Tubing In Khao Sok, Thailand

I don’t suppose many people have heard of tubing. Those who travel to South East Asia usually take on this activity if it is offered as it is a little bit different, and can be a lot of fun in a group. All you need to go tubing is the inner tube from a tractor tyre and a river. The concept, as you may have guessed, is floating down the river on the tube with your friends and seeing where you end up. Normally you are taken out by locals who know the river and arrange for a vehicle to pick you up when you reach the end point, or are forced to before you sail over a waterfall (probably not as fun as it sounds).

When I was in Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, tubing was one of the activities on the agenda. I did know what this was beforehand as a friend had told me what I should expect. I was not really looking forward to the experience because when he went the water was dark brown and had excrement floating along. He recalled positioning himself on the tube in such a way that none of his body touched the water; this does not sound like a comfortable ride. However, I was not deterred by this and was prepared to try anything once. The rest of the tour group and I dragged our inner tubes to the waters edge and waded to the middle of the river (which was brown but excrement free). We were told that there were a lot of eels in the river but once we were under way we laid back and took it all in. Unfortunately it was tipping down with rain for the entire time in Khao Sok but as we were sitting in a river this did not matter. We cruised for about 30 minutes in total and were followed by monkeys in the tree tops the majority of the way which was pretty special. There were a few hairy moments when the current took us off track into the bushes on the banks but the locals were experienced and eventually got you back on route.

The only downside of tubing is that you cannot take photos unless you have a water proof camera. I did not and so the only memories I have are in my head. It is not recommended to do this in the UK or under your own esteem because tides and currents can be unpredictable. Keep and eye out for tubing as I can see it catching on as a leisure activity in other tourist hot spots if it hasn’t already. Has anybody else “tubed”? Leave me a comment and let me know.