8 November
This morning Mina wanted to go to Ao Nang again so I decided to visit Huay Toh waterfall instead. According to my tourist map, Huay Toh waterfall was in Panombenja National Park and only 12 kilometers from Krabi Town. It should only be a 20 minute bike ride. We would be back in time for lunch, I thought. And then we could go to swim at Ao Nang. How wrong I was!

We had breakfast and then set off. The weather was perfect, cool and dry. I pulled in at a petrol station and put 50 baht worth into the motorbike. We headed out of town. After a while, I saw a wooden signpost proclaiming Khao Phanombencha National Park 12 Km.

I nodded happily to myself. Everything was going to plan.

We drove on. As we left the town behind, the landscape grew more and more dramatic. The mountains grew taller so that their peaks were shrouded in mist, the jungle more lush and vibrant. Flowers and orchids grew wild by the roadside. We saw very little other traffic and the roads were excellent.

We drove on. It seemed a long 12 kilometers. Now there were rubber plantations on either side. Every now and then, I saw sheets of rubber hung up to dry. The mountains were in front and also to our right. I spotted another wooden signpost coming up. I slowed down to read it.

Khao Phanombencha National Park 12 Km.

Strange, I thought. We’d been driving for at least 30 minutes and yet, according to the Krabi Tourist Board, had gone nowhere. I drove a little faster….

After another 30 minutes or so, another wooden signpost loomed up by the roadside. I squinted at it eagerly. We must be nearly there now.

Khao Phanombencha National Park 12 Km.

I stopped the motorbike and took a swig from my water bottle. Was it me or was it them? I asked Mina. Them of course.

“The tourist board want to get people to visit the National Park so they pretend that it’s closer than it actually is,” she explained.

There was nothing to it but keep driving. I found myself wondering how many unsuspecting tourists had run out of petrol trying to get there….

The road became narrower and there were no markings. Soon it dwindled into a dirt track. In the distance, I saw a familiar looking wooden signpost.

Khao Phanombencha National Park 3 Km.

“Hooray!” I shouted and drained the last of the water from my bottle. “We’re here at last!”

We drove on. After 20 minutes, another wooden signpost….

Khao Phanombencha National Park 5 Km.

“Huh?” I said. “Now not only are we not going anywhere….now we’re actually going backwards!”

But there was no point in returning the way we’d come because the signs still pointed forwards. We must drive – or face the same terrible fate that befell the early pioneers in Death Valley…

After driving for an hour, I discovered that I'd got nowhere...

We drove on. After another 20 minutes we came to a signpost, bigger than before. I stared at it, not quite believing.

Khao Phanombencha National Park.

We had arrived! We paid our entrance fee, parked up and then explored. It had an English country park feel to it with well kept lawns and labeled mature shrubs and trees. There were graveled walkways through beautiful woods, little wooden bridges over streams. Mosquitoes were strangely absent. We could almost have been strolling through Mount Edgcumbe Country Park in Cornwall.

But if one looked closely, the foliage was more lush and exotic. There were giant ferns growing amongst the trees. And the butterflies were definitely much bigger than any found in England. They were bigger than many of the tiny birds. They glided rather than flew.

The path climbed upwards. The stream running to our right grew bigger and faster until it was a small river. Finally we came to an amazing waterfall.