Gateway to Indochina Phu Chong Na Yoi National Park sits in Ubon Ratchathani, the door to Laos, Cambodia and beyond As our car drove through the lush green forest park to its headquarters, I was fascinated by the sheer beauty of the surroundings that embrace a rich diversity of plant and animal life, and the prospect of exploring them added to the sense of anticipation and excitement. I was told that the park regularly attracts students who come to study its habitat because it is one the few in the country that actively promotes conservation and preservation of the ecosystem. As such, the first instructions we received from guide Boonmee Chantasit, who has spent 10 of the 19 years the park has been declared a national reserve, was no littering and carrying out with us everything we brought in. At the start of the trek he told us the park straddles the districts of Buntharik, Na Chaluai and Nam Yuen on Thai side, and Laos and Cambodia to form an area called Sam Liam Morakot or the Emerald Triangle that's notorious for rampant wildlife trade and poaching. It pained him to tell us that most visitors to Ubon Ratchathani prefer Kaeng Tana and Pha Taem parks in the district of Khong Chiam because they offered more variety, but he quickly pointed out that his park drew more students and scholars who came to study its habitat and ecosystem, and to conduct surveys, and it was his pleasure to lead them on such excursions. He then pulled out a diary to show us the list of clients he had logged over the years, among them overseas scholars, who were attracted to the park's diverse flora and fauna, including some rare and threatened species such as the Sunda pangolin, slow loris, pileated gibbon, pig-tailed macaque, bear, golden jackal and sambar. Also spotted have been rare birds: the Fujian Niltava and Japanese Thrush. Perennial plants such as wild champacs, under which thrived small flowers, abound. Iron wood, Burmese ebony, Krakak (of Dipterocarpaceae family), black wood, Makha and Kaelae (of Moraceae family) - could be spotted in the park, purported to be the last patch of rose wood still remaining in the province after years of illegal logging. Now villagers are being encouraged to replant the tree to prevent rose wood from becoming extinct. We set off mid-afternoon, the slight drizzle adding a touch of exuberance to the trek. Boonmee said most of the 428,750-rai park was mountainous terrain with a dense forest cover provided by tall evergreens, dipterocarp and deciduous trees, while the soil was a fertile mix of laterite minerals and sand pocked with cliffs. Phu Chong Na Yoi was the source of several streams that feed Moon and Mekong rivers. The mountains ensure a mild climate all year round, although winters can be cold sometimes, while the vast forest cover minimises chances of mudslides. One of the prime park attractions is the three-tiered Huay Luang Waterfall that locals call Buk Teo, just three-and-a-half kilometres from park headquarters. It has a viewpoint with a staircase leading to lower levels of the 40-metre-high fall from where water plunges into a large emerald pool in which visitors can be seen frolicking or relaxing on the fringes. For campers and visitors wanting to spend the night, there is the Phu Hin Dang cliff that promises a panoramic view of Laos on the lowland. However, early winter mornings it is shrouded in mist. Meanwhile, 16 kilometres from Phu Chong Na Yoi is the Emerald Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia meet. The Sala Tri Mook border checkpoint is reputedly a place where one can buy organs of wild animals and exotic meats. It is not something new, said Boonmee, but the opening of the check-point has certainly played into the hands of wildlife traffickers. The park has become their happy hunting ground. If you have more time to spare, cross into Laos and foray deeper the Boloven peninsula to Attapeu Province through which ran the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail, the life line of communist troops fighting to liberate and reunite South Vietnam with the North. You can trek through jungles to hill tribe villages and then head south to Four Thousand Islands after which the Mekong River enters Cambodia. From here you can continue downstream past jungles all the way to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. MORE INFO Phu Chong Na Yoi National Park can be reached via Na Chaluay District on public buses. It is 100 kilometre from Muang Ubon. The fare is 25 baht. If self-driving, take the Ubon-Warin Chamrap-Det Udom-Numyuen-Na Chaluay route. The distance is 140 kilometres long. For more information, call 045-249-330 (32). Accomodation: Phu Chong Na Yoi has five types of bungalows with prices ranging from 600-4000 baht. Tents are also available. Visitors should notify if they need a cook. Seminar facilities are also available. Getting to Ubon: By Car : Take Highway 1 (Phahon Yothin) and connect to Friendship Highway which is Highway 2, then switch to Route 24 (Chok Chai-Det Udom) and drive all the way to the park. The total distance is 629 kilometres. By Bus : Both air-conditioned and ordinary buses leave Mor Chit Bus Terminal daily for Ubon Ratchathani. For details, call 02-271-0101-5 (ordinary buses) and 02-279-4484-7 (air-conditioned bues). Sahamit Tour (02-282-5271) and Si Ubon Tour (02-271-2985) also operate daily service. By rail: Three trains connect Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani every day. Ubon is also linked by train from Nakhon Ratchasima and Surin provinces. For details, call 02-223-7010, 02-223-7020. By Air : Thai Airways International a daily flight from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani. THAI office on Lan Luang Road, Bangkok, can reached by calling 02-280-0070, 02-280-0080; and Ubon Ratchathani office 045-254-431. You can also book via Bodin Hotel in Ubon Ratchathani by calling 045-255-777. |