Watch the Birdie

This is a part of an article on global travel adventures published in the May issue of 'August' magazine, Singapore.

A kayaking expedition through the jungle in Khao Sok, Thailand, also lets you get up close with the wildlife

Fifty feet from me at the end of a creek is a serpent eagle perched on a tree stump. Even with my zoom lens he’s still just a small speck in the center of the picture, so I quietly paddle my kayak forward, shooting photos with one hand as I go. He’ll fly off the moment I startle him, so I have to sneak up gently.

I’m in Khao Sok national park, a set of karst limestone river valleys formed into a massive reservoir by the Ratchaprapha dam in the Surat Thani province of Thailand. These valleys are almost entirely undeveloped, with just a small set of primitive floating bamboo huts for visitors. Packs of gibbons roam through the trees, and hornbills, kingfishers and white-bellied sea eagles nest and hunt here. But I haven’t seen a serpent eagle before, and it’s an impressive bird.

I keep paddling forward, certain that the eagle will flee any moment. Thirty feet, twenty feet, and still he stays. I keep shooting as he grows in the viewfinder. He’s staring at me now, clearly wondering what this strange creature is that has the torso of a human but a bottom half made from red plastic.

There are no roads in the park and few trails. As the jungle reaches right down to the water’s edge, and creeks and river valleys penetrate into the foliage in all directions, kayak is by far the best way to travel.

Our guide sets the routine for us – waking before dawn to catch birds and animals foraging for breakfast, then snooze through the heat of the day and head out again in the afternoon. With so few humans here the animals thrive, and we see so many species of animals that our guide has his work cut out identifying them. Langurs, Macaques, Muntjac, Otters, wild pigs – they say there are even Elephants, Tigers and Clouded Leopards in the park, though you’re unlikely to spot these reclusive creatures as you paddle gently through the towering limestone cliffs.

It’s only when my kayak bumps into the tree stump that the eagle finally flies away. He’s not used to being hunted, and in my kayak I don’t look like any recognisable threat, so he lets me get surprisingly close. Overhead the gibbons laugh at me, and I paddle slowly away.

Kayaking tour and guiding organised by PaddleAsia, Phuket, Thailand