OK, so, this has probably been one of the coolest weekends of my life. You're about to find out why.
Saturday morning, I had breakfast at home and Thamonwan and I waited in the front room for the others to come and pick us up. As I understood it, they were all coming from breakfast in town at Yantakhao. Tanawan and another teacher from school beat the van, but it wasn't long before we were all on the road to Suton. Our first destination was Pupapetch cave, and we had to climb a mountain to reach it. As we walked through the gate that marked the entrance to the path, a man took everyone's photo. For what purpose, we were not sure, but we figured he meant to sell it to us somehow.
After a lengthy hike up some very 'versatile' stone stairs, we made it to the cave's entrance. There was already a crowd of people waiting to enter, and they seemed to have a tour guide. We took a few photos of the entrance before crawling into the small opening that took us inside the mountain itself. (You may want to turn your lights off and brighten your monitor to see some of these pictures.)
Left: Sam's host sister Matmee re-enacting an American horror film. I'm not sure which.Right: One of the many wooden walkways built inside the cave.
The caverns we walked through were huge; the headlamps provided at the foot of the mountain could barely reach the ceiling in some places. There were a lot of bats in the high unreachable areas, and nothing we did seemed to disturb them. (We didn't try very hard, mind you.) Once again, I wish I'd had all the equipment of a film studio because this place was incredible.
Left: One of the many "diamond" rooms; the rock here sparkled like gemstones. There was a bench atop this formation where Buddhist monks come to meditate.Right: What used to be coral when the cave was under water has since fossilized.
Left: A group photo on a naturally-occurring stage in one of the largest "rooms." There was also a small stalagmite where water dripped from the ceiling; if you catch the drop it is supposed to mean good luck.Right: Outside, Sam and Matmee pose for a quick photo.
Please be assured that I am as disappointed as you are that I don't have more pictures of the cave. :( Meanwhile, I hope you understand, after reading of our exploits, why I chose not to bring my camera with me for the next excursion.
After spelunking, we sat down for lunch. I'm pretty sure I'd never had duck before, so I can now add it to the list of Firsts in Thailand. When we were ready to go, we hopped back in the van (and Chalong's truck) and head to a river. Once we were there, we abandoned our gear and all boarded a single pickup truck - Thai style - and drove about ten minutes until we reached a beach where a stack of kayaks awaited us. At the recommendation of our hosts, and hoping the truck would meet us back at the bottom, we left our shoes in the bed of the truck and climbed into our little boats, complete with life jackets and oars of course.
I think it's safe to say that only a few of us had ever been kayakking before, and it was clear in the way that the majority of us steered ourselves through the small but treacherous rapids. At several points we sailed straight into a tree on the bank, or ran aground smack in the middle of the river where it was really shallow. More than once Chalong and I had to step into the river to push ourselves along. We were rowing alongside Yuwaddee and Dr. Hal at one point, and Yuwaddee pointed ahead to a pair of trees growing out of the center of the river. There were decorative ropes tied around the trunks, and she called out "good luck." It was now a race to see who would receive the gods' blessing. Dr. Hal devilishly forced our kayak around the right tree, cackling as he sailed on between them. Chalong, determined, turned us around and rowed upstream so that we could try again. What a trooper! (It should be noted that Dr. Hal lost his glasses before his fiendish act, so I imagine karma made a preemptive strike.)
This wacky adventure, including boat-tipping and bumping and oars caught in hanging roots continued for, I am told, about two hours until we made it back to where the van awaited us. We had lunch while we watched for our truck, a silver pickup among dozens of others. (It must be a popular style here.) Lunch, by the way, included bread and jam; the jam came without silverware, so we improvised with a plastic straw. Thailand even does preserves better.
The truck finally brought our shoes to us, and we drove off to complete our afternoon of nature fun. Or did we? Many of us were eager to see the promised waterfall, so we stopped off at a parking lot that overlooked a path leading to something. We enjoyed some ice cream, courtesy of Tanawan, and then took the path to see what else there was to enjoy. After a very short walk, we were not disappointed.
Left: Group photo complete with unsuspecting people lifting their shirts above their bellies.Right: The bottom steps.
Before us stood a waterfall that could have been a grand staircase to heaven. From top to bottom, individual pools made up each step of the waterfall, and just about every single one of them was occupied by children playing in the water. AJ was the first to follow suit and began scaling the steps, surprisingly not worn smooth by the rushing water. Jennifer and Ariel followed, with Chat going up there at some point. After I'd taken a few pictures of the bottom, I found my own way up to the top.
I found Ariel, Jennifer, and Chat enjoying the upper-most pool. There was a tiny alcove, in the middle of which stood a rock. Ariel told me it was special and urged me to have a seat. I obliged, but I admit that I don't feel any different for it; I imagine a day like this overwhelmed me with good vibrations, so I guess I'm not surprised a rock failed to add onto it.
