The insistent ringing of the alarm clock jolted me awake at 3 am, forcing me to reluctantly leave the warmth of my bed.

He walked straight out to the back of the house, which offered an unobstructed view.
He looked up at the sky, devoid of stars.
Only low-lying clouds of mist covered the entire area.
The air was so cold that he wanted to go back inside and snuggle under the covers.

Stumbling through the darkness, we roused our two companions, adhering to the prearranged schedule.
Around 4 am, the Milky Way would rotate perpendicular to the ground,
with the pine forest serving as a backdrop. This marked the time for our journey to the viewpoint,
offering a panoramic vista of the "Thung Salaeng Luang" meadows stretching as far as the eye could see.

We drove through the darkness on the gravel road, the four kilometers from the office stretching before us. The headlights pierced the thin fog, reflecting off the many pairs of green eyes that surrounded us. Deer and muntjac, both young and fully grown, grazed along the roadside. Some startled, fleeing into the bushes, while others continued feeding, seemingly unfazed by our presence. The atmosphere felt like driving through a night safari in Africa.

After battling through darkness, potholes, and undulating valleys for about half an hour, we finally arrived at our main destination for the morning: the "Dusita Pavilion." The sky began to clear, and the low-lying clouds were dispersed by the wind, revealing a cluster of faint white stars stretching across the sky, shining faintly above our heads.

The Milky Way has now rotated almost 90 degrees, making it stand upright. The moon has just set below the horizon, eliminating any light interference. The surrounding area is so dark that we can see its core with the naked eye. We can point and shoot our cameras without using any stargazing apps to help us locate its position.

For nearly an hour, only the faint murmur of conversation and the intermittent click of camera shutters broke the silence. The cool, refreshing air felt like being inside a giant air-conditioned room. The ground was a carpet of soft grass, the sky a vast ceiling adorned with twinkling stars.

The Milky Way did not stay with us for long.
The first light of dawn emerged, greeting us with a reddish glow on the horizon.
Low-lying clouds drifted, mingling with the pine trees.
Thung Salaeng Luang at this moment...
was as beautiful as a stunning photograph on the cover of a travel magazine.
The shape of Khao Kho peak in front of us
resembled Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa,
further justifying its nickname, "The Savannah of Thailand's Forests".

The "red egg" gradually emerged from the mountain range, allowing us to capture the scene at our own pace.
We were only three people taking photos, sitting and lying down, without having to jostle for a good angle like during the festival.
As the sun began to rise higher, the morning sunlight bathed the landscape before us
in a golden glow that spread across the entire field.

We arrived back at our accommodation around 7 am.
We put the kettle on to boil and went to sit with our legs dangling over the edge of the balcony.
We relaxed and enjoyed the view of the rolling fields and mountain peaks, accompanied by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
The numbers on the clock face moved slowly.
Everything seemed to be conspiring to allow us to savor these precious moments for as long as possible...

Aromatic drip coffee in the morning

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# Nong Mae Na# Thung Salaeng Luang National Park# Phetchabun# Thailand
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