The Ultimate Khao Yai Review for Dummies and Café Hoppers
Before I start babbling about this trip to Khao Yai, I would like to make it clear that this ultimate Khao Yai trip review is solely based on gut instinct and the desire to free myself from all the workload and stress, that my heart no longer wishes to beat that it screams "vacation please". With that being said, please find a comfy chair to sit on, a pair of reading glasses, and chill as you read on.
My life motto is "let's get lost", not only because I am bad with directions, but life is a free-form rollercoaster ride, is it not? So, this trip to Khao Yai is just an impulsive act of "Yes, finally Friday and two extra holidays!" thing. As a coffee addict myself, I just can't imagine a trip without trying coffee at different cafes, so I'll let you know where I think was the best of all I've tried so far in Khao Yai. The place I was at, where I thought would be worth the visit, and other places I thought would definitely bring that smile on your face all will be spilled out to make sure you will enjoy (getting lost, oops) the wonderful days of freedom without your boring colleagues (it's meant to be a joke guys, I love you all) and the glares from your boss (he's actually the kindest, to be honest). This is a trip with my close friends and family, so let's not wait any longer and get to the review!
Most coffee shops and cafes we have been to so far in Khao Yai, were all from blog posts I find intriguing and uploads on social media that screams "you better try this cup of old coffee asap". Not a huge fan of social media, but these reviews are sure legit at a certain degree! Before I get too immersed in coffee and tell you where I took my favorite sips of coffee, let's break down this unplanned, impulsive Khao Yai trip into days.
DAY 1
On the very first day, a drive from Bangkok to Khao Yai wasn't the most tiring ones I've tried, but this time it was quite a muscle-straining one for me. Traffic in Bangkok is probably the most well-known in the world, so moving out from that waiting game took me long enough.
Once we reached Khao Yai, we headed straight to the Khao Yai Lumtakong Hotel (I told you, I worship coffee over bread and jam) for a cup of delicious coffee. At first glance, I thought we were all lost in a forest with a wonderful waterfall but glad we all came to the right place. This café is literally one of Thailand's most enchanting cafes ever existed! The coffee? Splendid. That one word should do the explanation. If you're a latte person who enjoys coffee with milk, they're doing their things right with the latte art here, so no worries. If you're a dessert lover and someone with a sweet tooth, they have butter toasts, vanilla ice cream, creamy butter waffles, and all the chocolate delights. Feel free to post enchanting photos of you holding a wonderful cup of delicious coffee right in front of the waterfall, cause' your friends will hit that like and love button for sure (they'd even be asking you where that place is). Once we were done here, we all quickly headed to TARA Café.
TARA Café was one of the cafes with most customers so far. I was amazed by how popular this café actually is! This café is a newbie in Khao Yai but it is packed with so much people, so avoid coming during public holidays. My body needs coffee (again) so I ordered the regular iced americano and since we're all here just around the best time for lunch, a plate of Thai-styled Papaya salad is definitely a much-needed appetizer before the real lunch hunt starts later. It was great, the salad was spicy and savory it made me want to take even more selfies of me eating and show it to my colleagues who missed all the fun (colleague dissing again, just for fun guys).
This place is extremely packed with customers from all destinations, so I'd highly recommend you all to come during normal weekdays or weekends, we all need to avoid the long queues and get to straight away to the food part, right? (please pardon my restlessness guys). I like it here on the second floor, as I was able to take a plenty of panoramic shots of the scenic view (definitely recommending the second floor for selfie lovers and photographers).
My roaring stomach did not stop its loud protests and continued to ramble until the guy standing next to me was staring (glaring I'd say). We all decided to leave TARA Café and quickly headed straight to any destination that has food to stop the embarrassment I was facing (lol). Although this trip was uncalled for and unplanned in the very first place, I had to say that we all actually did our "research" for where to eat lunch on the first day and that would be at "Krua Khao Yai".
I was so hungry that I forgot to take shots of what the restaurant actually looks like and even the others didn't (face palm). The Thai traditional delights like Tom Yum soup, Thai-style stir fried seafood (Pad Cha), pork ribs ham, and deep-fried garlic fish were all ordered and we were able to eat up almost everything without being overly dramatic over leftovers because there were none on the table. Oh, and the sweet and simple cups of coconut milk puddings were great. A perfect bill that summed up to a total of 1,100 Baht was worth the full stomachs. By the time I was bloated and full, my eyelids were asking for a nap and so we all thought it's best to check-in to where we'd be sleeping at than goof around any longer and have us lost the directions again.
