Chet Sao Noi and Doi Chong Among New National Parks to be Established

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Chet Sao Noi and Doi Chong Among New National Parks to be Established
By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee
Staff Reporter


Chet Soi Dao National Park. Image: National Park Department

BANGKOK — Emerald peaks in the far north and a seven-level, crystal-clear waterfall will soon be among protected areas to attract tourists and nature-vibing cityfolk.

The 1,200-meter heights of Doi Chong in the northern highlands and the Chet Sao Noi waterfall in Saraburi are among the sights to be found at 21 new national parks coming online in Thailand during the next year in a bid to boost conservation – and tourism.

Seven new parks will be established within three months, with 10 more to follow by May and another four by this time next year, according to Sommai Kittiyakul of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1448356642


-- Khaosod English 2015-11-24

[lonewolf99]

I have been to 4 or 5 "parks" with fake waterfalls that have 7 or 13 or even 21 tiers...... Look at the right hand side of the photo, this is probably fibreglass sheeting covered in sand. Seen it in Chantaburi and Kanchanaburi. When a country charges money to see a waterfall you know it has not got the faintest idea about nature, conservation or geography.

All the so called parks are just another chance to exploit what ever attraction might or might not be there. Large area will be set aside to buy food and the standard wooden elephant/frog crapolla.

I still read reports of Tigers in Thailand. If this were true there would be far more human interaction. i.e. seen at the side of a road. Tourist / local cornered or surprised by one. Tourist or local attacked or eaten by one. Farmer loses livestock.This is what happens in Bangladesh and India where there are some tigers. But never seems to happen in Thailand ?

Having lived in India you know for sure if a tiger has been anywhere near you or your house. They are like all cats they mark with their urine. The smell is unmistakable. They also leave large footprints. The other big cat that surely has to be around would be leopards. Highly, elusive and stealthy but still some interaction with people would be expected. They prey on dogs, goats and young cattle/buffalo - again, never a report of this do I see anywhere near here.

All the parks have pictures on a board with honey bears, leopards, various antelope, guars, deer and elephants. When you ask the local staff if they ever see them the standard answer I get is Mai mee. No have.

So I suspect these new parks will be just for people to camp and wander about on silent trails lacking birdsong and little chance of seing anything other than the odd frog or lizard.

Back in the late 1800's the French sent an expedition up the Mekong to map and see what they could exploit. The entire journey was plagued with Tigers, elephant and bear attacks when they suprised them in the dense jungles. How times have changed.

If any one has seen a tiger in the wild inside the borders of Thailand please let me know and was it after world war 2?

[Thian]

I'm just wondering.....Do the chinese tourists pay the same price as farang for the national parks?

And are there lifeguards around those waterfalls to rescue swimmers? I won't rescue anybody if they let met pay a 10-folded price.

If you go to that big waterpark in Huahin you'll see a trained lifeguard on duty EVERY 5 metres along the pools/swimrivers. No kidding. It seems necessary to make a swimmingpool safe for Thai .

[Bredbury Blue]

I have been to 4 or 5 "parks" with fake waterfalls that have 7 or 13 or even 21 tiers...... Look at the right hand side of the photo, this is probably fibreglass sheeting covered in sand. Seen it in Chantaburi and Kanchanaburi. When a country charges money to see a waterfall you know it has not got the faintest idea about nature, conservation or geography.

All the so called parks are just another chance to exploit what ever attraction might or might not be there. Large area will be set aside to buy food and the standard wooden elephant/frog crapolla.

I still read reports of Tigers in Thailand. If this were true there would be far more human interaction. i.e. seen at the side of a road. Tourist / local cornered or surprised by one. Tourist or local attacked or eaten by one. Farmer loses livestock.This is what happens in Bangladesh and India where there are some tigers. But never seems to happen in Thailand ?

Having lived in India you know for sure if a tiger has been anywhere near you or your house. They are like all cats they mark with their urine. The smell is unmistakable. They also leave large footprints. The other big cat that surely has to be around would be leopards. Highly, elusive and stealthy but still some interaction with people would be expected. They prey on dogs, goats and young cattle/buffalo - again, never a report of this do I see anywhere near here.

