It just kept getting better

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Our story continues from the previous blog.




Ming told us only that we were going to a river that runs back and forth into the sea, so we were not prepared for an everglade so gorgeous that tears sprang to our eyes in wonder. My heart ached just looking at it, being actually IN it, like some kind of artist's animation or even a wide-awake-blue-ray-dream. The color of the water glowed; supernaturally verdant and luminous, so alive, so radiantly ALIVE. The twisted and gnarly mangrove trees had roots growing up out of the water around their own trunks and then down again, very slender, very graceful, everything seemed magical and enchanted. We didn't want to say a word to spoil the silence.



We were able to walk all around on a well constructed six foot wide rubber deck, cut out in places where the trees grew through it. Ever since I went on the Jungle Ride at Disneyland as a child, I have nurtured a secret desire to explore and experience the mysterious allure of a REAL jungle everglade. That fantasy was about to come true, as Ming spontaneously inquired of a random person if we could use the sea kayaks. Paddles appeared and I was sitting between Dane and Ming on a sea kayak, balancing and trying not to get hit in the head. Into the swampy waterway we paddled, and I watched, listened and INHALED the entire experience, barely believing it was real and not a dream. I did not let the fact that we had no swimwear or lifejackets and that leeches could possibly be attaching themselves to my bottom, impair my enjoyment in any way. Stark white egrets rose up out of misty lagoons, monkeys warned other monkeys of intruders and the deep, intoxicating fragrance was beyond pleasurable.
We got back in the car soaking wet, with no change of clothes, but we had towels and a memory that will remain FOREVER.
On the road again, Ming noticed a monk walking and stopped to give him a ride. We were driving further and further into nowhere. Finally, we arrived NOT at the monk's house or temple, but at his CAVE, his enormous, wonderful cave where he lived. Exquisite stalagtites adorned the interior and the floors were tiled. There was enough electrical to be able to follow him up and down hand-hewn rock stairs, although we got to a point in the tunnel where he told us we were "too big" to continue on. What a nice monk, very sweet and smiling always, except in the photo!
There was so much more on Ming's list, but we were starving and it was almost sunset. Due to a traffic jam of some kind, Ming hurriedly turned down a dirt road and happened onto the "Ta Sai Seafood" restaurant that I pray we will be able to find again someday, because Ming had never been there. It was built in a series of large descending decks and platforms, with patrons on every level. We got to sit on the very last level right next to the river at sunset! The best meal yet, maybe ever...catfish curry, tiger shrimp, a whole deepfried whitefish so flaky and tender that it melted in my mouth, pork fried rice that we scraped off the serving dish, and platter after platter of delicious food and sauces, all beautifully garnished, for under 900 THB. or $30 U.S.Dollars.





God blessed us and we knew it. There was no mistaking the way He arranged our day, and we give Him all the credit, because we could never have planned all that ourselves. Twelve hours of sightseeing heaven.

We had to wake at dawn the next day to pack. The tears started, and just wouldn't stop, but our trip undeniably exceeded our greatest expectations and imaginations.

No reason to write another blog, but I have more pictures and words and even some "out takes" and maybe a few tips for future Thailand travelers. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.

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