The place is called "The Valley Khao Yai", which is more like a condo-style accommodation than a hotel in my opinion. "The Valley Khao Yai" is said to be by Atkarut, some said by MON, some said by Summittra but honestly, I don't know let's just call it "The Valley Khao Yai". I was hoping to do a detailed review of this place because it has a lot of corners that I thought were worth the shots (especially if you're a photographer or a social-media enthusiast).
For this stay, I made a reservation through Agoda and booked it as "The Valley Khao Yai by Atkarut" so I hope this helps if you're searching this place up (just don't get confused with the names that comes after the main name of the place lol).
This place sure is huge and spacey in my opinion; at a price of 5,490 Thai Baht, a room can fit a total of 6 people! Alright, let's now see what this place looks like.
As you can see, this place has quite a good parking lot and a spacey way to the rooms. As you walk to the rooms, you'll be able to see the scenic views of the mountains which is definitely one of the most enchanting moments I enjoyed during the trip (you know what I mean, seeing mountains and nature all around is just priceless).
Now, the room in which we stayed in was awesome…it was clean, neat, tidy, with all the things a total of 6 people needed. The kitchen area was probably my favorite, with all the things we needed for this stay a clean fridge, utensils, and even a rice cooker. There were two bedrooms with the main bedroom having an in-room toilet, a jacuzzi tub, a super king size 6-foot bed, and two additional rollaway beds. The second room is a connecting room which connects to the living area, but seems pretty decent and just a great space to me. The balcony shows the view of the swimming pool, where you can straightaway walk down to the pool from there and is a perfect corner for social-media posts. The swimming pool view is just stunning, but the only downside for adults was its deepness of only 1.2-1.3 meters (but again, if you come with kids, this is just a perfect pool and a safe one for them).
As for the room facilities and the necessities, literally everything was there to keep all of us happy. We have not, for once, ask for anything like we usually do when we go on trips (lol, that's me and my loved ones going on trips). Whether it's a pan, a pot, a chopping board, a knife, a kettle, a microwave, and even a bread toaster, they all have it ready and will absolutely make you feel like home.
The pans and pots were a bit small and tiny though, but that might be because I'm a home cook myself and I tend to nitpick at things like this (pardon my nitpicking, guys). Right, now it gets a little late and the lighting seems inconvenient and unpleasing to further take any more shots of literally just anything. Let's continue the review tomorrow when the sun comes up!
DAY 2
Straight from "The Valley Khao Yai", we headed to the "Birder's Lodge" and it wasn't even far! It wasn't hard and challenging to figure out the way, and for the very first time in a few years, I did not get lost in front of my friends (yay, one good achievement of 2023…). We parked in front of the place and went in; it wasn't that packed as it was around mid to late afternoon, we were able to step in and freely see what they were selling. Organic fruits, snacks, healthy foods, veggies, and so much more were there to take away our bank notes in a blink of an eye. After carrying bags of goods, we went back to the car to free our hands and headed to the main Birder's Lodge café.
We went inside the café and were all stunned by the interior; even my mother was happy! Usually, she'd be extremely tired during trips, but because this one's unplanned and all consisted of close friends and family members, she was enjoying the whole time. This is a shot of how delicious-looking desserts look like.
One thing before making a 5-stars, perfect review for the food and drinks here, I'll have to say that seriously, the cakes were just edible. The drinks (not even coffee) were kind of bland and they should have been served better. I ordered iced cocoa, which was horribly bland and tasteless (I wasn't listening to my younger brother's eye-contact warnings and ordered anyway). To be honest, the drinks were kind of a waste as they weren't that delicious. But still, people have different preferences and it's just our opinions. The interior proved its splendid photogenic architecture, though.
After our check-in at the "Birder's Lodge", we decided to head to the evening market and look for things to cook and eat at our room. We were busy carrying bags of this and that, making sure this trip would be worth the quality time we all needed. We cooked, ate dinner together in our room, laughed until our ribs got tough, and went our separate ways to sleep the night away, ready for the next day's approach.
