Khao Yai National Park

Welcome to the Jungle! Lions, Tigers, and Bears OH MY! Jenn, Kate, Shannon, and I headed off to Khao Yai National Park for yet another quick getaway. Khao Yai is the 2nd largest National Park in Thailand. It is the oldest park in Thailand and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We booked two tours with the guesthouse we stayed at and both were awesome. The first was 'the bat tour'. On our way to the cave our guides found an interesting little snake and spotted an owl. When we arrived at the bat cave, we climbed down to see the bats in their natural habitat (sleeping and pooping). After exploring for a while we ventured out and at dusk we traveled near an open field to see a million bats fly out. They were flying out for feeding time (mmmm yummy). Ha Ha. For ten minutes there was a steady stream of bats flying out of the cave and into the forest to find food. Remarkable!

Day Two: Hiking in the Jungle. We started our trip with the first of many sightings of the hornbill tropical bird.
Throughout our hike we saw various animals...hornbills, gibbons (small apes), deer, and even a bearcat. We hiked in the jungle for about 4 or 5 hours. We were hoping for a sighting of elephants but we were not one of the lucky ones. After our hike we headed to Haew Suwat Waterfall (best known from the movie The Beach).
You absolutely have to look at the pictures below to see the beauty of this park. There are some great pictures of various animals. Not to mention a very funny picture of a monkey picking through a trash can.



P.S. I have been SMOKE-FREE for 6 months now!!!