Chasin’ Waterfalls (Day 3)
Day 3: Pai Viewpoint – Pai Canyon – Susu Waterfall – Pha Suea Waterfall – Pang Ung
We both agreed that going to sleep with the sun and waking with it felt amazing. But we also realized that our minimalistic camping was almost too minimalistic. We were camping with only a tent and sleeping sheets; there were no mats or sleeping bags. In the mountains during rainy season this was definitely not enough to keep us comfortably warm.
It was a foggy morning and once again we received help from the villagers with starting our fire. We cooked white rice and Tom Yum soup for breakfast and packed the leftovers. Then we started the journey back down the mountain which went surprisingly smoother than uphill. We backtracked slightly to go visit Pai Canyon which was totally worth it.
We stopped to buy more water since we realized we were consuming about 4.5L per day for drinking and cooking. Also we bought cotton balls and Vaseline (15 + 45 THB) to use for fire starter; this is something Paulina learned was a cheap and easy hack from her training with Fort McMurray Search and Rescue. We passed on Mo Paeng waterfall and Tham Lot cave, although many people normally stop to visit those sites and instead stopped for a delicious Pad Thai at a village.
We continued our chase for waterfalls when we came upon Susu Waterfall off Hwy 1095. We handed the park guard a pocketful of change since we didn’t have any small bills to pay the park fee and he was satisfied with this. Although we didn’t end up seeing the waterfall because we got distracted having lunch with our friend George, it was very worth the detour. Our meeting with George, our new monkey friend, is an experience you just can’t pay to get. We were the only people in the park and as far as we know George was wild as wild can be but he must have been a young gibbon because he was curious and friendly. The mannerism of George was hysterical to us because for the entire hour we were at the park George tried to inconspicuously follow us around. Eventually George seemed to be getting cranky and had his eyes set on stealing the contents of our backpacks so it was time to move on.
For more videos of George, CLICK HERE to check out our Youtube channel.
We headed to Thampla-Phasua National Park off Hwy 1285 but we passed on the Fish cave (100 THB per person) and made a quick stop at Phasuea waterfall since there was no swimming. We camped at Pang Ung Royal Forest Park aka “The Switzerland of Thailand” for free. We had a giant campfire and cooked enough potatoes and beans for leftovers for tomorrow too! Once again it rained that night so we struggled keeping ourselves warm with only the tent and a sleeping sheet between the cold, wet, hard ground and ourselves.
Expenses: 350 THB = $13 CAD
Distance: 183 km
