We visited Thailand at
probably the worst time of year for birding but time constraints could not be overcome!
The best time to visit is apparently between December and February when a lot of the
northern migrants are still around. However, we did manage to see 235 species of mostly
resident birds and 21 species of mammal, amongst other things. Despite being the wet
season it rained only a few times during our three week visit. Travel in Thailand is very
easy, relaxing and enjoyable; there is a list of over 900 species and a great network of
national parks and reserves, most with excellent facilities.
A number of birding reports on Thailand are
available, many of them excellent but I did find that quite a few of them are out of date
or contained errors. Many people seem to have assumed that Thailand is already well
covered so why bother writing in-depth of their trip. I found this a bit frustrating so
I've gone the whole hog! After all, if you know it all already you can always skip the
boring bits…
 Acknowledgments
Thanks to Phil Round for advice regarding
sites worth visiting. (Incidentally, a number of sources claim that Phil can assist with
permits to enter Huai Kha Khaeng - this is fiction and very annoying, probably to him and
the person requesting such a favour). Richard Thomas was very helpful with information via
email. Also, thanks to Stuart for letting me use his notes. Mr. Daeng at Doi Inthanon was
very friendly and helpful, providing an excellent map of the best birding sites. Lastly,
the people of Thailand in general could not be more friendly and helpful, making travel in
the country a joy.
Books
Obviously, Lekagul and Round's Birds
of Thailand is the field guide of choice. I also used King's Birds of
Southeast Asia as an adjunct. Keith Taylor's A Birder's Guide to Thailand
is invaluable albeit slightly outdated and containing a couple of minor errors. Other
useful books were National Parks of Thailand by Gray, Piprell &
Graham - an excellent book readily available in Thailand - and Mammals of
South-East Asia by the Earl of Cranbrook. We found a number of excellent small
publications such as Mammals of Khao Yai and Mammal Tracks of
Thailand for sale in the national parks. ñ
Transport
Getting around Thailand really is the least of your
worries! There is a multitude of ways to travel - we used train, car, bus, tuktuk, song
klaew, our feet and hitchhiked. Driving in Thailand was much easier than expected; the
traffic is far less chaotic than Vietnam or Indonesia, for example. All signs on the major
roads are written in Roman script as well as Thai, driving is on the left (very civilised)
and once you get used to a few little peculiarities, it’s easy. That said, easily the
most pleasant mode of transport is the train. There is an excellent network, it is cheap,
convenient and very comfortable. I particularly recommend the overnight sleeper between
Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The overnight bus to Chiang Mai was rather scary due to the
maniacal nature of our driver, but the bus to and from Phetburi was very sedate. ñ
Some notes on sites visited:
Khao Yai National Park
Very well known and covered by other
reports but accommodation may be a bit confusing. There is now no accommodation available
in the park except for a couple of bungalows that are apparently rather vermin infested.
The park charges a couple of dollars a night and provides no bedding. We met an Irish
tourist who claims he saw a snake in the bungalow he stayed in! On the other hand, the
campsite is excellent with clean bathing and toilet facilities and a couple of eating
places that seem to open quite early. Unfortunately, we took no camping equipment with us
due to being told and having read that Thai people never camp (which is rubbish). We had
to stay at the Khao Yai Garden Lodge, which is excellent but requires a long drive to the
park every morning. We were able to get into the park by 0630 most mornings but the drive
was a hassle and camping would have been far more pleasant. Nevertheless, I highly
recommend the lodge for its fabulous rooms, clean facilities and excellent food. The food
at all the parks is tasty but rather limited (Khao Yai has a much better range than the
other parks we visited). It doesn’t take long to get very sick of the 3 or 4 dishes
on offer. ñ
Nam Nao
There are about 10 bungalows and a
large camp ground, didn’t appear to be any accommodation outside the park unless you
are prepared to drive a very long way each day. As with all the parks you can book the
bungalows through the Forestry Department in Bangkok (579-4842), although it is often hard
to get through. The bungalows are spartan with concrete floors and cold water only;
bedding is provided but it’s uncertain how regularly it is washed. Be aware that the
campground is popular with students who like to stay up all night chatting and playing
guitar badly (aaargh!). ñ
Doi Inthanon
Again bungalows are very simple but
spartan, the campground is good with so-so facilities (I wouldn’t like to vouch for
their cleanliness). Insects were plentiful when we visited but mosquito coils are
available at the park shop, as are snacks, drinks, beer, etc. During our visit the eating
places closed ne night, at least, before 7:30 so be careful! ñ
Doi Ang Khang
Seems to be a variety of accommodation available here now
from simple bungalows to an upmarket but still fairly simple hotel, camping is probably
not an option though. We stayed at the excellent Doi Ang Khang Nature Resort, very flash
but the food at the hotel is some of the best we had in Thailand and that’s saying
something! ñ
Kaeng Krachan
As I mentioned above, there are bungalows
at the park headquarters but they are just too far away to really get the most out of this
brilliant area. I would strongly recommend hiring a car and camping in the park for 3 or 4
days. Motorbikes are not allowed in the park. A birding logbook is kept at the HQ, this is
well worth a look. A number of people have seen Leopard in the park, amongst other much
sought-after birds and mammals. That said, most of the really good bird lists seem to have
been recorded around January to April. ñ
Thailand Bird List and Mammal List |
