Phu Kradueng, Chiang Khan and Bangkok December 4th to 6th

Having spent 3 crazy urban days in Bangkok, I was looking to escape the urban scene and surround myself with nature. A quick read of my guide book and I was armed with several options. I decided to go for the itinerary supposedly less travelled, Phu Kradeung National park followed by Chiang Khan, a village in the border of Thailand and Laos known for it´s night market and a view of Laos across the Mekong?

A quick search on the internet and before you know it I had booked my night bus and was on my way to the national park! Gosh it´s so easy to travel in Thailand! I was excited about the trip. It had been a long time since my last trek. The guide book was spot when they said this itinerary was less touristic. Apart from myself I believe I saw 2 other foreigners in the 2 days I was trekking! Similarly in Chiang Khan, very few foreigners but instead, as it was a long bank holiday weekend, it was flooded with local tourists. During my short stay there I had the pleasure to meet Dirk, a fellow traveller from Belgium, whom I bumped into in a bar and had a fantastic evening around a few beers 🙂 Thanks Dirk!

Phu Kradueng National Park

A shared tuk tuk all for myself!

The beginning of the trek.

Lots of sherpas! The national park is on a plateau so in order to get there you first have to climb 1300 meters uphill!

Impressive!

Unluckily I did not bump into any elephants 🙂

Pretty steep…

Once you reach the top the sherpas use these trolleys to carry the luggage to the camp.

Base camp

The base camp is run by the army. If I understood correctly all national parks are managed by the army.

My home for the night!

Amazing sunset.

On my way back, after night fall, I had the privilege to see for the first time fire flies! So beautiful. They lit my dark paths with dots of halo blue.

Base camp at sunrise.

It´s tough to get up early in the morning.

Chiang Khan – Night Market

River Mekong and Thailand on the other side!

Tuk tuk station.

Life is hard 🙂

My first capsule hostel! Had the opportunity to meet the owner who is a very friendly fellow from Thailand who lived in Berlin for a while and decided to open this business. It seems it´s working well especially with asian customers!