Monkeys

Monkeys

Sunday, February 11, 2007

I am safe an sound in Sukhotai
to see some Wats by day
After Bangkok, Stephanie and I headed to a small town to see some waterfalls and the Bridge over the Kwai River from World War two.
From Sukhotai we took a public bus 1.5 hours to a national park that has a 7 tiered waterfall, we spent the morning and early afternoon hiking and swimming at the bases, and between the 6th and 7th tier we ran into our first monkey sitting in a tree.
not scared by our scream it sat there next to its friend as we climbed up a ladder.
we were stuck waiting for other tourists coming down so we sat looking at the monkeys
there was one carrying its young and it came at me for a minute but i got away.
at the top of the falls we sat on a rock in the sun and i'd get in the water to swim braving the fish and exploring behind the falls
we had a few snacks in our packs and as we sat (with them in our hands)
one came over and grabbed a bag right out of Stephanie’s hand
a ranger hear and ran over with is sling shot!!!
the monkeys were about a foot tall and showed their teeth and claws and didn't seem frightened by us in the least
one boy turned and got on all fours and they'd pounce back and forth at each other.
I wanted nothing to do with encouraging this behavior and we decided to pack up
while i was packing my bag up 2 came back I tried to scare it away but it came at me
very afraid he ended up with a snack of mine and the ranger returned with his sling shot
the monkeys were afraid of him being 20 feet away with that but not me 1 foot away yelling and waving around
CRAZY MONKEY
we biked around town and visited the Bridge.
There is also a cemetary in town with plaques from some of the thousands of POW's that died during the building of the bridge.
We road our bikes to a market that had no tourists and ate some sticky rice and mango and had this amazing cold tea
The town was small and we found a small restaurant with pads on the ground you could lounge on and have a lazy meal.
Most all the locals are nice and good spirited, finding it fun to help us with our Thai and sometimes taking pictures of us with our white skin!
We splurged on a massage that was only 6 dollars for an hour which is what I've been paying for rooms at night
or a 6 hour bus ride.
fresh fruit 10 baht(35 bhat to the dollar)
i can get Paht Thai off the street for 20 bhat, a nice restaurant will have a bowl  of soup for about 50 baht
oh i almost forgot about our cooking class!
we took an AMAZING cooking class with a (women) man named Mickey
it was about 5 hours, first we went to the market and Mickey showed us what we were buying and if we didn't have it in the States (or wherever we came from what we could use)
we made 6 dishes, but Tom Yam soup we made 5 variations. plus a couple extra dishes at the end
and yes trying it all!!
I told mickey that she should have her own cooking show, and she does but only in the town we were in!
Yesterday we went to Ayuthia and took a night tour of the Wats, they are lit up at night and we had a Tuk Tuk all to our selves.
we stayed on the river in an old Teak house that was SO hot!!!
today a 6 hour bus to Sukhotai where we are staying in a little bungalow
and tomorrow going to look at some Wats by day
Stephanie and i are parting ways in a day or two
and I'm not sure what I'm doing, I may go up to Chaing Mai?!
the air is very smokey here and I’m ready for a change in that, perhaps another country, or the beach?!?!