extension, head deeper into the forest with the Khao Yai Conservation Project. A joint project among the World Conservation Society, WildAid and the Royal Thai Forestry Department, the Khao Yai Conservation Project has a wealth of protected wildlife under its wing. For the next two days, get an overview of the wildlife monitoring efforts. You’ll stay in the forest tonight at a tented camp. [B,L,D]
DAY 9 | IN KHAO YAI
Lend a hand as the natural history field trip continues. Help the park conservationists set camera traps to record wildlife. Track and record wildlife signs and movements in the forest. Return to the Juldis Resort Hotel. [B,L]
DAY 10 | THE GIBBONS THEN GOODBYE
Spend the morning with the Khao Yai Gibbon Project naturalists. If your morning coffee didn’t jolt you, then the shrill vocal exercises of the gibbons will surely wake you. Often mistaken for monkeys, see these apes at acrobatic play. This gibbon project is a long running initiative led by Dr. Warren Brockleman of Mahidol University, one of Thailand’s oldest and most prestigious universities. These gibbons are accustomed to humans because Dr. Brockleman and his team have studied and worked with these gibbon families over the years. Say goodbye to the gibbons then, transfer to Bangkok for one final night or directly to the airport for the flight home. [B,L]
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