Wongchan Hat Chao Samran Phetchaburi

... and school and studied some basic Thai. After lunch that day we made a sort of dessert with a mixture of sugar, flour, and coconut that you spread onto a coconut leave, wrap, and grill. It's chewy but very good. We then went to Amphawa, a floating market nearby. It wasn't quite what I expected either, not like the glossy postcards of canals teeming with canoes loaded with all sorts of fruits. It was mainly a market alongside a canal with a few canoes in the canal. The place was ...

... Bangkok Dangerous remake, you might remember this cave from the film. For those of you who haven't, don't bother - it's a **** film. Khao Luang is a large cave with a random smattering of Buddha images. Two interesting things were a tree growing up the side of one of the rooms and a statue of a man with all of his innards hanging out. Back on the main road again, Tony managed to get a tuk-tuk driver who was willing to take us to Khao ...

... of trying to find new ways to keep the animals physically and mentally stimulated. Of course as in any job like this I have my favourite animals. There are too many to list, but the highlight of every day for me is turning on the 'fountain' for three young macaques - Bandit, Ithem and Wandee - to play in. There have of course been ups and downs while I've been at the centre, and the emotional attachment ...

... was really well camouflaged so I kept dumping piles of wet leaves on him by mistake. We just spent the evening hanging around talking outside the volunteer house. I enjoy that, there's a really nice, laid-back atmosphere here and everyone is friendly. Friday 15th August Today I was on Primates 2 with my room-mate Maria and my American friend Helena. We cleaned out some macaque enclosures before breakfast, and spent the late morning and early afternoon doing ...

Last weekend Phuen had a great idea to go to Samut Songkhram to see two interesting markets - a "train" and a floating one. We departured Sat morning and it took us only 1 hour by van from Victory monument to get there. It is a a small local town, at the first glance offering nothing to strangers. Without a map or a guide book it is rather difficult to orientate oneself. English is of no use over here so I was completely ...

I had a break between jobs so I rode to the internet cafe with Crystal just now. I've been making a list of some of my favorite things about the Wildlife Friends of Thailand in my real journal, but I've left that in my bungalow... let's see what I can remember. Favorites Species of animal: Gibbons. It's still gibbons. They're just goofy, and playful, and beautiful, and I love their ...

... life sanctuary on Thursday. I was going to do the western islands (Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, probably not Phuket anymore) alone and then meet up with friends on the eastern islands (Koh Tao, Koh Phangnan).... but I'm content and excited to have a travel partner for the 10 days or so before I meet up with Northwestern friends. It'll be safer, and more fun, and still relaxing. I'm excited!! Only about 5 more days of work to go before I head off on the real holiday portion ...

... tourists arrive from Bangkok by the busload, jump into a long boat, and get harassed like crazy but all the sellers in the boats that cruise along beside them trying to hawk off coconuts and touristy trinkets. We arrived in the last hour or so, after of the tourists had left. We just sat on the concrete pathway alongside the canal for an hour and watched it all go by. It was fascinating - but no where near as interesting our our smaller, local version of a ...

... the abundance of fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, rambutan, lychees...) * the Thai massages!! * the ability to buy over-the-counter antibiotics without having to go to the docs (I came down with a chesty cough due to ****** air-conditioning in Siem Reap. I knew what I needed to cure it - but didn't want the hassle of going to a doctor. My 'bird flu' has been cured now.) * the fresh fruit shakes * the smell of laundry that has been put through a ...

I booked a day trip with my Guest house to visit the Floating Market about an hour outside of Bangkok. (The pick up was at 7am! I guess the market is only open in the morning. Ugh!) I understand floating markets are an endangered form of exchange in Thailand as many village people are migrating to use larger markets in the cities. So there are fewer of these left, and I guess that this ...