All the parks have pictures on a board with honey bears, leopards, various antelope, guars, deer and elephants. When you ask the local staff if they ever see them the standard answer I get is Mai mee. No have.

So I suspect these new parks will be just for people to camp and wander about on silent trails lacking birdsong and little chance of seing anything other than the odd frog or lizard.

Back in the late 1800's the French sent an expedition up the Mekong to map and see what they could exploit. The entire journey was plagued with Tigers, elephant and bear attacks when they suprised them in the dense jungles. How times have changed.

If any one has seen a tiger in the wild inside the borders of Thailand please let me know and was it after world war 2?

http://brucekekule.com/tag/sambar/ for his recent sightings of leopards and tigers in national park.

But seems there may no longer be tigers in khao yai np

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/06/camera-traps-reveal-no-tigers-but-other-carnivores-in-khao-yai-national-park/

.

[jaywalker]

I wonder if the park boundaries will be surveyed, or will there be utter confusion as to what is where as there seems to be with national parks now?

[Crocbait]

I have been to 4 or 5 "parks" with fake waterfalls that have 7 or 13 or even 21 tiers...... Look at the right hand side of the photo, this is probably fibreglass sheeting covered in sand. Seen it in Chantaburi and Kanchanaburi. When a country charges money to see a waterfall you know it has not got the faintest idea about nature, conservation or geography.

Many years ago I originally thought that the waterfalls were fake too. They aren't, that fiberglass look actually comes from the dissolved limestone and other minerals in the water building up over a long period of time. The formations are called "karst". Seen the same karst formations in Africa also.

[zyphodb]

This has nothing to do with conservation & everything to do with moneymaking, there are getting to be fewer & fewer nice spots in this country where you can go for a hike or a picnic without getting ripped off by some Thai in a uniform...

[dageurreotype]

Bearing in mind given the chasm in entry pricing between foreign tourists and Thais, I'm betting it would be full of locals throwing their rubbish everywhere and not worth the visit and expense anyway. I haven't visited any of these scrubby 'waterfalls' for over ten years and never intend to.

[Isitjustme]

Chet sao noi - I live not far from there, been several times. the main waterfall was genuine enough and a fairly decent picnic spot. The seven levels are very ordinary,nothing to write home about. The usual mounds of rubbish left behind by picnickers are there to be seen. How can people be so uncaring about their own country's 'beauty spots'.

This place has always been free entry and just about worth it. Guess that's gonna change. Don't imagine I would pay to go in there, especially not if its gonna be the usual double-priced 400 baht.

[kickstart]

I also live not so far from Chet Sao Noi waterfall, I agree the Maine waterfall is ok , during the rainy season ,it gets a bit dry during the dry season ,I certainly would not pay money to go and look them ,you can drive 10 km and visit the Mortlec waterfall for free ,but not so good .

Chet Sao Noi ,means 7 small/young girls ,in Thai ,do not know where the crystal -clear bit come from ,last time I was there ,it looked desailly very murky ,most uninviting ,may be 60 years ago , it was crystal clear , that was before Thai day trippers found it .

[lonewolf99]

Folks for sure I have seen the fibreglass and sand. I also followed a back trail up two waterfalls in Chantaburi that had the 6" blue plastic pipe running up to the top to feed the water supply. Again stangely, the numbers of "falls" all have to do with "luck" locally.

I don't remember the name of the falls at Kanchanaburi that was totally fake with great walls re-inforced with fiberglass but some trees had fallen down and were blocking the fall. Fiberglas was cracked and exposed as was the blue pipes.

So at the same time as Russian tourists were wandering around it, squads of locals were chainsawing the tree branches back.

To Bredbury Blue - thanks for the link ref the tigers and leopards. I think these animals as mentioned are far to the North West in Thailand on the Burma border. Also mentioned is the fact the animals have collars - could poachers be using these collared animals to entice others to come into the area ?