Khao Sok is teeming with wildlife, from Malayan sun bears to barking deer, but what perhaps drew us in the most was the opportunity to see wild monkeys from our tree-house porch. We didn't see any the first day and were a bit nervous that a monkey sighting might not be as common as we'd hoped. But on the second morning, at 5:45 a.m., I was awakened by a sharp and strange chatter outside our window. We ventured outside to find at least 20 macaques cavorting in the trees all around us, some as close as only 15 feet away. They stuck around for hours, eating fruit, swinging from the vines, and wrestling with one another. We sat back in our balcony chairs and watched them for hours; in fact, we missed breakfast. Worth it. It was an amazing experience.
Tip: Guard your stuff! Our resort actually reminded us to put away our toiletries before leaving for the day, because the local monkeys have quite a penchant for playing in shower gel and shampoo.
