Your guide wraps his strong, tan legs around the front of your red/orange/yellow kayak as you lower yourself in. He hands you a paddle and you push away from the dock, feeling yourself sway slightly as you get used to the balance. You follow your guide across the open water to the other side of the river, and then coast as close as possible to the shore. Your paddle slips silently in the water, only making a few splashes here and there as you strain to hear the sounds of life from within the bright green impenetrable wall of jungle. Monkeys crash from one tree top to another and a black and yellow great hornbill soars over your head. You slowly make your way from one lagoon to the next, appreciating the noisy quiet that only a thriving forest can provide.
Your kayak glides under one arching tree then another as you peer down into the glowing turquoise water to admire the new plants striving towards the sunlight and the old plant holding onto their place on the mountainside that is now underwater. Neon-blue dragon flies zip next to you, holding pace with your kayak, diving for the flies that also skim across the lake. Water bugs slip around, scrabbling for purchase and the surface tension that you have broken by paddling by. You pull the paddle into your lap and watch as the water drips from the end into the still water, creating ripple after ripple. You let yourself float to wherever the water pulls you and only start paddling again when you bump into a tree or two. Following the guide you paddle on in silence, with only a few other participants, the water, and the jungle to keep you company. More birds, more monkeys, and then crashing sounds from inside the jungle. The foliage is so thick you can't see past the first wall of trees, but something is there. You listen, just appreciating all the life and energy emanating out, appreciating that this little corner of the world, for now at least, has not been completely destroyed by humans.
You cross from lagoon to lagoon, each new sections bringing small beautiful wonders before your eyes, wonders so small and insignificant that you know a picture couldn't capture it. The warmth of the water as you dip your fingers in, cicadas screaming in the distance the constant rustling of a bush that ends in the appearance of a tiny green lizard, all these and more. You feel calm and at peace and happy to be where you are, right there in the middle of the national park in Thailand.
You turn your kayak around to start heading back, and there, arching across the sky, is a double rainbow. It is reflected in the still water, its bright colors glowing brighter with each minute. You are thankful for the rain earlier in the afternoon that brought this rainbow on, and just let yourself float and enjoy it.
The sky behind you begins to turn gold, changing the reflection of the water under it to gold as well. It's time to paddle back now, to get back before nightfall, so you slowly and reluctantly dip your paddle into the water to begin the trip to your small floating bungalow. Each stroke is half hearted as you take in as much of the sunset as possible before it slips away. Like all good things, you know it will end sooner than you would like. You take 100 pictures, each one duller and grayer than you know it to be in real life. The gold in the sky on your left burns brighter while the sky to your right has turned brilliant shades of red, pink, orange and yellow.
Straight ahead the rainbow is fading but no matter where you look, you are surrounded by beauty. You are nearly back to the bungalow now and stall for time to enjoy the sunset a few more minutes. Finally you know it is time, and you climb out of the kayak onto the floating walkways. You stay there, watching the ribbons of pink and gold slowly but surely fade from the sky as the cicadas in the jungle scream even louder. The generator turns on, ruining the sounds of nature, and a long tail boat zooms by, its deafening engine drowning everything else out and echoing through the hills and still you sit there, your legs dangling in the clear warm water and enjoy the last few rays of color on the sky and lake until it all fades to black. You smile to yourself, because you know tomorrow is another day in this beautiful place.
The sky behind you begins to turn gold, changing the reflection of the water under it to gold as well. It's time to paddle back now, to get back before nightfall, so you slowly and reluctantly dip your paddle into the water to begin the trip to your small floating bungalow. Each stroke is half hearted as you take in as much of the sunset as possible before it slips away. Like all good things, you know it will end sooner than you would like. You take 100 pictures, each one duller and grayer than you know it to be in real life. The gold in the sky on your left burns brighter while the sky to your right has turned brilliant shades of red, pink, orange and yellow.
Straight ahead the rainbow is fading but no matter where you look, you are surrounded by beauty. You are nearly back to the bungalow now and stall for time to enjoy the sunset a few more minutes. Finally you know it is time, and you climb out of the kayak onto the floating walkways. You stay there, watching the ribbons of pink and gold slowly but surely fade from the sky as the cicadas in the jungle scream even louder. The generator turns on, ruining the sounds of nature, and a long tail boat zooms by, its deafening engine drowning everything else out and echoing through the hills and still you sit there, your legs dangling in the clear warm water and enjoy the last few rays of color on the sky and lake until it all fades to black. You smile to yourself, because you know tomorrow is another day in this beautiful place.
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