Thale Ban continued

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The following day we once again sheepishly approached the information desk (being fairly sure they were laughing at us regarding the spider) and once we managed to find the only English speaker working there we asked if the leeches were everywhere and if there was anything we could do to combat our new arch enemy. Once again our question was met with a big smile, and we were informed that they aren't poisonous (she seemed to miss the point of our query) and that they happily drop off once they've had the fill of your blood. The crazy woman actually seemed quite fond of them!

With this useful information Monique decided to give the jungle a miss, whilst I devised a cunning anti-leech mechanism (trousers tucked into socks) and set out on the same "walkway" we had started the day before. This so called "walkway" was a pretty well cleared albeit fairly steep path for about 20 minutes, after which it became more and more difficult to tell where the trail actually went, and turned into far more of a climb than a walk. About 45 minutes into the jungle I became slightly paranoid about two things: firstly getting completely lost on my own in dense jungle, and secondly if the climb continued to get more and more difficult would I be able to get back down if I turned back? These things combined with the incredible heat and humidity persuaded me to turn back on myself and head back down.

It's a real pity, but the National Park really isn't set up for visitors (and certainly not non-thai speaking visitors). There was nothing in the way of a map showing walking routes, and the routes that were clearly signed seemed to disappear into nothing shortly in. We didn't see any other visitors there until the day we left, and maybe that's why they decided not to supply any food after our first day! Shortly after my failed jungle trek a Thai lady approached us with a note saying something along the lines of "The caffeteria is empty (no food). You go with lady with note to get food". This meant Monique getting on the back of the lady's motorbike to the Malasian border where there are a couple of shops (an interesting journey which I am told involved the woman dropping her purse to reveal that she was carrying a butchers knife with her!). The same thing happened the following day, but this time we were left to hitch a lift to the border to buy food.

The area in which the National Park is situated is a stunningly beautiful place with dense jungle all over which is, going by what we could hear, full of wildlife. However it was disappointing to find that it wasn't set up with visitors in mind at all. We did get a good glimpse of the local wildlife though, when a family of langurs decided to play in a tree over our bungalow seemingly oblivious to us as we watched for quite some time. Definitely the highlight of the stay.

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