The flyin' fox
We just got back from Kanchanaburi. We ended up staying an extra day we were enjoying ourselves so much. We did a good bit of trekking which was really nice....I've been craving some physical activity. My muscles were burning in the best way possible. There was a 7 tiered waterfall that we hiked up which was beautiful. Each step had pools perfect for swimming, the water was icy cold but so refreshing because of the heat. But they were filled with tons of these fish (of various sizes) which kept nipping. It didn't hurt, just a strange sensation. I was giggling like a little girl and having just the best time.....We were staying in these tree house huts out in a remote part of the jungle, not too far off the River Kwai. There was no electricity, the water was so clear and serene. They had a flying fox going across the water which I'd never done before and was really good fun. There was also a rope bridge nearby going out over the water....Just one rope to walk across and two ropes above your head to grasp for balance. Both that and the flying fox were triumphs for me as you're aware of my fear of heights and water. But I'm trying to conquer some of my fears (example: the shark thing) and currently I'm choosing the physical ones as opposed to many of my internal demons which will come later I suppose....But then again, aren't we always trying to face those?
One really, really awesome thing that I experience in Kanchanaburi though was I got to play with two baby macaques!!! Lily was 3 months old and Josh was 4 months....I got to spend about half an hour with them and they were just climbing allover me, chasing each other across my body and hanging from my hair. They were so, so, so cute and I was in heaven. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I was so happy I had tears in my eyes. It was at this macaque sanctuary where they were all treated very well so I had no worries about them being exploited or mistreated. The people were friendly and helpful and it was really cool of them to let me play with them at all, but especially for as long as they did and they didn't even ask me for money!! I did donate some anyway at the end but they never once tried to scam me which left me of an even better impression of them....
I had another monkey experience which was not so pleasant....Well, it wasn't actually a monkey. When we were on Samui there were 2 different men one different corners of the street who had baby gibbons...They were charing tourists 100 baht to have their photo taken with them....When we walked by I instantly reacted to the baby apes and the guys thrust them upon me which I enjoyed in the fact that I had never before touched an ape but I also realized what all of that implied.....First of all, gibbons are endangered. And there is a very serious problem in Thailand with people getting baby gibbons and then when they become more mature the people can't handle their growing size and either abuse and mistreat them horribly or just abandon them somewhere.....Plus many of these babies were stolen straight from the jungle and you know how many adults die trying to protect the babies.....The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth so having the contrast of the baby macaque experience made me feel a bit better about it......That way I got to have my monkey experience but not in such a way as to contribute to these practices which I find repulsive.....
Loving everything I'm experiencing....Even the painful stuff. It's all beautiful, life and it goes and flows.....
One really, really awesome thing that I experience in Kanchanaburi though was I got to play with two baby macaques!!! Lily was 3 months old and Josh was 4 months....I got to spend about half an hour with them and they were just climbing allover me, chasing each other across my body and hanging from my hair. They were so, so, so cute and I was in heaven. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I was so happy I had tears in my eyes. It was at this macaque sanctuary where they were all treated very well so I had no worries about them being exploited or mistreated. The people were friendly and helpful and it was really cool of them to let me play with them at all, but especially for as long as they did and they didn't even ask me for money!! I did donate some anyway at the end but they never once tried to scam me which left me of an even better impression of them....
I had another monkey experience which was not so pleasant....Well, it wasn't actually a monkey. When we were on Samui there were 2 different men one different corners of the street who had baby gibbons...They were charing tourists 100 baht to have their photo taken with them....When we walked by I instantly reacted to the baby apes and the guys thrust them upon me which I enjoyed in the fact that I had never before touched an ape but I also realized what all of that implied.....First of all, gibbons are endangered. And there is a very serious problem in Thailand with people getting baby gibbons and then when they become more mature the people can't handle their growing size and either abuse and mistreat them horribly or just abandon them somewhere.....Plus many of these babies were stolen straight from the jungle and you know how many adults die trying to protect the babies.....The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth so having the contrast of the baby macaque experience made me feel a bit better about it......That way I got to have my monkey experience but not in such a way as to contribute to these practices which I find repulsive.....
Loving everything I'm experiencing....Even the painful stuff. It's all beautiful, life and it goes and flows.....