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Lam Klong Ngu - Three Pagodas Pass In this column last Thursday I made a promise. I told you, as we were going left at a small Y-junction in a Kanchanaburi forest, that we would come back to that point and try the other road, the one on the right. (For those who missed last week's column, the road fork we're talking about is near the Dong Yai checkpoint, 20 kilometres northwest of the famous Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall.) Well, that's what we're doing now! Just two and a half kilometres up that dusty road from our starting point, you'll run into a T-junction. The road to the left will join with the one we took last week, that road to Ban Saphan Lao and Ban Sahakorn Nikhom. Of course, take the road on the right. Pretty soon you'll reach a village called Ban Phu Toey where there's a trail to Sao Hin Cave. But, wait, you're not supposed to go there by yourself. The cave is part of the Lam Klong Ngu National Park. (Contact the park in advance for permission and rangers to accompany you.) About eight kilometres from Ban Phu Toey you'll find another settlement, Ban Khao Phra In. Here, Lam Klong Ngu National Park has a forest protection unit and the trail to Tham Nok Aen starts from the unit. About 6.5 kilometres from Khao Phra In there is a T-junction. Here, if you turn right, you can go on to Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. But our plan today is Lam Klong Ngu, so turn left. After that T-junction, you'll pass Ban Huai Sua and the temporary office of Lam Klong Ngu, which is on your right. (It was originally on the left side of the road but for some reason they've moved.) Anyway, follow the road and it will take you to Ban Thung Nang Kruan. Here you'll find the side road to Thung Nang Kruan Waterfall, today's Point C. Fourteen kilometres up the road from Ban Thung Nang Kruan, you'll emerge on Highway 323 at Phuttho. If you need to go back to Kanchanaburi now, turn left here. But if you're happy to go further, steer right. On the 323, less than six kilometres from Phuttho, you'll find Kroeng Kra Wia Waterfall (D1) on your right with the minor road to Dai Chong Thong Waterfall on the other side of the highway. Not far from that point, the road will start to take you uphill and the reservoir of Vajiralongkorn (Khao Laem) Dam comes into sight. Soon you'll reach the headquarters of Khao Laem National Park. The park's lakeside Pom Pee camping ground (D2) is about 500 metres up the 323, on the opposite side of the road. The distance between Pom Pee and the Sangkhla Buri junction is about 27 kilometres. From the junction the town of Sangkhla Buri is about 3.5 kilometres down the road on your left. The Three Pagodas Pass is 18 kilometres up the other road. |