DAY 3
Right, after last night's cooking, we had an amazing dinner that filled our hearts with joy and laughter that lingered until today. As I woke up in the morning, I suddenly felt an urge to take pictures of this condo-like place before going to other places.
Just to make it clear, "The Valley Khao Yai" is located next to "Escape Khao Yai Hotel". There is a physical link between these two places and there was a connection point, an area where we can walk around and capture pictures of the beautiful places together at one go. I spent hours capturing the pretty moments, the beautiful scenes, and even the small corners around the accommodations. I reached the "Escape Khao Yai Hotel" as I walked around and spotted a garden of flowers! It was worth the morning and evening walks… There were gardens of lavender and yellow-colored daffodils? (I am not a flower person but I adore them) and even beautiful swings perfect for selfies and photography sessions.
I waited for the girls to finish their morning makeup sessions and we're ready to head off again!
We headed to "Pirom Café", one which isn't that far from our place. As soon as we arrived at the destination, we could only have our mouths open wide without a single word spilled. We were stunned and shocked there were probably hundreds of people. After we spent minutes finding a place to park our car, it's finally time to explore the interior.
I would say "Pirom Café" definitely has one of the most mesmerizing spots and areas to take high-resolution photos of. However, there were so much people at the café and we had to wait just for our turns to take photos. It was kind of hectic and busy, but if you come here during the weekdays or non-holidays, I'd say this place is a must-visit.
To summarize, "Pirom Café" is the first place me and my friends "did" enjoy. Unfortunately, my mother did not order anything because it wasn't very much to her likes, and I felt somehow kind of sorry. And as the place was really packed and jammed with crowds of people, there were no available seats. Eventually, I was able to capture a few moments and the atmosphere for a while, then left the place.
Right after that huge worth-while mess and hassle, the next challenge on where we'll be eating next soon kicked in. We talked and discussed for quite a while, then decided on "Krua Lung Chub".
Finally, we arrived at "Krua Lung Chub", a local, authentic Thai-style restaurant packed and jammed with hundreds of customers (again and again!). We were all hungry and a little in our heads after ordering around 5 dishes, which include: steamed eggs with shrimps, Khaeng Som Pae-sa (Sweet and sour Thai-style curry soup), 3-types mushroom spicy salad, Pad-ped Moo Paa (Stir-fried spicy wild boar), and Khaeng Pa Khai Baan (Spicy chicken soup). We waited 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, then 40 minutes, I counted. We were a little frustrated and hungry all at the same time, but we understand how this place is generally run as a family business restaurant. Although our stomachs were rumblin, we managed to keep our cool and ate happily when the food finally arrived after 45 minutes of the wait. The steamed egg was excellent, the sweet and sour curry soup was edible, and the stir-fried wild boar was unfortunately, too bland and tasteless (I forgot to take a shot of the 3-types mushroom salad though, my apologies).
The thing is, we waited for the chicken soup too long! All the other dishes came around the same time and we ate the dishes together. However, the chicken soup did not manage to come right when the other dishes were being devoured…which left us waiting until we ran out of patience and asked for the soup to be a takeout. We looked around and spotted chicken soups almost in every table as takeouts so we were even wondering whether those tables were also experiencing the same thing as we did (was the chicken soup that good they had to order more? Or were they waiting too long and changed to a takeout?) Personally, "Krua Khao Yai" was a lot better for me. Nevertheless, the price of the food here is considered fair. The total was 940 Thai Baht for 5 dishes.
After having our stomachs filled with food, time for a nap! Nope, just tricking you guys…It's time for the next destination, the "Bonanza Exotic Zoo".
The entrance fee was 150 Baht per person and an extra of 50 Baht per person for a ride around the zoo. The coupon can as well be used to get food for the animals, so if you're an animal lover or a parent, you might like this place, I assume. Although I had to say that I expected much more from this place, I'd say they have quite a number of animals.
