When Vicky Turner's trip was cancelled beacuse of the monsoon, she and her boyfriend had to think on their feet to save their trip from being washed away with the rainwater.

This was the dilemma that faced my boyfriend and me as we stood at the Bangkok Airways check in desk at the start of our two-week holiday in Thailand and Laos. Our flight to Luang Prabang had been cancelled due to heavy monsoon rains and there were to be no more departures for at least the next two or three days. This forced us to rearrange our travel plans, but then that's the beauty of independent travel, especially in South East Asia, and especially during the wet season!

We left the check in area and went to find somewhere to have a drink and to decide our next move. We pulled out our guide book and looked at the entry on Khao Yai National Park. We had heard from friends that Khao Yai was a great place to catch glimpses of elusive wildlife and the guided night safari sounded intriguing. We headed off to the train station and boarded the first train to Pak Chong.

Khao Yai lies about 125 miles North-East of Bangkok and so makes a convenient side trip, the train only taking a couple of hours. When we arrived at the station in Pak Chong, we were greeted by touts from one of the many jungle lodges located a few minutes drive from the park entrance. After a short ride in the back of a pick up we arrived at the jungle lodge just in time to book in for that evening's night safari, part of a 1 1/2 day trip, including the evening safari and a trek the next day. After a quick shower and some delicious green curry we climbed into the pick up to set off on our evening trip. The first stop was a short trek up to a cave to experience the spectacle of 4 million wrinkle-lipped bats flying out to hunt for food. The sight was amazing, and we watched them snake their way across the sky as the sun went down over the jungle.

Once it was completely dark, we climbed back into the trucks and drove on to the National Park itself for the night safari. From the safety of the truck, the jungle is illuminated with halogen lights by the park rangers. A few minutes into the drive, we had already seen several different species of deer, a porcupine and even the big brown eyes of a slow loris gazing at us from a nearby tree. We were hoping to see some elephants, but unfortunately we had missed them that night, and there was no sign of them at their usual haunts. Despite this, the safari was great and well worth doing.

The next morning we woke up early to start our day's trek. Once again, we climbed into the pick up truck and drove the short drive to the park entrance. Our first stop was the visitor's centre. As well as a wealth of information about the various species of animals, birds and plants in the park, there were also a few stuffed tigers along with the stories that explained what had happened to them. Apparently, a couple of tigers had strayed near the park staff's quarters over the years, and there had been deaths as a result. If a tiger finds meat in one particular place, they tend to return to that area to find prey from that time onward, which obviously is a problem if the area is populated by humans.

After hearing the stories, we left for our trek with slight feelings of trepidation. Although the chances of actually seeing a tiger are practically nil, there is still a small part of you hoping and at the same time dreading an encounter...

We left for our trail, one of many in the park of varying degrees of difficulty. Ours was to be approx. 7km long and one of the more difficult options. Our guide was great, knowledgeable and more importantly, very enthusiastic about his job. He led us slowly through the jungle, stopping every few minutes to point out insects, strangler fig trees, and even macaques. After a few minutes, we started to notice some creatures joining our group... leeches... everywhere! We had been warned about the large number of leeches in the park, especially during the wet season. Our guide had even provided us with leech proof socks, sexy white cotton stockings pulled up to the knees and tied up with string. These however, were no deterrent for the ferocious leeches we encountered throughout our three-hour trek. They seemed to seek us out, attracted to the carbon dioxide emitted by mammals, and the whole group had to stop every few minutes to flick them off our shoes, trousers and sometimes even higher body parts!

After an hour or so of trekking through the jungle being fascinated by the various species of bugs and plants, we heard a distant hooting noise, and suddenly our guide was off - running through the dense jungle foliage, trying to locate the source of the noise. Just as suddenly as he had started, he stopped still, beckoning us all towards him, looking up into the trees. There, hanging by his hands at the top of the canopy was a white handed gibbon, swinging slowly from side to side and looking at us with great curiosity. The group was so excited, and even more so when we noticed another gibbon. They soon moved on, bored by our company. The group tried to follow them, but they were too fast for us and we soon lost them from our sights. It was a truly memorable moment, and for me, one of the highlights of the whole trip.

We continued the trek, following the route that the elephants had taken that morning, and finished up back at the park restaurant for a delicious lunch and some great photo opportunities at the impressive waterfall which had featured in the movie "The Beach". After that it was back to the truck for the short trip back to the lodge for a well earned beer, and more importantly a long hot shower. As I lay in bed that night, exhausted and with aching feet, I was almost pleased that our flights to Laos had been cancelled. Otherwise I would not have had the chance to experience the beauty or the leeches of Khao Yai at all.