Ladyboy camping in Khao Yai National Park
Khao Yai National Park in Thailand is a great place for a safari and to camp with ladyboys.
This is part III of a III part series on the author's experience in Khao Yai National Park in 2005.
After I watched my new friends depart I was alone in the jungle, so I headed over to the Visitor’s Center to inquire about information about the park. The girl at the front desk was very helpful and it was great to know that everything could be booked right here for the park.
I usually hike by myself, but I figured since I was unfamiliar with the park not to mention the flora and fauna, it would be best to have a guide. I booked a guided walk for the day and then checked out the exhibit in the Visitor's Center. Since tigers are the mammalian highlight of the park there was a prominent display in the center regarding these beautiful cats. Apparently there are about 30 in the park, but nobody ever sees them. The last tiger attack on a person in the park occurred in the mid 1970s and I think that was the last time anyone has seen a tiger here. The offending tiger was shot and the others learned two valuable lessons. Do not kill humans and do not even be seen by them.
I hiked about four or five miles with my guide through the jungle, and we went extremely slow and saw quite an array of birds. On our way back to the Visitor’s Center we saw a giant black squirrel and a really cool hawk with this large plume on top of its head. We also saw a few hornbills, which are these giant almost prehistoric birds that are kind of a cross between a heron and a toucan. I asked my guide if he had ever seen a tiger and he replied that he had not.
When we returned to the Visitor’s Center the same attendant was there and she said the campground was 10km from the center. I could either hitchhike or pay to get a ride there. As great of a time as I had the night before with a group of young Thai men that I met when I hitchhiked into the park, I did not want to repeat this today. I had booked an early guided walk the next day and then I wanted to leave the park and return to Bangkok before it was too late, so I wanted to rest tonight. I decided to pay for the ride.
While driving to the campground we saw a couple of giant monitor lizards, deer all over the place, and a whole flock of hornbills. The ranger suggested I walk along this road after I set up camp. She dropped me off at the campground and said she would pick me up at 8am for my guided walk in the morning. I was really impressed because at the campground there was a little café and a place to rent camping equipment. Sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and tents were all available for rent, so it was not necessary to bring much of anything. I paid $1.00 usd for the campsite.
Giant black squirrel
After I set up the tent I went for a walk and saw swarms of hornbills, a few deer, and many other birds. I saw a hint of orange moving in the distance and thought could it be a tiger, but it was a small pack of wild dogs that crossed the road about a quarter of a mile in front of me.
I returned to camp and there were many new campers and all of them were Thai. One man jiggled a glass and yelled at me “thai whiskey?” I thanked him, but I just wanted to chill in my campground tonight and go to bed early. When I got to my tent spot I had new neighbors. “Welcome to Thailand,” my new neighbors shouted and waved. I could not put off such a hearty friendly welcome, so I walked over and introduced myself. They insisted I join their campfire.
It was a very nice couple named Toon and Tik and their brother or sister Wit. I was not sure of the gender of Wit not knowing the gender differences in Thai names and her looks did not give me a clue. She had kind of a masculine build, but her mannerisms were all feminine. She was of course a hairdresser. Later in the evening Tik confirmed my suspicion that Wit was a katoey or a ladyboy.
Again I was sucked into Thai hospitality as they had fresh mangos sliced up, thai whiskey, rice, and beef strips. It is not every day one sees jungle wildlife and then camps out with even crazier Thai wildlife, but it seemed to be par for the course in my little expedition to Khao Yai.
The next morning my new friends invited me for breakfast as they began to pack up their belongings. They even packed a little care bag of rice and beef and some mango for me that they gave me to eat on my hike. It amazed me how generous people could be. I had only met these people for less than a day and I was treated like family.
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The magnificent great hornbill
My ride came and I waved goodbye to my new friends. My ride took me back to the Visitor’s Center for another guided walk. I asked her how long she had worked as a ranger and she said she had been a ranger there for 12 years. I asked her if she had ever seen a tiger in the park and she said never. Come to Khao Yai National Park in Thailand and have a great safari. You may not see a tiger, but you might get to camp with a ladyboy.
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Comments
Some like you do and some people, such as me, just dream of these adventures and trips.
I've never camped with a ladyboy, but I get my hair cut by one and one of my closest friends is dating one, LOL. Love ladyboys - they're very funny :-)
I love the way Thai people deal with ladyboys. They are a national joke, but never in a derogatory way. They think they are funny, but are treated with respect and dignity and never treated meanly from what I have observed. Another way that our culture could learn from the Thais.
Thanks you again for sharing more of your wonderful adventure. Hiking and camping got you further into the culture than most tourists get.
"Ladyboy?" Glad to hear it is not a derogatory term in Thailand. :-) I'm also glad to hear that there have been no tiger attacks on humans in decades.
Can we now call you LadyBoy Ted? Interesting reading!
Ted, this has been an amazing series of stories about your experiences. It sounds like your trip was wonderful, and I am insanely jealous- but most of all, I hope you will do more of these kinds of articles- I have really enjoyed taking a peek into your life amongst the Thai and the ladyboys. Thank you for sharing your stories and your experiences.
How cool is that?!? Thailand is actually on "my list" of must-do places. This reminds me of my made-up Hawaiian word: Kamanunouwanna! ;-)
I suspect you've had many "hospitable" experiences, Ted. We are mirrors, after all, in our purest essence. Wishing you many more... and Aloha!
Interesting finale to this series..enjoyed it.
Cheers..
Ted it was a great perspective and I think you are right, we could learn a lot from how they treat their elders and their Ladyboys.
Great article. Sounds strange to hear of a visitor's center in the middle of the jungle. The "ladyboy" reminded me of Pat on SNL. Glad you were able to solve the mystery.
Loved this piece...thanks! I remember our first encounter with ladyboys on the streets of the Chiang Mai night market. My husband was watching these beautiful women singing some lounge act at a mall, and it took him a few minutes before we figured out they were men (or at least had been men). Living in San Francisco we've seen it all, but as is usual, the Thais manage to put their own unique, wonderful spin on everything. Cheers!
I'm thrilled by these stories and photos, Ted. I'm looking forward to reading your earlier adventures as well, as I work my way backwards through them. Thailand is a great place, though Thai whiskey has done many a good man in, including myself. My heart and soul however, will always be in Burma, and maybe along the border regions of Thailand.
Ladyboy camping? Now, that's a twist!
ive just returned after extensive trips overseas for five years and spent much time all over thailand,such amasing people ,culture ,religion language and food . ilove evrything about this land of big smile,i now have a thai wife and plan to travel back 2010 and hopefully get to see khao yai.
Michael,
Not sure what I should congratulate you on more. The fact that you just got married, have a Thai wife, or the fact that you spent five years overseas. Sounds like you are living the life.
ladyboys are normal part of life in thailand, and many become ladyboys from the age of 5 - they find an older "sister" in their school and learn how to talk and dress - its accepted. but they are stigmatised in thailand. however many make a lot of money in sex from a young age, and retire early around age 25 and have a good laugh at the regular thais, while they are riding around in the latest convertible car. i have 2 friends who worked the international sex trade, and they are multimillionaires in their late 20s.one has the most perfect breasts ive ever seen on a guy or girl!
TGB,
Thank you for the interesting background information on ladyboys.
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