Eventually it was time to go, and we all climbed back down to the path. We boarded the van and headed back to Yantakhao. The rest of the evening was carried out as normal. (For me, anyway.)
Sunday morning - today - we all got to sleep in. I was awoken at 9:30AM by Thamonwan, who had kindly arranged a plate of sticky rice w/coconut + H-shaped doughnut with a teacup of coconut milk for me...my usual breakfast, and a delicious one at that. I groggily accepted, ate in my room, and took the plate back downstairs. About an hour later, we headed for Yuwaddee and Chalong's house.
AJ reported that he was not feeling well, so he decided to stay at home today. Sam, meanwhile, was spending her Sunday with her host family visiting other sights of the surrounding province. So the rest of us took the van to see Ton Tae waterfall.
The first thing we saw was a cascade of water high up in the mountains. As I strained to see upwards and through the trees we passed, I had a mild feeling of dread for how high we were likely expected to climb. However, we were dropped off at the same altitude across which we'd driven, and we set up camp at one of several picnic tables. (In Thailand, they are made of stone and/or marble. No termites here.) Yuwaddee and Thamonwan, accompanied by First, asked us if we'd like to walk up to see the waterfall, so we followed them up a stone path.
We didn't get far before the path turned from stone to dirt and roots, packed down by decades' worth of feet. The path branched toward the river, where a tree had fallen and created a bridge over the troubled water. We were led down the slope into the river, where Yuwaddee and Thamonwan proceeded to shampoo their hair. First explored the area while Ariel, Jennifer, and I sat and relaxed in the middle of the current.
After an indeterminate amount of time, we headed back down for lunch. Our hosts had met up with some friends of theirs and shared a picnic lunch of lettucy fish wraps, similar to the boat restaurant's but different in that they were stuffed with rice noodles. For dessert we had ricey corn swimming in coconut milk, eaten alongside a hunk of fresh mango. I had the pleasure of enjoying my favorite soft drink in the world: melon-flavored Fanta. (You have no idea how happy I was to discover Japan was not the only place in which to find melon-flavored beverages!)
Jennifer had foregone lunch to follow Chat back up the mountain, to go to the top he'd said. Ariel and I deliberated for a brief period before following suit. We adventured farther up the path, braving the wilderness as it became more of a trail. We met Chat and Jennifer as they were coming down. Jennifer expressed her happiness to see that she would not have to fetch us from the bottom; apparently the hike was really worth it. We all made our way to the top of the trail, ducking under fallen trees and climbing rocks where necessary.
The exhilarating hike finally ended at the base of a huge boulder, which we climbed to see a pool that formed at the base of the waterfall's apex. I took a few pictures from the top of the boulder before crossing a makeshift walkway of tree roots and rocks before seeing the real goal of the trip.
Left: Me, Jennifer, and Chat, proud of ourselves for making it this far.
Right: Indescribable.
After depositing our things, we all jumped into the pool to swim around and gaze upward at the sight before us. Ariel and I entertained ourselves by swimming into the current created by the cascade that would carry us toward the dam that created the pool. I'm not sure who suggested it, but Chat eventually convinced Ariel and I to attempt to climb the waterfall. Ariel, sadly, did not get far, but I followed Chat up to about as high as we could physically reach. Once the rocks were not slippery and wet - past where you can see on the left side in the photo - it was really not much of a challenge. I eventually began to worry more about getting down than slipping and falling, so after ample time spent looking out over our domain, we eased our way back down.
Ariel pointed out that where she had ended her climb she'd discovered a good place to slide down into the pool. Chat went first, and I followed. The ride was bumpy, but not near as bumpy as it looked. We encouraged Jennifer to try it out, and even after deciding it was a terrifying ride, she went again so we could all get our pictures taken going down. (Ariel will hopefully get these to me some time before the week is out.)
Before we lost too much track of time, we decided to head back down the mountain. It was almost harder going down than up, but even walking proved to be fun. Nonetheless, we were happy to see the familiar stone path. We met up with the gang, who were dozing and watching the kids enjoy the river. If only they knew. :) After a few more random photos, we loaded up and headed back home.Thamonwan and I hit the market and a 7-Eleven for dinner tonight, and I've been here blogging now for a few hours. There are many more photos to see of this weekend, and of the rest of the trip for that matter, and I hope some day soon you will get to see them. You can at least have that small part of the experience. My reflection for the day: it took me until January of 2010 (or 2553 on the Buddhist calendar) to realize just how little is conveyed in a photograph. I hope I never have to choose which of my senses I value the most, because just one will never be enough after this trip.
Until next time.
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