While in Hua Hin, we took a few day trips. The most memorable one was to the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, which is about 63 km. south of Hua Hin. Khao Sam Roi Yot translates to "Mountains of Three Hundred Peaks."
The Park is full of interesting rock formations, forested hills, valleys and beaches.
It is also home to a bunch of wild monkeys. I guess that's not a big deal to the locals, but for me it was interesting to see them in their natural setting.
One of the main attractions at the Park is the Phraya Nakhon Cave (named after the ruler Nakhon Sri Thammarat), but it can only be reached by taking a 1 km. hike up some stoney steps.
On the weekend, a boat can be hired to skip this hike, but unfortunately we were there on a Tuesday. Still, the trek offered some nice views (thankfully there were handrails).
Once we finished this portion of the hike, we had to make our way through some woods to yet another set of steps that led to the cave.
The distance (430 m.) didn't seem like much after the initial hike, but the steps were much steeper, rockier and a lot more treacherous (not unlike the ones Frodo and Sam had to climb in "The Lord of the Rings.")
The climb proved to be a worthwhile one though, as the cave had a feeling of mystery to it...
The highlight here is a royal pavilion built when King Rama V visited the Caves in the 1890s.
One of the chambers of the caves has a collapsed roof which allows the sunlight to pour in (sorry for the lousy photo). I guess that this means that the area is not technically a cave, but who cares?
All in all it was a worthwhile trip and did not require too much physical exertion. If two of my kids can do it (ages 8 and 5), then so can you.
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