Readme before you journey
"Pha Hin Koob" is taken care of by the Pha Tung Ple Forest Guards, Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Santuary, Tambon Chaman, Amphoe Makarm, Chantaburi province. It is around 920 meters above the sea level. Walking on foot to the Pha Hin Kub Camp takes around 6-8 hours (6.50 Km) and 3-4 hours on the way back.
Pha Hin Koob is open for visits all year long and on weekends for those who want to walk in the forest and study the nature(arrival on Saturday and return on Sunday). You have to make a reservation by phone and contact the staff Line ID : 081-153030. During some months, elephants and wild animals intrude the area so you can't go up.
Note: Even if you have made a reservation, you still have to call and check the circumstances before traveling.
"Pha Hin Kub" is a natural beauty. It is filled with many strangely shaped granite rocks. This makes Pha Hin Kub a unique place. You can also camp under the rocks (if you get there fast and reserve the space in time). It is also a popular place for tourists who want to see the amazing sea fog. I couldn't resist the urge to see the beautiful landscape again (this visit is my second visit; my first visit was in 2017). On my first visit, there was heavy rain so I couldn't see the view at all. This is nature! If you don't go yourself, you will never get to experience it first hand. Especially "Pha Hin Kub".
"Nong Tai, Nong King, Nong Wut"(my travel buddies) and I met up at the Krating waterfull in Khao Khitchakut National Park to camp for 1 night. The reason why we camped here was because last time I stayed at Tung Ple Forest Guard Station and their toilets were inconvenient to use so we decided to rest and wash up at Krating waterfall. In the early morning, we went out to by supplies and lunch at the Amphoe Khao Kitchakut market to eat in during our walk in the forest. Then, we drove to Tung Ple Forest Guard Station.
When we arrived at Tung Ple Forest Guard Station, we looked for our porter(a local to help us carry our supplies and lead the way). We found out that our porter went out to harvest some durians. So we helped each other and when our bags were ready, we started walking at 9.30 AM
At first, the forest is very dense and humid. There was no wind so we sweated a lot and got tired very fast. You should bring along some electrolyte drinks and plenty of drinking water.
Along the forest path, you can see rakam trees and wai trees. The forest is so dense and you have to cross many streams and encounter many slugs. It wasn't too difficult but still not easy. We were starting to get tired so if you come here you should make sure your body is fit enough.
On the way up, prepare yourself well as it takes around 6-8 hours depending on the person. Also, be careful of slugs! The week I went there was the first week that it was open for tourists to visit due to a month long problem of wild elephants intruding the area. The slugs must be starving because of it so they have become so aggressive! Even though I was careful and pulled some off me, they still sucked some blood from my ankles and they it became very swollen. I almost cried and had to ask someone to get if off me. So embarrassing!
เส้นทางจะมีป้ายบอกระยะทาง ระวังหลงด้วยนะครับ ควรเกาะกลุ่มกันไป
There are signs that tell you about the distance along the trail. Be careful and try not to get lost. You should walk as a group.
- Forest Guard Station - Ang Beng Waterfall 1.4 kilometers distance
- Ang Beng Waterfall - Hin Peung 1.1 kilometers distance
- Hin Peung - Hin Pad Leam 1.3 kilometers distance - it gets steeper and steeper but not too much. Consider it as practice and warm up for your legs before the steepest spot after passing Hin Pad Leam. The pork and sticky rice which was my breakfast this morning started to completely digest when I reached Hin Pad Leam. So I hurriedly filled my stomach with lunch and filled up some cool water to drink on the way to the camp up ahead.
There are three main natural water filling points which are Hin Peung, Hin Pad Leam and Pha Hin Kub; so you don't need to bring too much water as it will become heavy. The water here is so cold that when you fill it up in a bottle, the bottle will become instantly foggy. When you feel tired or exhausted, drinking cool natural water can help a lot and you will walk fast again! For those who have visited this place before, you will know what I'm talking about!
- Hin Pad Leam - Hin Laem 1.1 kilometers distance. At this point, I quickly stored my heavy camera that I was holding into my backpack as I wanted to save my energy for walking. The trail around here is in a bamboo forest and it is very steep. There is a rope to pull for support. You have to be careful not to slip on the slippery bamboo leaves covered on the floor.
- Hin Laem - Descending the cave 1.4 kilometers distance
- Cave - Pha Hin Kub if you see a cave, congratulations! You will reach the camp in less than 300 meters! I really wanted to put down my backpack to lie back and relax on the windy mountain.
When we reached the camp, we lied back and relax in the cool wind to get some rest. Then, we started to put the tent and other stuff up.
We chose to stay on the side of the camp that is near the Hin Kub View Point (Elephant's back) as it is quiet, away from other people and the wind is cool.
I could hear the thunder and the rain is starting to fall. I was really happy because if it rains, you can surely see the sea fog after. But it was just a shower and the rain must have been heavy at the base of the mountain below. So I decided to wait and see if there will be a sea fog tomorrow or not. Wish me luck!
After a while, I could see fog passing around due to the wind. So we were really glad and our fatigue started to go away. My travel buddy, Nong King, who has never visited this place before, kept on saying that it was "so beautiful!".
The weather here is nice and cool; almost cold. When it rains, it becomes very windy so we had to buy coats to protect us from the wind and rain.
I was quite tired today. In the evening, we made some sukiyaki (around 2-3 pots) since we brought a lot, we made some for our neighbors too who are girls and probably the last group that took 8 hours to walk. They must have been very tired and hungry.
