Camping season in Thailand is generally a short window from late November to mid-February due to the country’s weather and climate. This is the only time of year it gets cool enough at night (below 20 Celsius) to sleep comfortably in a tent. The rest of the year is either too hot or too wet, so we have to take advantage of this precious time of year to go camping as often as possible.
Work commitments also mean that I’m mostly limited to weekends, which works against us because commercial campsites often get busy with large, noisy groups of locals on Saturdays.
The solution to this is to camp in National Parks, which are generally quieter and cheaper despite the dual pricing, but they have their own drawbacks with long lists of rules and regulations, including no campfires, no barbeques, no fishing, no drinks, no music, etc.
We managed to camp at ten different sites this season: Ang Hin lake in Prachuap, the river at Kaeng Krachan, Hat Wanakon National Park (twice), Kha On waterfall for New Year, Kui Camp in Kuiburi, Ron Tong gold panning camp in Bangsaphan (twice), Hupgahang camp west of Pranburi, Bun Bun camp near Ranong, Huay Yang National Park, and Namtok Kapo Forest Park.
Hupgahang is by far the best one for me; we camped there last year also. With no power, phone signal, or internet up there, and 4×4 access only (though the Triton handled three river crossings), it is tough to get to, which means you don’t see any other people for days — truly unplugged, off-grid camping.
Kha On waterfall is a close second because it’s also off-grid and has become our regular New Year spot to get away from it all, as we have befriended the local rangers.
By mid-February, the stifling heat had returned, so it was time to pack up the camping gear for another year and look forward to December again.
[Photos not usual quality as they were all taken on a phone.]
