Today 18 Jan 12 a group of 2 farang and 3 Thais went to the Khao Chamao Waterfall in Rayong which is less than 2 hours from Pattaya along Sukhumvit Road.

 

It is not only absolutely beautiful; there were also a large group of university age guys swimming in one of the several swimming "ponds" in the river.

 

Personally, I am not in very good physical shape so I only made it to level 2 which is almost 1k up the hill (level 8 is 2.6K). The first swimming area is about 400 meters up the mountain side.

 

At the second level we stopped to feed the fish. It was fun to see about 200 fish trying to get the food. The water is very clear as the shore is pure rock, not mud.

 

There are also picnic tables at the park entrance as well as a little snack shop. The hiking part of the park closes at 6pm. There are also cabins to rent inside the park. Entrance fee was 30 pp and 50 baht for the car

One thing I left out of my post above that I thought was interesting.

At the place all the Thai University students were swimming in their underwear, one of the Thai guys that was with us went over and sat down to watch the guys who were swimming.

While he was sitting there one of the swimmers went over and sat by him, mentioning that he thought our friend was handsome, asked if he was gay, to which our friend affirmed. The swimmer said he too was gay and wanted to know where our friend was from (Pattaya) and if he could come to Pattaya one day to see him. They exchanged numbers.

 

Our Thai friend was so happy! And we were happy for him.

Hi Pattayamale,

 

Thanks for the pictures and story. Do you have a shot of the actual waterfall? You mentioned not venturing beyond level 2, (elevation?) so I guess said waterfall is at one of the higher levels.

Thanks for the post ...... just GOOGLEd the falls and came upon this link with lots of narrative, VDO and photos .... looks like neat trip to make from Pattaya:

 

teakdoor.com/thailands-national-parks/4550-rayong-khao-chamao-waterfall

Sorry, just tried the link and is seems not to work ........just go to TEAKDOOR.COM and put KHAO CHAMAO WATERFALL into the seach box and it will take you there.

One thing I left out of my post above that I thought was interesting.

At the place all the Thai University students were swimming in their underwear, one of the Thai guys that was with us went over and sat down to watch the guys who were swimming.

While he was sitting there one of the swimmers went over and sat by him, mentioning that he thought our friend was handsome, asked if he was gay, to which our friend affirmed. The swimmer said he too was gay and wanted to know where our friend was from (Pattaya) and if he could come to Pattaya one day to see him. They exchanged numbers.

 

Our Thai friend was so happy! And we were happy for him.

One thing I've found, comparing Thailand to other Asian countries, is in Thailand, gay guys seem to find it easiest to meet and flirt with each other outside a gay setting.

 

I mean, if you're in a gay bar, you know the other guy over there is gay so that's never a problem. Where as out and about in shopping centres, trains, cafes, ,mainstream bars, workplaces and the occasional waterfall, you want to flirt with the guy over there but don't know for sure if he's gay.

 

In other countries, this is often the biggest barrier but in Thailand, gay guys seem to be so much more easy going about finding out if the other guy is gay or showing that they're gay.

That sounds good! How did you get there (and back)? Is there any public transport availabla?

One thing I've found, comparing Thailand to other Asian countries, is in Thailand, gay guys seem to find it easiest to meet and flirt with each other outside a gay setting.

 

Not only in other Asian countries, but the whole world! That's the reason I want to live there. (Well, not the only reason). I've seen so many upturned noses here in the States, that I'm thinking of becoming a Otolaryngologist!

Re waterfalls, within striking distance of Chiang Mai there are wonderful ones, especially during the rainy season. These are at Doi Inthanon National Park.