Living and Loving Life: Khao Yai

Two weeks ago, my roommates and I decided to escape the heat and the smog of Bangkok to bask in the national forests of Khao Yai (Mountain Big). After making friends with a random cab driver, we ended up ditching the idea of riding a bus and went with the flow of having our own personal cab driver! He even wore aviator shades and had the best 70's funk collection of music I've seen this side of the world! After a 2 and a half hour cab ride, we finally arrived at a glorified hostel complete with a waterfall swimming pool, pet turtles on the premises, and the friendliest Thai people I have met here in Thailand! Their smiles were gigantic, and they continually told me, "You look like Thai people. You are so beautiful!" What's not to like about that?! :) This hostel was great because they also set you up on tours, so we booked one for the next day. Here's some highlights of our trek through Khao Yai, which happens to be Thailand's first and oldest official park with more than 70 different species of mammals and a high elevation of 1, 351 meters above sea level at the highest peak, Khao Rom! We weren't lucky enough to see elephants, but they're not so high profile in the wet season. We're definitely going to go back though! Maybe some elephant pics then! :)

Riding in the Song Teau (two benches) on the way to the park....it's basically the back of a pickup truck but on highered benches.

We made it! The entrance to Khao Yai!

Looking pensive....yes, I do believe I see a squirrel!

This squirrel has a gigantic tail!

These, my good friends, are leech socks. You put them over your pants to avoid having your blood sucked by the little buggers!

This is my new Thai boyfriend. He taught me how to properly wear leech socks. I see a long future ahead of us! Yesiree!

Yeah for leech socks!

Removing leeches

This is a leech....aren't they small?! They move wicked fast though! Heather found one on her water bottle and it nearly made it to her mouth!

A view from our hike

This grass is taller than me! Let's play "spot my roommate!" Our guide told us that this is where the elephants sleep at night.

We made it through the tall, tall grass to get to the observation tower

The path seen from the top of the tower

The local watering hole....a.k.a. A little lake next to the tower

We're on the lookout for elephants!

Hey you! Down there!

My "boyfriend" using the machete to cut at the cinnamon tree. What a strong man! :)

Taking a whiff of the cinnamon tree.

A great fig tree in the forest. The roots grow down from the tree and start to circle the trunk. After some time, the roots become so wrapped around the tree that the inner trunk decays and the tree becomes hollow.

I think....I see....

This is a Gibbon! It's a tailless ape that uses his long arms to move through the trees. Isn't he cute?!

The Great Horned Bill (it kinda reminded me of the Toucans of Costa Rica)

A cool looking bug

A great snap of a yellow butterfly

A Yai (big) Waterfall!

Too Dangerous to go in, so I settled for a pic! :)

It's a monkey! No...wait...it's just Heather and our trusty guide! ha,ha!

A family of monkeys in the trees!

More Monkeys! Keepin it clean!

It's Ah!! Our most trusted trail guide! He was so passionate about animals! So smart too!

A really fun bridge in the park. Yes, I am a dork!

Yesiree folks, a certified squatter toilet! You put your feet on the sides, bend down, and do your business! You actually use the clean water, to the left, to self-flush the toilet. You put the clean water in the bowl to help make "your business" go down the drain! These are found in more rural parts of Thailand but also some places here in the city. Thank goodness I have a real toilet at home! :)

Can you find the snake?

Here she is! You can tell it's a girl by the color of the eyes or at least that's what they told us! The snake had eaten a rat the day before we came, so they had placed her in the tree to take time to digest. I guess that even when they're sleeping, as this snake was doing, they still keep their eyes open!

Highest Elevation in Khao Yai! Whew! It's cold! :)

We made it to the top! My roomies and I at the top of the mountain!

The next day after our trek through the park, Heather and I decided to take a day trip to a silly adventure park just outside Khao Yai. Our hostel owner, Tommy, took us there and showed us a good time. The adventure park had this mock American Indian/Cowboy theme to it. It was hilarious! Here's some pics of us being kids and of course, as always, dorks!

Feeding the baby....cute little bugger!