waterfalls and gibbon calls

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Oh my God! That is a much overused expression among young people today, but is perfect to describe our experiences in Khao Sok national park. We are staying in a tree house deep in the jungle. We awake to the sound of mated pairs of gibbons singing duets to one another to mark their territory. Their voices carry a great distance so we haven,t actually spotted them yet. I am going on a night safari, so remain hopeful. Torrential downpours every day, but usually not lasting for more than an hour or two. I wonder if like the Eskimos, Thai have many words for rain. Certainly "rain" does not begin to describe what we are witnessing. Because of the rain, leeches which normally hide in wet leaf litter, are everywhere on the trails. They are more than opportunistic parasites, they actually scramble towards our ankles at an alarmingly rapid pace inch-worm style. The park rangers have a point system - attached leech =1 pt, drawn blood =2 pt, fed & escaped = 5 pt, inside underpants = 10 pts. Whoever scores highest gets treated to drinks by their hiking partners. Guess who scored highest? I felt braver than Katherine Hepburn on the African Queen and didn't once scream like a girl. Love Dorothy/Mom

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