could you wait one moment? i have to move my cow.

i was lucky enough to get off work for joey and sam's last day in thailand. after some debate about how we should spend it, we decided to go to the monkey training school.  im so happy to have experienced this with joey and sam, they were able to get a sense of true thai style and hospitality.  the school is situated just outside surat, a 10 minute tuk-tuk ride.  i had never been there before and was honestly quite skeptical. the school is a place where monkeys are trained to pick coconuts from the tops of palm trees.  apparently this is only done in the south of thailand.  sonjai is the woman who runs, owns, and operates the school and her father was the founder. my roommate gave me the number and i called ahead asking if it would be okay for us to come that afternoon.  sonjai explained that she couldn't come to pick us up because she was the only one at home (her husband works near bangkok) but to call her when we get a tuk-tuk so she could explain to the driver where to go.  this is just a small taste of the hospitality among thai people.   when we arrive, sonjai greets us at the driveway and welcomes us in.  she has about 10 monkeys that she owns and they are all in various stages of training.  they start training the monkeys at about 6 months old and when they are about 5 years old they can start working.  the monkeys work until they are 15 years old and live to be about 20-25.  sonjai trains the monkeys using positive reinforcement and takes care of them extremely well.  she showed monkeys in various stages of training, starting with a monkey barely trained up to a fully trained monkey who picked coconuts for us to drink from.  the experience was unreal.  as sonjai was finishing up showing us everything, some of her family stopped by.  one of the family members was a curious 6 year old boy named sam who only wanted to speak to us in english.  he quickly became my little sidekick, following me around and trying to 'cheers' me with his water glass.  very cute.  we sat around talking with the family and when it came time to go, the uncle insisted on driving us back home.  we thanked sonjai and promised her i would come back soon.  we piled into the truck cab (6 adults and 2 little kids) and made our way back to my house.  they asked us all kinds of questions, the uncle talking loudly (the loudest ive ever heard a thai person speak) on his cell phone, and they kept trying to get us to eat whatever food they had with them.  we laughed uncontrollably at the situation, thinking how nothing like that would never happen in the states.  the little boys asked if they could see my house, how could i say no? when we got back home, they came in and promptly made themselves at home. we thanked them and said goodbye, smiling to ourselves... it was a great day.

the scariest animal at the school

 

and the friendliest.

the monkeys loved joe

enjoying a juicebox

 sam and jet making themselves at home

joey and sam come to town!

my brother joey and cousin sam came to visit me for a week! it was so nice to have a taste of home (esp. when they brought goodies from america with them!)  although i had to work while they were here, we made the most of their short stay. we went to koh samui for the weekend with the newest mathus hire, jenna.  we stayed in the swanky hutcha resort and were upgraded to rooms with television (hello movie channels!) and refridgerators when our reservations didn't go through as they should have. we ate delicious food, relaxed by the beach, swam in the pool, and enjoyed each others company.  its weekends like these that make me realize how truly lucky i am!

joey has accustomed to thai culture quickly!

 and so has sam!

 

i probably just got done saying:  "i can't believe youre in thailand!! im so glad that youre here!"

introspective on the ferry

enjoying the tuk tuk ride after haggling over a dollar.

high rollers at the hutcha resort, no big deal.

sam was able to get this great picture of a too-kay (sp?)  its a big

gecko of thailand that makes a loud too-kay sound at night.

we asked a fellow diner to take our picture just as our waiter approached the table.  

an awkward moment ensued, the end result --- the waiter posing for our picture like a ladyboy. so typical :)

more pictures to come once i get them off my own camera!

holiday number two

For my second holiday, I went to Koh Tao with my roommate Nicki.

Koh Tao is a little island known for some of the best snorkeling and diving, 

it was absolutely the best.  We had fun swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, sunbathing, 

reading, sleeping-basically anything relaxing.We stayed at a resort called Coral View, situated on 

Haad Sai Daeng beach.  We made fast friends with the girl who worked at reception

and the bartender (of course!)  Needless to say, was very diffucult to go back to work!

 

 nicki had an underwater camera- the whole experience was

very "finding nemo"  pictures: courtesy of nicki.

 

 look closely, yes that is a black tip shark! yes- i snorkeled with sharks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

soakin' it up

elephant nature park

the elephant nature park is a sanctuary that takes in elephants that have been abused or injured.  thailand thrives on tourism and the elephants are a key player, helping make money with elephant rides and food to feed them.  there isn't such a big problem in that itself, the real problem comes when the elephants aren't taken care of properly and are put in environments where its unsafe for them.  elephants aren't meant to live in the city, and their life span is shortened considerably when they are brought to live in the city, where there are such bright lights and loud noises.  at the elephant nature park there are 34 elephants that have been taken in from abusive situations and now live peaceful lives, doing nothing but eating, playing, and sleeping all day.  during our holiday in chaing mai, we spent two wonderful days and one night at the sanctuary learning all about the elephants.  after being there about 20 minutes i realized that my new life goal is to become the first american woman mahout!  a mahout is the elephants keeper/trainer, they develop an inseparable bond and are always within a couple of meters of each other.  dont be surprised if i don't come home because ive decided to live here with the elephants!

getting a big kiss

Nicki modeling an elephant molar

 

 breakfast time!

an elephant and its mahout

hello.

yes, that is a whole bunch of bananas that she's eating at once

this one stepped on a landmine in burma, 

the foot needs daily medical attention and can't support much weight

lunch time!

there are also tons of dogs at the park who get dropped off by 

people from the surrounding villages who know they'll be taken care of here

bath time!

washing the elephants...

it was hard work!

where we stayed for the night

hanging out with the elephants

playing in the small mud bath

the woman in the purple shirt is Lek, she is the person who started 

the Elephant Nature Park.  she is the epitome of a badass.

view for the night out our back porch

we also tubed down this river after our 'work' was done

the elephants eat one of these huge baskets three times a day, 

packed full with an assortment of 

watermelon, corn, pumpkin, and bananas

just taking a little nap on the corn

this elephant's hips and leg were broken when she was forced into

a breeding program; she walks very slow and with a severe limp.

one of the babies off to cause trouble

water cows

woke up to see this one across the river