Moken boats
lunch time in the raft house

Into the cave

Of course, the first thing to do was taking a swim, the second one taking lunch. Just like everywhere else, the food was delicious and did not remind to the fact it was in the middle of nowhere.
And obviously, people there make sure that really nobody feeds the monkeys. As a group of Long-tailed macaques travelled by, they did not take notice of the people or the food in the kitchen. Looks like they learned there was nothing to get there. See, how well-adapted the colour of their fur is, one nearly cannot see them in the wild.
Long-tailed macaque
Little break in the jungle

Then, we went off for the cave. It was strongly recommended to leave any heavy stuff or valueable things in the restaurant, if they cannot take water. That advice was a good one. He also said, the cave was wet and we would get into the water deeper and deeper so at the end we would have to swim. Nobody believed him.

Along thee winding trail through the jungle, we found several signs of wildlife like the marks of a Black Bear. As normal in the Tropics, we crossed some creeks. With the right shoes, one simply can walk straight on. This guide spoke good English and knew the most important bits of several other languages, so he made a good contrast to the employed one of the National Park. He also organizes camping tours in the park and I am sure it is full of planned adventure.

© picture Jo Kearsley


bats in the cave the mouth of the cave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sparcling stalactites in the cave

Anyway, after a walk of an hour or so we arrived at the cave. Some torches were handed, but in fact one was supposed to bring an own one. Then, we went into the pitch-black hole first walking in a little creek. Near the entrance, one also finds some insects and large spiders, later different types of bats. Also, there are several impressive stalactite formations of different kinds. Thanks to digital cameras, one can indeed photograph them only using a torch and an inbuilt flash.

The cave is nearly a kilometer long and step by step the creek went deeper and deeper. First, it went to our hips, later to our shoulders and at the end we had to go down a rope and then to swim - with the torch in our hands or our mouth. We did enjoy it and later our friends did the same tour, too, after we told them how it was. But in fact, we agreed that it should be told people before they book. Not everyone is always able to enter the water in full gear.

© all cave pictures Trish Holdway

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