On this night, the four of us ate well and we sat down to have a nice talk and share about each person's travel experiences before going to bed. I slept in a small tent. Nong Tai slept in a hammock. Nong King and Nong Wut slept in their sleeping bags. Tomorrow, we will surely see the fog. That's what I believed.
At around 5 AM, I got up to go to the toilet and the sky is starting to become bright. I haven't woken up this early in a long time so I was very surprised that it became bright so quickly. I started to see the view of sea fog beginning to come together so I woke everyone up to wash up and go to the view points.
The first point, I went to the most popular spot where everyone fights over to reach and sleep under the rocks. You can see the view at your feet and also get up to see the sea fog.
PS. When I went to take photos, my travel buddies haven't woken up yet. They were snoring so loudly. Very cute! Haha
The round rock there is called "Pha Mi". You can walk there and climb a little. It's not too difficult, lets's go!
At Pha Mi, it is a spot that you can't miss to see the sea fog and sun rise. Currently, I am the only person to climb up with a flashlight in hand. So brave!
It's time to set my camera up and take a cool photo of myself!
After a while, my travel buddies and other tourist groups started to follow.
Looking at my friends on"Pha Mi".
The camping under the rock can fit around 20 people. When you wake up, you can see the vast, beautiful view.
That rock looks just like a bear. Seeing it reminds me of the black bear that was shot by a mean criminal.
You can see a 360 degree view on the elephant's back. So if you are tired of the bear shaped rock, you can see the sea fog and sun rise from here instead.
There are strange and distinct looking rocks standing in the middle of the beautiful sunlight. Some people say that it is just like Khao Mokuju! (That's what they say. I don't know if it is true or not because I have never been to Khao Mokuji before..)
The elephant is so big! Let's take a relaxing walk!
On this side, you can also see the sea fog. It is very pretty!
In late morning, it starts to get hot so after walking around we went back to make some easy breakfast: coffee, bread with condensed milk and instant noodles with eggs and leftover vegetables from last night's sukiyaki. We were so full!
After eating, we put our camping stuff away and threw out the trash. We were the last group to descend the mountain.
The fog and mountain loving man is going home! The fog is still floating around.
Can I stay here longer??
We 2 men and 2 women who came from different places helped each other and began a great friendship finally reached our destination safely together. We got to see the beautiful nature. When we go home, we will definitely have fond memories and amazing stories to tell others.
"Why waste your weekend to such a tiring holiday?" some people might ask. But some people just don't understand our happiness.
Goodbye Pha Hin Kub. If we have the chance, we will visit you again!
:::Preparations and Stay Tips for Pha Hin Kub:::
- You can take a walk and study nature only on the weekend (Arrival on Saturday and Return on Sunday; you have to make a reservation through telephone with the officers here: Line ID : 081-1530308)
- Porters : You have to inform the officers in advance because during the fruit harvesting season, porters are very difficult to find and there are not enough porters for tourists. During my trip, I reserved 1 porter in advance but he didn't show up when I got there because he went out to harvest durians. Because of this, we had to carry our items ourselves.
- Prepare shirts for sleeping and sleeping bags by putting them in a waterproof bag or plastic bag before putting them in your backpack because there might be heavy rain during your trek.
-Prepare thick coats and sweaters because the wind up on the mountain is very windy especially when it rains.
- There aren't any toilets available so you need to find a place to use instead.
-Be careful of bees! There are quite a lot of them. For people who get sweaty like me, they will sting you a lot. People who are allergic to bees have to be especially careful.
- The area on the mountain can only fit 30 people so there won't be that many tents. Other than tents, there are hammocks and you can sleep under the rocks.
- There are 3 points to fill your bottle with natural water which are Hin Peung, Hin Pad Leam and Pha Hin Kub. For those who are not comfortable with drinking natural water, prepare enough bottled water in advance!
- There are some phone network signals available (some companies). Also, the signals are available only at some spots.
-Trash - you should prepare some bags to put the trash in. After cleaning up the trash, bring it down and throw it away. For wet trash (for example: food leftovers) you have to dig a hole and bury it. Don't forget to be responsible for the public area together!
:::Expenses:
- Fees (including site upkeep fee, tent fee and guide fee) 200 baht/person
- Food and drinks (5 meals) 400 baht/person on average
-Gas fee (Bangkok round trip) 400 baht/person on average
Total = around 1,000 baht / person (depending on the person)
A big thank you to my travel buddies with whom we shared a fun trip!
- Nong Tai, trail runner girl who is strong and skilled in trekking in forests. She carries backpacks which are as heavy as the men's. She took care of reservations, food and drinks for all of us. Thank you for pulling the slug off me. (so scared!!)
- Nong King, North Eastern Thai girl who has a very large sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is so large that it fills up almost all of her backpack. She took a flight from Ubol just to visit Pha Hin Kub for the first time and meet us for the first time as well. Even though we met for the first time, we became close very fast. She is talkative and loves to take photos of every detail of everything. She loved Pha Hin Kub and always say "so beautiful!"
- Nong Wut, a man with a mustache and many tattoos on his body but he is afraid of slugs just like me hahahaha. He likes to put tents up and is starting to love forest trekking so he came alone with us. He drove a two wheeled car from Lad Krabang to encounter new friendships and visit new places.
What about you guys? During the rainy season, go to see the beautiful sea fog at Pha Hin Kub!
"If you don't go and find new experiences, you will never find it"Life is a journey
อ้ายกึ่มมักเล๊าะ Photos taken during 5 - 6 May 2018
#ดีแต่เที่ยว #Thailand #ผาหินกูบ #จันทบุรี
อ้ายกึ่มมักเล๊าะ
Tuesday, June 26, 2018 4:22 PM
