Goodbye Beach, Hello Jungle

Our last night on Koh Phangan, so of course we wanted to make it special. At the top of Shirley's 'to do' list was a final massage.

So many choices, including the mysterious "Slimmer Massage", in which you are promised to lose about 7 pounds - we wondered what this really meant, and I concluded that they lock you in a room for 5 days, feed you nothing, rub your body for a bit, and charge you 5,000 baht (about $175). I think most people would come out a bit lighter (body and wallet). Not a bad business model.

Shirley simply opted for the more traditional Thai massage. Note the dedicated concentration of her expert masseuse - totally in the zone.

Hurts so good!

Creepy braid mannequin - I almost went for this, but I just don't have the locks...yet. Remember, this is a six month trip - still plenty of time!

Last dinner, and we wanted to make it a good one - so a feast of red snapper and squid are on the menu tonight.

Lovingly and artfully prepared by the resident pit master - nothing like freshly caught BBQ fish.

The final result was simply awesome.

Even Owen got to FINALLY (his words, not mine) sample an item on the menu which had grabbed his attention all week - deep fried ice cream. Kids were happy that parents finally relented.

The final sunset enjoyed with full tummies.

And before we knew it another long travel day began - after almost missing our arranged taxi pick up from our hotel, we made it down to the pier to embark on the fast boat.

This boat was a little nicer than the one we came over on, and even with a scheduled stop in Koh Samui, we were back on the mainland in less than two hours....

...then a one hour transit bus to get to Surat Thani, the main city on this part of Thailand - it's only about 10:00 am and we have already been on three forms of transportation....

...and the fourth isn't what we had in mind. Kind of cramped with 8 people in a tiny pickup truck. 

I had trouble finding my seat belt. I hope the whole 2 hour bus ride to Khao Sok isn't too bumpy!

Thankfully the pickup was only transferring us to the main station so we could board one of these jalopies. It's a bit tedious, I guess, but this is the way you have to travel sometimes in Thailand (and many of the other countries we are visiting). But it's just part of the overall travel experience and really no big deal - like complaining about Cindy Crawford's mole, I suppose.

And the kids don't care - they're still managing to eke some enjoyment out of those ridiculous plastic toys they were given by EVA Air on the first leg. Completely oblivious to the cultural experience going on outside their window.

We finally arrived at Khao Sok at about 2:30 pm and checked into our bungalows at Smiley's. No A/C in these units but for about $16 a night, we're not too fussy.

But it is pretty hot here (I'm guessing about 34 degrees) so let's hope the evenings cool down a bit otherwise our bungalow won't seem so Smiley.

Dinner tonight was Smiley rice (fitting)

And our dinner companion, who hid stealthily in the overhead light fixture, helped rid our table of those pesky mosquitoes.

The post dinner walk home treated us to another beautiful sunset.

The next morning it was time to explore the park trails - although probably not 'teeming' with wildlife, there was a good chance we might see some wild animals in and around the trails. The goal for us today was to try and spot a monkey.

But bamboo is nice too.

Ah ha! first spotting is of the insect variety. I huge stick bug (my name - not it's proper nomenclature, I expect)

Followed shortly after by some sort of lizard - this was slightly larger and more interesting than the common geckos which are all over the place here.

Bingo!! Monkey at twelve o'clock. We ended up seeing about three different families of these macaques today, as well as a pair of more impressive langurs, but these were so high up in the trees I couldn't get a good photo ("sure, Chris we believe you" I can hear you all saying)

A fourth family of monkeys was also spotted periodically throughout the day.

Nature's playground.

It's a bit troubling when your current location is presented in the form of a question!

Although the hot weather was mitigated a little bit by being under jungle cover for much of the day, it was still a definite relief to find a swimming hole in which to cool off. 

I love my daughter to bits, but she won't win artistic merit points on her monkey swinging - odd given her nickname is " li'l monkey "

Last wildlife sighting of the day was this tiny frog - let's hope for Daddy's sake this is not the poisonous variety!

Finally, civilization in the form of a restaurant - the end of a great self-guided tour of the park. Tomorrow we are beginning an overnight guided tour of the Khao Sok National Park - look for an update in a couple of days.