Jungle Trekking now includes visits to the Temple and the Sea

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You've heard all about the Ellie Trek from Shaun in the last post. Well yes, we did that on this tour along with other completely random acts around and about the island. I am not a huge fan of the guided tour thing for a ton of reasons, but for one, maybe I never really grew out of that teenager phase of I hate being told what to do. It doesn't matter what or why, my immediate response to someone saying "Madam, right this way" is "No!" I am even willing to miss out on something all together for the sake of not wanting to do what everyone else is doing. Not because I think I am unique or different from the rest of the damn tourists, its that I have a general dislike of crowds of people, period. I don't like to be touched or brushed against, (I do horrible in places like NYC) I don't like to listen to loud mouth people gabbing away at who knows what...(side note: to non-American's that think that Americans are really loud, obnoxious, and annoying, which yes, some are... however there are loud, obnoxious, and annoying people from every country and even though I have made my own personnal judgements on which nationalities are worse than Americans, I will refrain from dragging their entire country thru the mud just for your knowledge at this moment in this blog, but if your nice, I might tell you later.)

Call it an anxiety or a phobia I just call it like I see it, annoying...people that are in large groups that are supposed to follow some order and timeline throughout the day for an exorbitant amount of money, with several language barriers and at least that many personality differences, and there are always the few that think "ahhh screw the schedule, if I want to order another beer at this stop along the way and make the other 20 people wait an extra 30 minutes in the hot baking sun because they've already gotten out of the water, dried off and boarded the bus, and I know the guide can't leave me for obvious reasons, otherwise why would they do all that head counting at each departure, and they'll come looking for me to board the boat when they're ready, screw it, I'm thirsty." Which I fully understand, I like to drink just as much as an underage American at a school dance, because paying my friends older brother a 20% tax on booze is far better than shoulder tapping, but that's why I come prepared with a travel cooler full of ice cold beers, plus it's just cheaper and I'm all about efficiency. This is me..."Hmmm, I'm thirsty, I'll just reach onto my bag and get a beer, now that was easy."

So, we have fallen victims to another touristy activity by the quality of the printing job on the brochure, a guided 2.5 hour Jungle tour that offers life insurance and snacks and guarantees a good time. Not a great time, or a memorable time, or a fantastic time, just a plain ole good time. It has now been proven that it doesn't matter which program you choose that they offer from the brochure that obviously had not been proof read prior to going to the printshop, they simply make up the tour as you go, depending on which cousin owes his brother a favor. Ok, but then I did get a blue sticker...which does not mean you will be grouped along with all the other blue sticker wearers. There is nothing worse than trying to visit a country to try and have an authentic experience, even though your skin tone is on the opposite spectrum of the native folks, and be doomed first thing in the morning adorned with a huge blue sticker on your chest. And me being me, I am already looking forward to the snacks because I seemed to have set the alarm for pm instead of am this morning and woke only to the sound of the taxi laying on his horn. "Ok already, I heard the first eighty little beep beeps, I'm coming!" Only to have the sad realization the snacks aboard this wagon are inedible, rock hard candies that are formed into triangles in the corner of a plastic baggy topped with sesame seeds, claiming to be Coconut candy? Hmmm, I mean I know the outside of a coconut is brown, but I was pretty sure the inside of a coconut was white? And why is this lady staring at me...was I supposed to pay for that, I mean it knocked my tooth loose.

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Photos

Mummified Monk
Yeah, for some reason the glasses aren't working for me either. Kinda cheeses the whole thing up, wished they woulda left them off.

Monk tending to his container garden
All men used to be obligated to serve the Temple for 3 months, after which they could decide to stay or continue life outside the Temple.

One brick at a time
Most Wats offer bricks to be donated to help rebuild around the grounds

Kids having a Leadership and Peace Assembly
All children attend Temple for their education for a minumum of 6 years. Sadly, that is about as far as most of them get before they are called back to their parents' home to work.