We had a couple hours to spare before the beginning of our first tour, so we went to a coffee shop down the street for energy and wifi. We then hopped back into the bed of the pickup truck with a French family to start the tour.
The first place we went was a natural spring, so we spent some time swimming in the cool and very clear water with other tourists and some locals.
After air drying the best we could in another truck ride, we stopped at what looked like a large temple. We walked around a corner and there was a cave entrance that we were instructed to go into. Apparently the monks frequently medidate in the darkness and quiet of this cave, alongside tarantulas, bats, centipedes and other creepy crawlies. Our tour guide found a tarantula right away for us to look at before it scurried back into its hole. He then picked up some type of arachnoid that is commonly described by its looks as a "scorpion spider." We didn't realize how interactive this tour was until he put the creature on Cyle's neck and let it crawl around on his face and head. After more of us got a chance to hold it, we ventured on to see all of the bats sleeping on the ceilings and flying around each other. Our guide then found a blueish, massive centipede which he put on Colleen's arm to explore. We kept walking through for a while and saw different Buddha's and places for the monks to meditate before leaving.
The next stop was what our guide referred to as the real bat cave. We couldn't go in, because apparently there used to be a problem with visitors stealing the bat poop and selling it or making explosives from it. So we watched at the bottom of the mountain as the sun was going down to see about two million bats leave their cave in search of food. While they began to fly out, we also got to eat some more Thai fruit: mangosteen and rambutan. Our guide then handed us weird pea pod-looking things and told us to put them under our tongues. Everyone yelped when we discovered that they explode like pop rocks when they get wet. (Except Kelsey, who tried to be sneaky and waited until everyone else tried them first.)
Our last stop before going back for the night was at the spring again to see a huge millipede. We got to hold it and let it crawl around on us. They are really strong!
The next morning, we drove into the actual grounds of Khao Yai National Park. A few minutes into the drive, the truck stopped and our tour guide hurried us off to let us look for the gibbons swinging on branches in the distance. He also picked up a scorpion from somewhere near the road and placed it on some of us. After a few minutes of this, we drove a little farther to another spot where gibbons and macaques were swinging and eating in plain view.
We then went for a three hour hike through the jungle. Although we didn't come across any elephants, tigers or monkeys, we did see some pretty trees and streams, as well as get some exercise in. By the time we made it to lunch, we were exhausted. We went for one last photo opp to a waterfall before the long drive back.
After satisfying our stomachs with another delicious dinner (Kelsey and Colleen actually had two dinners) and using the wifi at a nearby cafe, we decided to head back to play cards and call it a night. When Fiona walked into the girls' room, she realized they had a visitor. She screamed and pointed at the intruder tarantula on the wall. Even though we have been holding various creatures a lot lately, we didn't feel safe grabbing it, so we called one of the staff workers in to help us. He laughed and said that these spiders aren't even dangerous and that it wasn't that big. Regardless, we were all happy to see our friend let back into the wild. We then decided to play cards and drink some beer in order to help us sleep in our possibly spider-infested rooms.
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