POSTED: 13 APRIL 2011

Destination: Thailand

Glyn May tangles with elephants, canoes, and zippered safari tents in a new soft adventure in Thailand.

It’s only 9pm in paradise and, sadly, I’m propping up the bar with the only person to keep me company — the guy serving behind the counter who doesn’t speak much English.

Everyone else has gone to bed exhausted — and I’m not far behind them.

We’ve driven nearly three hours north from Phuket — from noisy beachside sunset drinks one day to silent jungle cocktails the next. In that time we’ve helped prepare dinner for and hand-feed 17 elephants — without losing an arm— scrubbed and shampooed them with hairy coconut husk, drifted in a canoe for two hours down the Sok River into a monsoonal storm, and failed spectacularly on a night rainforest safari to see anything except a big moth.

No tigers, monkeys, barking deer, bear, guar, banteng, serow, wild boar, pig-tailed macaque, langur, white-handed gibbon, squirrel, or even a rampaging wild elephant as advertised. I guess we first need to find out exactly what some of these critters look like, and then pull on a pair of boots.

Or perhaps not, because we’re already seriously out of our comfort zone of salt water and sunshine, and into the dark mysteries of Khao Sok National Park, one of the most important tracts of primary rainforest in Asia.

Specifically on this calm, friendless night, we find ourselves at the Elephant Hills Luxury Floating Tented Camp — billed as the first of its kind in Thailand — on Cheow Larn Lake, a spectacular manmade reservoir which, at 162 square kilometres, is three times the size of Sydney Harbor and the stunning centerpiece of Khao Sok National Park.

Curiously, this beautiful part of Thailand, so comparatively close to the tourist meccas of Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak, is one of its best-kept secrets, now being revealed through the efforts of the Elephant Hills company (www.elephant-hills.com).

Packages include at least one night at its land-based Elephant Experience camp (treks, river canoeing and feeding/washing the elephants) and a second night at the new floating rainforest lake camp about a 40-minute drive down the road.

Accommodation in both places is in luxury safari-style fully screened tents complete with double beds and ensuite bathrooms — no radio or TV, and lots of giant zippers.

On the lake, there’s a canoe tied to my balcony if I feel the urge to go exploring, and I can swim, day or night, simply by stepping — or falling — off the open balcony.

We’ve reached this Shangrila-on-the-water by a decidedly circuitous, yet interesting, route:

§ A couple of nights in Bangkok at the Cape House Serviced Apartments in a three-roomed suite from around $250 a night in a swish part of town (www.capehouse.com , though also check out also www.capecollection.com).

§ Bangkok to Phuket on Thai Airways International, for two nights at Cape Panwa Hotel, a secluded hilltop resort at the southern tip of Phuket Island with panoramic sea views. For decades, famous people have graced its lobby, including Elizabeth Taylor, Bryan Adams, Oliver Stone, Geena Davis, Kristy Swanson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Pierce Brosnan, and Leonardo Di Caprio (www.capepanwa.com). Don’t miss a day trip on Cape Panwa’s luxurious 22-metre motor yacht Panwa Princess to nearby Racha Island for snorkelling in some of the clearest water in all of Phuket.

§ A two-hour drive north from Cape Panwa takes us across the Sarasin Bridge linking Phuket with the mainland and into the heartland of Khao Lak, a 60-kilometre stretch of splendid Andaman Sea coastline boasting white-sand beaches, crescent-shaped bays, and a string of resorts from backpacker level to five-star international. Devastated in the 2004 tsunami with the loss of more than 4000 lives, Khao Lak is today fully recovered and basking in its growing popularity as a quieter, relatively undiscovered resort alternative — or add-on — to Phuket.

§ Ninety minutes by speedboat off the southern end of Khao Lak are the famed Similan islands, rated as one of the world’s top-10 dive destinations. Several operators offer an exhilarating ride out and back (depending on the seas) tempered by a lazy day cruising to five islands for swimming and snorkelling — and a memorable beach stop for lunch.

§ On the north-east drive towards the Khao Sok National Park, Cheow Larn Lake (and the Elephant Hills tented camp) a stay at Khao Lak’s new Kantary Beach hotel, a villa-styled family resort right on the beach, is highly recommended (www.kantarycollection.com)

As the highway snakes east for about three hours through the picturesque valleys of the Phuket Mountain range, the determined traveller can eventually dip his toe into the Gulf of Thailand.

From there it’s only a one-hour ferry ride to Koh Samui. Alternately, turn right at the town of Surat Thani and head down the east coast to Phuket to complete the circle.

And onwards, around the clockface to elephants, lakes and lazy days.

DISCLOSURE : The writer was a guest of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Cape Collection of hotels and resorts.

GETTING THERE

Thai Airways International flies non-stop to Bangkok from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth with connecting services to Phuket, Surat Thani and Krabi.

ACCOMMODATION

The giant Kasemkij Group (www.kasemkij.com) operates a string of hotels, resorts and serviced apartments throughout Thailand under the Cape Collection label (www.capecollection.com), Kantary Hotel and Serviced Apartment Collection (www.kantarycollection.com) and Kameo (www.kameocollection.com).

For a sidetrip to Koh Samui try the new Hansar resort (www.hansarsamui.com) on the beach at Bophut Bay, only 10 minutes from the airport.

Elephant Hills (www.elephant-hills.com) can arrange an elephant experience and floating camp package including transfers from Surat Thani, Phuket, Khao Lak, Krabi and Phang Nga. A three-day/two-night package, including transfers, costs from $425 per person.

Another easy option is self-drive — roads are highway standard and well marked.