Mae Nam Ping Kayak Tour 2022

Day 3: Kayaking to Bpan’s Raft

13 January Bpan’s Raft (22 kilometers paddling to Three-Way Junction, then 11 kilometers tow)
After breakfast this morning, I changed to the fiber kayak with Iew in the front, an arrangement that lasted for the rest of the trip. I liked paddling with Iew, who is a steadier paddler than me, and the extra speed of the fiber kayak. My arms had recovered overnight and didn’t give me any more trouble. As yesterday, our route began with a narrow section of river which opened up. A huge cliff face on the left supposedly represents a cat, but takes lots of imagination. A bit farther on the left we stopped to visit Tham Chang Rong (Elephant Cry Cave), filled with shrines and inhabited by bats. We tied up at a pair of monastery rafts, one a hall and another a well-stocked kitchen, then walked atop precarious planks to the shore for a short trail up to the cave and a fine panorama. Trails led higher up the hillside to more views and monk’s kutis (huts). I found visits to Buddhist shrines and temples one of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip.

Uncle Dten, Chat, and Jai watch as David and Areeya paddle off at the start of another day’s adventure.


The sun has yet to rise above the mountain.


Chris takes in the view.


Areeya likes to snap photos!


Banana plants tower over a floating garden.


Often we would stop paddling to listen to sounds of bird calls and tinkling cattle bells coming from the forest.


We head toward the sun.


A village on rafts


At Tham Chang Rong (Elephant Cry Cave) we dock at the monastery rafts, then face this dodgy plank bridge to shore.
Will David make it across or not? In the end he chooses discretion and shuttles over by boat.


Chat and Jai pull in too.


A shrine inside Tham Chang Rong (Elephant Cry Cave).


I think this shrine honors King Taksin (1734-82), who led the fight to expel
the Burmese after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, then subsequently reunified Siam.


A reminder that life is impermanent


View from the mouth of the cave

Another 7 kilometers of paddling took us into a very wide section, where the temple complex Geang Soi came into view on the right. It’s an old place whose original structures now lie underwater. We parked at a raft, then climbed a brush-covered hillside to a long pathway that contoured along a slope past many statues and shrines. Side trails climbed to a golden chedi and halls. The path crossed many bridges over steep ravines and ended at a shrine.

Beneath towering cliffs


Only part of the Geang Soi temple complex


The long pathway that we followed past statues and shrines


View from the heights at the modest golden chedi


A shrine glows in golden hues.


This Buddha image sits atop a small hill at the end of the pathway.


View back the way we came from the end of the pathway

A 6-kilometer paddle took us to Three-Way Junction, where the Mae Tuen joins the Ping, and the only shop on our journey. Areeya treated us to fruit ices, the village ice cream. Chris had planned for us to stay on one of the rafts here, but the owners were reluctant to host us. Instead they offered use of a family raft 11 kilometers downriver. We had already paddled 22 kilometers today and another 11 would have been exhausting and put us in after dark. Chris came up with the idea of having Jai and Chat give us a tow with their motorboat, and we had a relaxing trip east on the river under towering cliffs to our overnight spot. Here we set up tents, a bit cramped on the small raft. Jai and Chat served dinner, then moored nearby for the night. They amazed us not only with the great food, but also how well they kept everything on their little boat neatly organized and stored.

Paddling in the late-afternoon light


Areeya pretends to paddle when she’s really getting a tow.
Raft houses and the shop of Three-Way Junction recede in the background.


Chris doesn’t even pretend to paddle.


David enjoys the tow.

On to Day 4: Kayaking to Jai’s and Chat’s Raft

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