Almost time to move again...
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2005
1
44
55
Trip End
Sep 01, 2006
Khao Look Chang,
Thailand
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
I think doing the feeding is my favourite job here. You prepare all the food - I'm wielding a knife like a pro now - and then distribute it to all the animals. It's really fun watching them eat; they inspect their bowl, rummage through to find their favourite bits and then devour it in about three seconds flat. There are a few enclosures where you need to be sneaky because there are dominant animals within them. There is a couple of macaques where one is really skinny and the other one is really fat, so you have to try and get the food directly to the skinny one rather than just laying the bowl down in their tray or otherwise the fat one eats her half!
Least favourite job is pool duty. Drain the pool and then literally scrub it on your hands and knees - it's pretty grimy so takes some time and a lot of elbow grease. Once you get going though it's not too bad and it normally ends up in a bit of a water fight - someone splashes someone and then the hose comes out and before long you're soaked through - but in this heat it's welcome!
Have a few new primates around the centre now - they've just come out of quarantine. Everyone has fallen in love with a gibbon called Ploy. She always sings a really sad song and is so frightened of the monkeys in the enclosures surrounding her, so when you come to sit with her she always gives you hugs and holds onto your hand. She's lovely.
Have had some really fun nights out with all the volunteers at the karaoke bar in the village. However, bit of a drama going on at the moment... Last Friday we started drinking at the volunteer house, played some games and then walked down to the village together, down the dark scary country roads, dogs in tow (the dogs love to come out with us, love em!) Everyone really enjoyed themselves - although maybe a little bit too much. We all came back, a tad worse for wear, and were making noise (an egg on the head fight broke out between two of the volunteers and everyone else was in the kitchen making toast and messing around etc...) when a gibbon begun to sing. Needless to say it woke up Edwin's girlfriend and she rung Edwin in Vietnam and the volunteer co-ordinator who had to get up and tell us to go to bed. Now we're all awaiting Edwin's return - he is not happy. He has given group warnings before and sent a text to the house phone to say he wants everyone that was out that night to leave the centre! But he is very quick-tempered - Diane, the co-ordinator, reckons he'll have calmed down by the time he gets back, which is later tonight - 'Judgement Night' - wish me luck that we don't get chucked out! We doubt he'll throw everyone out or he'd have practically no volunteers cos about 20 of us were out that night and most of the people that weren't are relatively new, so the sanctuary will be in trouble - anyway I'll let you know the verdict... But before then, there is an alcohol ban at the centre itself - we now have to go out if we want to drink, which is a shame because most nights we had enjoyed a couple of glasses of Samsung together - oh well.
Had my first day off since the Full Moon Party yesterday. Went to Hua'hin with a couple of other volunteers and basically had a really lazy day eating snacks, drinking cocktails, having a foot massage (unbelievably good - was actually in heaven!) and eating pizza, then went to the karaoke bar in the evening with a few others - had some drinks and attempted to teach one of the boys rock n' roll. Came back - very quietly! - and had a good old-fashionned girly chat in my room - perfect day off!
Leave here on Friday :( Only thing I won't miss is working on a hangover and only a few hours sleep - the smells in some of the enclosures are so bad the morning after (they aren't that great on a normal day)! Am really looking forward to being on the move again though - been settled for awhile and getting itchy feet... Reuniting with Caz and Mhairi for my final month of travelling - can't believe how fast it's going - ahhh!
