During our travels we spotted some cute elephants and had a great time meeting them! This park was wonderful because the entrance was free and you could look at the elephants and pet them too! We couldn't resist spoiling them by buying buckets of bananas and I couldn't believe how fast they can gobble them, peels and all. They were adorable holding their trunks out for more and more and they were definitely not happy about sharing (I guess they didn't learn that in kindergarten)!
Against my better judgement I allowed Josh to lead me around unaware that they have a Cobra Show as well. Well we didn't get the show but we were able to touch the snakes and put them around our necks for a photo. It wasn't really scary because their teeth are removed I think (I know...definitely cruel but the elephants looked well cared for!) but it felt very strange especially as the cobra tries to slink away you can feel every movement with your neck. At one point it started to wrap itself around Josh's arm and I don't think he was a super fan of that idea (although I enjoyed seeing the look on his face!). We both balked when the black scorpion appeared though and we laughed at each other for being so instantly decided on not touching it: so cobras are okay but scorpions are not? Interesting.
After looking at some crocodiles, monkeys, bunnies, and puppies, we hopped on our bike again. We stumbled upon a really cute fisherman's village in Chaloklum that we adored so much we wished we were staying near there! Although most of the places were closed on account of the rain, you could definitely see the potential of the area full of cafes and bookstores. It seemed so authentic and quaint and we enjoyed having a warm baguette with butter and cheese at a local bakery so much that we have talked about it for days after. Apparently a warm, simple sandwich is the way to get us enthused! We tried to wait out the rain by playing with some kittens (the little buggers kept going for the scarf around my neck) but this strategy failed and we ventured out again much to the baker's dismay.
Further down the road we found a Chinese temple, the Kuan Yin Shrine, which offered stunning views of the jungle and I'm sure the ocean too had the rain stopped. The story behind the temple is fantastic as a Chinese woman in Bangkok had a dream about 5 years ago where the goddess Kuan Yin (goddess of mercy) visited her and told her to build a lighthouse for the fishermen on Koh Phanang. When she visited a monk to explain her dream, they set out to do this together and to build a temple as well. The temple was more beautiful on the account of the scenery (she recognized the hill immediately from her dream) but looking at the architecture and appreciating the dragon theme was fun too. I really enjoy the layout of Buddhist temples since they are typically made up of several buildings and several shrines, all of which are unique. I think this offers perspective into the uniqueness of each person's journey and does not command the one-shoe-fits-all theory like other religions do.
Seeing as how our adventure was proving fruitful, we continued on to Phaeng waterfall. The hike was about 250 meters up and very slippery! Our shoes had puddles in them, but it was really fun! Waterfalls are always beautiful and I love to just stand at the bottom and hear them roar. I wish the weather would have been better and we could have swam in the small pools near the fall. Afterwards we returned home soaked and as usual the rain stopped right as we set foot in our door so we were able to take advantage of the evening and sip cappuccinos in an outdoor cafe.
Still craving some adventure the next day, we decided to seek out a zip line park. It was difficult to find and by the time we arrived we were, as usual, soaked. In retrospect I am not sure what we were thinking but as soon as we arrived it was immediately clear that of course the park could not be open in the downpour! The owner almost laughed when we asked if it was open but you can't blame us for trying!
Rejected, we whiled away the day in a cafe and tried to get excited for the Full Moon Party. We were both feeling really apprehensive about going and were fairly convinced that we weren't going to go but then we met Katie and Scot, a really cool couple nearer to our age than all the other teenagers around and they convinced us that it could be fun. In general the Full Moon Party is seriously overrated! I can't honestly believe the fuss that is made over a party that looks like a tight-and-bright pub crawl on the beach with boring DJs and the oh so exciting concept of drinking out of a bucket instead of a glass.
That being said, we had a better time than we thought we would have and in fairness to what I mentioned before, I did not witness anyone getting sick although there were a fair many people out of commission. I also didn't notice any drug paraphernalia nor were we offered anything in that regard so I think that fear was highly overrated as well. We did have a fun time roaming the beach with Katie and Scot and we actually ended up playing with a glow in the dark frisbee for most of the evening which proved challenging amongst the crowd. It had Josh and I thinking that we might join Ultimate Frisbee again when we return home we were having so much fun. All in all, not a negative experience nor a memorable one either and I would definitely not go again.
The biggest problem with the island is the effort you have to put in for this supposedly epic party and I hated that we had to prepay for four nights at our hotel. Our hotel was hilarious and I will admit that Tripadvisor led me astray on this one. Picture concrete walls, concrete ceiling, and concrete floor full of lizard poop amplified by stark fluorescent lighting and what do you have but a prison! Needless to say we had to get out of there so we forfeited the last day and returned to Koh Samui. Koh Samui has proved adventurous today but that is a story for another day. :)
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