After a long night's travel by train and a three hour bus ride to Khao Sok national park, we were all definitely feeling a little tired and worn out, so a day with as little movement as possible was definitely in order.

We were all really excited to be in such an amazing place, Khao Sok national park is a remnant of a 160 million year old forest eco system. If you didn't know any better you would think you were in Jurassic Park, minus the monstrous dinosaurs. It was our first day here so we all wanted to get out and see some of the beauty that this national park has to offer, and what better way to see a place without spending any energy at all than river tubing!

We packed a cooler full of ice cold beverages, grabbed a bunch of tubes and jumped in the river. Once we all got in, cracked open a few cold ones, sat back in our tubes, we had a chance take in the raw beauty of this place. Thick lush green jungle everywhere and giant limestone cliffs hanging over us, and the surprisingly calming sound of thousands of screaming insects, birds and who knows what else hanging out with us along the river.

The hot sun beading down and the cool river water running underneath you, the combination feels almost too good to be true.. surreal is the best way i could describe the whole scenerio. The river was pretty slow due to little rain over the past couple days, which i think enhanced our laziness by about 120%.

Needless to say i think we accomplished our objective of doing just about nothing but still in somewhat of an awesomely productive manner. A bunch of good friends, a little tube surfing, insane setting, and a few cold drinks, just another epic day of Thailand adventure travel with the Beach Travellers crew.

-Antoni Spizzirri, Beach Travellers Thailand guide

We understand that there is currently some concern over travel to Thailand because of the demonstrations that are going on in Bangkok. Certain travel reports have issued warnings which may have people worried about travelling to Thailand at this time. However, our group leaders are currently in Bangkok keeping a very close watch on the protests and at the moment there is absolutely no danger to travellers and tourism is continuing as per usual in the Kingdom of Thailand. Bangkok is a very large city, therefore it is easy to avoid any areas of the city where demonstrations may be happening. City highlights such as markets, temples, delicious restaurants and great nightlife can still be enjoyed, and BT's guides will always be keeping a close watch on current events in the city to make sure our groups are far from any demonstrations. If necessary, we do have plans arranged to avoid Bangkok altogether, leaving from the airport in private transportation and heading directly to our next destination, however we do not think that these courses of actions will be needed.

In western cultures we often take our political situation for granted, and the passion that the Thai people have for their country can seem foreign to us. We all must remember that the "Western Way" is not the way of the world, and try to understand and learn from the experiences of travel. One of the most valuable things that we hope all of our travelers take away from a Beach Traveller trip is a fresh outlook on the world, and a curiosity for how other cultures live their day to day lives.

As the Thai people sort out their political future, we ask for your patience and understanding as there may need to be some scheduling changes to ensure the safety and security of all Beach Travellers clients and staff. Thankfully right now the protest is a peaceful one, and we do not expect the airport closures to last for an extended period, nor do we anticipate that these protests will turn violent. We wanted to thank all of you for trusting Beach Travellers with your travel plans, and assure you that steps are being taken to assure minimal interruption to your experience. If at any time we feel that the safety of any of our clients could be compromised, we will notify you immediately with alternative options.

We also ask that each of you review your travel insurance documents to verify that you have proper coverage that you are comfortable with. Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance can have different terms from policy to policy. Although we do our best to ensure that every trip runs safely on time, situations do exist that are out of our control, and precautions should be taken.

Naturally, reading news coverage on the story and hearing travel advisories can make people uneasy about travelling to Thailand. However our guides are in Bangkok watching these events unfold, and they have assured us that there is no cause for concern. Group safety is Beachtravellers' #1 priority, therefore we would never visit an area that could be potentially unsafe for our groups. We hope that this message will reassure anybody who was concerned over the matter. Our guides are eagerly awaiting the next groups' arrivals and are excited to travel through beautiful Thailand with a new group of friends!