Thailand, Spelunking

We had a second free day--a break from the tour group. I wanted to go see some famous waterfalls, but decided a day of rest was in order. After breakfast with our new buddies Renee and Rose we chilled.  Rose doesn't like boat rides, and since the only way to leave the hotel was on a speed boat they opted to also have a day of rest. Then we ran into them on the way to the cave close to the hotel.

We took a lovely walk to the back of the property, paid our entry fees, then followed our guides up, up, up a set of stairs to the cave entrance. At the top of the stairs we were instructed to "Sit Down!" After a brief rest our guides led us through the caves.

None of the photos do the cave justice. The cave was cool, but very humid. Water was dripping in some areas. The girls pointed out different rock formations that looked like certain things...like a monkey or crocodile teeth. The younger girl kept singing "wash yo heeee-aa," which was so cute. (She meant watch your head.)

Bats call the cave home and we saw many of them. They were large--much larger than the Mexican Free Tail bats we have here in Austin.

Here is Rose posing with our two adorable guides. Ross wanted to take them home. He's a sucker for little girls. I know that might sound creepy, but sometimes he just wishes he had a daughter.

Here is a video that shows the bats.

Garage Insulation Part 2, The Door

So the second part of the insulation plan was putting styrofoam in the garage door panels.

Here are the 8 foam boards on top of dad's car. We taped the boards together and strapped them to the car. We didn't drive over 40 miles per hour because we didn't want the boards to flip up.

Here is dad cutting the boards to the correct height. While he was doing that I glued two cut boards together.

Dad did most of the liquid nail squiggles on the garage door and shoved the boards into place. I trimmed the boards if they needed to be a little narrower. The boards snapped into place and we decided we didn't need to add screws to hold the foam in.

Here are three panels with the insulation in place. We did all 16 panels and covered the windows. I can tell a difference now. I think our cars will be a lot more comfortable now and my laundry soap will stay liquid.

Now Ross and I need to cover that hole in the ceiling.

Thailand: River Resort Paradise

We had to take a boat to get to our riverside hotel. It was like a little piece of paradise. Each step revealed a new, sweet smell--in contrast to Bangkok.

The hotel had extensive grounds that included an herbal garden, many jack fruit trees, pineapples, a diversity of flowers, citrus trees, and lots of wildlife too.

Thailand: Floating Market and Fruit List

So March 1st was a bunch of tourist traps, including a coconut sugar place and the floating market. Our crappy tour guide didn't do a good job explaining what was going on. We took a speed boat from one end of the floating market to the other. We ended up shopping by walking along the market rather than floating by--which would have been cool. Lunch wasn't provided, so we got a bunch of little things from street vendors. It was all good except the mango smoothie--the mango wasn't ripe.

Ross was thrilled that we found a vendor with Khanom Thuay--a coconut milk custard. It was yummy.

So this boat was at the first place we "shopped." I bought some mango from the vendor.

We ate a lot of fruit on our trip including: mangosteen, mango, coconut, ladyfinger bananas, fried bananas, guava, dragon fruit, longan, lychee, pineapple (lots and lots of pineapple), cantaloupe, watermelon, durian (in cookie form), pomegranate (fresh squeezed juice), rose apple, orange (juice), raisins, papaya, and rambutan.

Critter Spotting: Thailand

So we saw lots of critters in Thailand including: cats, dogs, a rat, whatever this boar-looking thing is, peacocks, cranes, herons, a water monitor, a bunny, a duck, chickens, pigs, water buffalo, tigers, bats, lizards, geckos, cows, a turkey, goats, elephants, deer, fish, eel (in a fish tank), baby bears, lots of butterflies, other hoof stock, and lots of other birds and insects.

Best Birthday Ever, The Topper

So after riding elephants we went to eat on the River Kwai, which means River River--the way chai tea means tea tea. It was a tourist trap place, but the food was fine (although we didn't trust them when they said some of the stuff was beef.)

The story of the Burmese-Thai railroad is sad. The bridge over the the River Kwai is a reminder of the depressing story. We saw the bridge, we walked a little on the bridge, I was done. I did take this photo of a towering Guanyin statue at the Chinese Buddhist temple across the river.

On the drive back to Bangkok I was still pumped with adrenaline and declared it the best birthday ever. I said that if I could have cake it would just push everything over the top. When we got back to Bangkok I felt exhausted and filthy. We showered and then the doorbell rang--yes, the hotel room had a doorbell! Two giggly young men came in with a birthday cake, card, and little present. I almost cried. Here I was expecting to get a slice of cake from 7-11 or the bakery in the mall, and the hotel brought me my very own birthday cake to my room. That topped off the best birthday ever.

Best Birthday Ever, Elephant Riding

After the explosion of tigers we went and rode elephants. I'm glad we did it. It was just us, the elephant, and the elephant handler going through the jungle. Apparently while we were out on our walk two tour buses full of people came, rode, and went.

The coolest part was when the handler stopped to water the elephant. He gave her a bucket full of water, she sucked some up in her trunk then put it in her mouth and swallowed it. Then he just gave her the water hose and she shoved it into her mouth with her trunk and gulped down the water periodically.

I got to ride on the neck for a while. Elephants aren't soft. The skin is super thick and rough. The hairs are short and stiff.

Many of the elephants in the camp had pink spots that made them even cuter than just-grey elephants. In this photo the elephants were lining up to be fed by the tourists.

After our ride they gave us some watermelon and water. Oh, and we were totally suckered into buying a photo--of us in the water with the elephant. As part of the elephant-walking circuit they walk through the river. Sometimes the elephants suck up water and spray the tourists. Our elephant was nice and sprayed the water off to the side.