A Night on the Lake: Khao Sok Smiley Lakehouse

Setting Off

The day after spending the night in a treehouse in the Khao Sok jungle, I found myself on a traditional longtail boat, sailing across the emerald water of Cheow Lan Lake towards the Khao Sok Smiley Lakehouse.
I’d booked an overnight tour of the lake with Khao Sok Smiley Tours, and my bed for the night would be a floating hut on the lake.

The tour began at 8am from the Smiley Bungalows in Khao Sok village, where we were directed to minibuses. After a short pitstop in a village to pick up snacks and essentials, the two-hour journey brought us to a pier on the lake.

At the pier, I queued up to pay the THB 300 national park entry fee before making my way down to the longtail boats. I stepped on board, trying to keep my balance with a massive backpack and settled in for the 40 minute ride across the lake.

The Lake

Cheow Lan Lake is a truly gorgeous man-made lake in the heart of Khao Sok National Park, covering an area of 185 square kilometres. Created in 1987 with the construction of the Rajjaprabha Dam, the lake has become a thriving ecosystem over the years, home to plenty of different species and some wildlife sanctuaries.

The Accommodation

When the boat chugged to a stop at the Khao Sok Smiley Lakehouse, we all piled off the boat into an open-sided dining area where lunch would soon be served. Keys to the huts were handed out and we all made our way to our rooms for the night.

The lakehouse comprises a central dining area, with rows of floating huts branching out on either side. Mine was towards the end of one side. As I opened the door to the room, the intense heat hit me.

The room was basic: two double mattresses on a raised wooden platform, with pillows but no blankets. A small fan hung in the corner and windows on either side gave a perfect view of the lake. The ensuite bathroom was made of corrugated metal and had a gap on the side, letting the warm air in.

The Food

Once everyone had a chance to settle into our rooms, lunch was served in the main dining area, buffet-style. None of it was labelled, but a staff member pointed out the plant-based options. The food was great, and there was plenty to go around the 40-or-so person group.
Beers and soft drinks were available to buy from the front desk.

The Activities

After lunch, there was free time for a couple of hours. The wifi at the lakehouse wasn’t working, so I went for a quick swim in the lake in front of my hut. We’d been told the lake was safe to swim in during daylight, but after dark or when it rained, leeches come out, so it’s best to stay out of the water.

Later that afternoon, we hopped back onto the longtail boats to visit Diamond Cave. The cave is about 500m long, taking you through narrow passages into bigger chambers with stalactites and stalagmites that sparkle under the light, giving the cave its name. A lot of bats hung overhead, and a lot of bat mess sat beneath our feet.

The beauty of the cave was overshadowed by recent news: A week or two before, a tour guide had been killed in a flash flood in a nearby Khao Sok cave, making some people understandably uneasy about going too far in. While I felt safe with our guide leading the way, I wouldn’t recommend it for those prone to claustrophobia.

After the cave, we went for another sail around the lake as the sun set, before returning to the lakehouse for dinner.
Dinner was early, leaving everyone with the evening to do what they liked.

The next morning, I was up at 6:00am. I’d slept poorly on the hard bed, though the room was surprisingly and refreshingly cool at night. Stepping outside, I could see the rising sun and a low-hanging mist decorating the karst peaks around me. Khao Sok Smiley Lakehouse is located in a remote part of the lake, with no other dwellings or hotels nearby, giving it an incredibly calm, peaceful vibe.

Another boat ride took us out at sunrise to see the animals of the lake. I saw a huge colony of short-tail macaques, playing and scavenging for breakfast, while birds like hornbills and storks flew overhead.

There was an option for a jungle trek after breakfast, but I opted to stay behind and get some chill time in with a book. I had a long journey to Ao Nang once I left the lake, and didn’t fancy doing that caked in mud.

Departure

Like the day before, lunch was served around 1pm. After, we loaded up the boats for the last time and made our way back to the pier. Sailing across the bright green water of the lake in the gorgeous Thai sunshine, it looked like something from a film. This time, I was glad that the journey back took 40 minutes, giving me time to appreciate the lake and its beauty one more time.

Travel tips

Real Talk: What did I think?

While the lake was absolutely beautiful, and staying in a floating cabin was a lot of fun, I have mixed feelings about this part of the trip. Of all the time I’ve spent solo travelling, this overnight tour was the only time I felt truly lonely and uncomfortable.
The group was entirely made up of couples or groups of friends.
I did get chatting to one lovely couple on the boat. Outside of that, everyone else stuck to their own groups. Most of the people on the tour were Dutch, a language I have zero skills in, so it was hard to casually strike up conversation.

With the wifi being down, I wasn’t able to check in with friends or my husband back home, so it was a pretty solitary 48 hours.
I fully recognise that this is a me problem – none of the other people on the tour were there to entertain me. Ordinarily, I’m pretty happy to have my own company, and I’m fairly outgoing as a person, but whew this one was a real challenge.

As for everything else:

• I’d paid more for one of the newer rooms, but I don’t think it was worth it. The other rooms looked exactly the same inside.
• I also paid extra for a private room. I’m not sure what the setup would have been otherwise, if I’d have been rooming with a stranger.
• The floating aspect is really cool, and it’s such a fun experience, but it does mean that the buildings creak.
• There’s no air-conditioning, but as I mentioned, it gets surprisingly cool on the water at night so you’ll be okay sleeping!
• The bathroom is ensuite but it adjoins the neighbours’. The walls are just corrugated metal so you can hear everything – and I mean everything.
• No mosquitos, which I was surprised by! I’m usually a magnet for them and walked away unscathed.
• Each room has its own kayak, and a ladder into the water, which is really cool!
• The food was pretty good. There were vegan options with tofu at every meal. I particularly appreciated this because all too often the vegan option is just some sad steamed veggies.
• Towels were little microfibre ones that didn’t do a great job at drying. Thankfully, it was so sunny that it was easy to dry off after a swim.
• The dinner is at 6pm. There are some games available from reception and the desk is open to buy drinks until 10pm. After that, there’s not a lot to do, but it is calm and peaceful and beautiful.

Would I do this tour again? No. I don’t regret doing it, but I wouldn’t repeat the experience solo.
Would this suit vegans? Absolutely. There’s plenty of vegan options, and the staff were great about helping me find the plant based lunch and dinner items.
Would this suit solo travellers? This one’s hard to say because there’s no telling what the makeup of the group is like. You could do it solo and meet other solo travellers or friendly groups and have a great time!

Planning your Trip:

I began in Khao Sok village, having spent the previous night there. I’ve outlined how to get there in my last blog post. I’d strongly recommend doing similar as the tour starts at 8am.

There are a few different options of floating bungalows on Cheow Lan Lake (about 14 different resorts), but Smiley is the most budget friendly I found.
For comparison, The Laguna Chiew Larn comes in at about 12,500 THB (~£280) per person, while Smiley starts from 2,500 THB (~£56) for the same 2-days-one-night tour.

I booked this tour with Smiley, and added on extras for one of the “new” style bungalows, a private room and a transfer after the tour to Ao Nang.
All in, it came to about £180. If I were to do it again, I’d skip the “new” style bungalow as they look the same, and book one of the shared buses going on to your next destination.

All in all, this was a really interesting two days. While there were down moments, there were also moments of incredible beauty, and a landscape I’ve never found anywhere else. I’m grateful I had the chance to have this experience. If you’re looking for a great, budget friendly option to spend the night on a lake, then this tour is a great shout for you.