Today was quite an eventful one though. Everyone was talking about how amazing the temple up the street was, so five of us woke up at 6:00 AM to check it out. On the way there a dog followed us all the way up to the temple. 510 steps up we arrived to the top, where we had one amazing view. The clouds enhanced the view of the surrounding mountains. I was very glad I made the effort to get up.
On the way up the hill there were various signs on the way, each different Buddhist philosophies, which I will post on her.
After some breakfast we headed up to wildlife 1. On the way I stuck my hand out the window and actually picked a fruit from a tree, I was so awesome! Once we got there, with no warning, a shaman a paid us a visit. It was a surprise Adam gave us. We all gathered in a circle with a plant in the center. He strung a string through all our hands, around the plant, and rested the end on the seam of his book he read out of. He began reading prayers from his book. They were all in a Buddhist language, so no one could understand what he said, it was cool. After the prayers he wrapped a wristband on me and chanted something while doing so. It's supposed to suppress bad energy and ensure good luck and abundance.
After the ritual we headed to Che Buh's cage. To my surprise, Adam agreed to fill up the pool we made so she could swim in it. Once it was full we released the bear, everyone had their cameras ready to film the much awaited event.
...she never swam in it. There's a number of reasons we point to: the cold weather, presence of dogs, stress... who really knows though. I'm almost positive she will love it though. Especially on a hot Day I'll bet it'll be nice.
We accomplished a lot in our 2 weeks there. We painted and finished the kitchen, mixed cement to create Che Buh's pool and the base for the new monkey platforms, painted and reorganized the storage area, finished the bathroom, gardened, and practiced animal enrichment. It feels really good knowing I had a part in that. Damien told us tonight that a healthy portion of our program cost went directly to Wildlife 1. it's great knowing I financially and physically helped for a noble cause to ensure a brighter future for endangered and abused wildlife in Thailand. I shouldn't say "I" either, because if it wasn't for my friends and family who donated or helped me get here, none of this would have happened. If you are reading this and you donated or supported me, I thank you and Wildlife 1 thanks you. Every little bit counts, we accomplished great things with lasting value, things that would not be possible without volunteers like ISV.
After the work today we went to the hot springs again with Adam and some other volunteers outside of ISV who helped. These people know how to work hard, and some are staying much longer than two weeks. I will miss their company, they were really neat, selfless people.
There's a lot of things I'm going to miss. I'll miss scratching and playing with Che Buh. I'll miss Pa Mem and Pi Tao and their wonderful cooking. I'll miss my awesome bungalow (set aside the recent ant invasion...). I'll miss Damien our crazy, Aussie tour leader. Most of all, I'm going to miss Wildlife 1 and the experiences we had there.
With that being said, I'm also very excited. Tomorrow morning the adventure tour begins. At around noon we will take our flight to Phuket where we will meet Milk, our Thai tour leader. Our group is going to double in size as well, we are combining with another tour.
Can't wait for the days to come! Let the adventure begin!
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