After the visit to the zoo, we went to make merits for the "End of the Buddhist Lent Day". We visited "Luang Phor Tuad Khai Yai", which is the largest statue of Luang Phor Tuad known to be among the most-visited places for Thais and Buddhists. We took some photos as memories; and as I was looking at my mom, I realized how happy she was, praying for luck to be on her side for the next lottery announcement…
As we were heading back to our place, our eyes caught a European-style café known as "Fairy's Scone House Khao Yai". We were there at around 4-5 in the late afternoon and the place was beautiful! It was worth the visit. After the short check-in, we went on to just any place we'd like to stop at (we no longer cook and eat anymore since it was a night we thought we'd like to YOLO just a little…). Finally, we decided on "The Chocolate Factory".
At "The Chocolate Factory", there was live music indoors, and we were lucky to get the spot right in front of the stage. We ordered numerous dishes; the tastes, I would say, match the looks. Most dishes are Italian or European styled fusion ones, like spaghettis and salads. We tried to order a Bingsu but it was almost their closing time, so we did not get to try their desserts. After dinner, we headed back to have a sound sleep, ready for adventures that'll come tomorrow.
DAY 4
We left the place at around 8.30 in the morning and headed straight to "Ta Huk Ta Paeng". It was a great place for photos and selfies (for the girls and ladies). There were fields of plants and crops worth the photoshoot. After some photo sessions here, we left and headed to "Thames Valley".
We went straight right in, but was stopped by a security guard because the place runs at 11.00 and we were there too early (finally! A downside of an early bird! Lol). We quickly moved our feet and left the place to find another destination we could go to before coming back again when it opens. We stopped at "Please Don't Tell Khao Yai" and took many photos of the views (and ourselves). When it was almost 11.00, we quickly headed out and went on the same route to "Thames Valley".
This place was literally the most stunning of all we've been to. My mom became a model right when she saw the castle (I took so many photos of her and she had to review them herself as my photographing skills are…hmm, unlikeable?). The way to the main castle is just irresistibly beautiful…There was a way to the rooms that we could go up from the left side of the castle. We were literally stunned because every single corner of this place made us speechless. The nature, the scenery, the architecture, the placement of different furniture everything was absolutely like a fairytale or a European paradise.
After the long hours of photoshoot, we headed to "The Castle Restaurant and Tea Room", which is the main café here. Oh, and let me tell you this before you visit this place: if you don't book your stay here at Thames Valley, you'll have to pay a service fee to have your car parked inside the area for 500 Baht I think. If you come here for lunch or to have drinks and desserts with a bill that sums up to a total of 500 Baht and above, then you can get your coupon stamped to get a free parking benefit. This works not as a per person thing, so we were lucky to use this coupon for two cars as we came in separate cars but ate together. We ordered what we thought looked good the bill came out as 1,195 Baht and was worth it!
Okay, but first, I need to explain why this place is just worth the visit:
- We ordered a breakfast set, tea and desserts set, and Thai tea bread set. These desserts were excellent in taste and presentation. The aesthetics, the flavors everything was just absolutely great. Of all the places we've been to, this place has the best desserts so far.
- The place has so many good spots to take photos of, especially if you are a selfie person and someone who loves to take photos, this is a must-visit place.
To sum up this entire trip, I'd like to recommend "Thames Valley" and its main café, "The Castle Restaurant and Tea Room". If you're interested and you like this review, you can also visit the "Yellow Submarine Coffee Tank" because my friend who lives in Korat recommended me this place but we ran out of time. Apart from the latter, there's also "Primo Piazza" and "Toscana Valley Khao Yai" we needed to check-in to. But, probably another time!
I'd say Khao Yai is not a far destination from Bangkok. With that, we haven't quite much look into it. However, after this trip, my thoughts about Khao Yai changed. We all enjoyed Khao Yai up to the extent where we have already been planning another trip (not an impulsive one this time) to Khao Yai.
This is a review from a personal point of view, so if there were to be any mistakes on the information of places (since cafes and restaurants may update their hours or menus regularly) or slightly biased opinions on things, I'd say my apologies right here, right now and will definitely be tuning in the comments to see how I can improve my reviews in the future. If you have time for a visit to Khao Yai, I'd be so happy to tell you ahead of time that it'll definitely be "worth-it". Thank you for reading this review of an unplanned, impulsive trip, yet a memorable one! Hopefully, you would be able to enjoy Khao Yai as much as we do, or probably even more than we did!