6th day - Whitewater rafting, adventures and a Fantasea.

Day 6 - 14th May It's a day of fun and adventure!

8:00 a.m

Another day trip we signed up as a group.

This time round it's for whitewater rafting. But included in the package are visits to a limestone cave Buddhist temple, an elephant farm and (another) waterfall.

Ooh... the pick up is here.

We'll be traveling with three other Australians.

9:00 a.m.

The temple in the limestone cave...

After almost an hour of journey on the road, splattered with friendly, casual chit-chats, we arrived at the first stop - limestone cave temple.

9:40 p.m.

Finally, off to the rafting camp.

10:10 p.m.

After a briefing from the rafting instructors, we are now setting off on the river. I think they were really waiting for the dam to release the waters from the upflow.

I think the canoeing skills I picked up in secondary school will come in handy...

12:30 p.m.

Woo...! That was fun! It's such a thrill bumping ourselves down the fast flowing river. The heavy rain in the middle of the trip made it all the more fun! Although I think the two captains/guides on the raft must have been sweating with anxiety during the rainstorm.

Too bad no cameras were allowed on the raft (they would have been damaged anyway), but we did get some souvenir shots by the adventure school's photographers - it's 150 baht per shot.

It's a print-photo, I'll post that up later.

Now am having a supposedly 'traditional' Thai lunch - it looks too scrumptious to be traditional. What do you think of rice served with generous servings of deep fried chicken drumstick, fried fish in tomato sauce, chicken soup with winter melon and two dishes of assorted vegetables...? I don't quite think that is the daily fare of the local Thais...

2:30 p.m.

Check it out! This waterfall sure beats the one at Bangpae!

After jumping off a spot on the side of the fall, I swam towards the plunge-point of the fall. Gosh the water is so incredibly cold, the spray from the waterfall is like a peppermint mist!

Brrr...!!

Woo...! That was fun!

How about another!?

2:45 p.m.

Just got back from the falls and on our way to the elephant farm/jungle trekking thing.

It's the last stop for this adventure package.

I hope it's not another tourist trap.

3:40 p.m.

Arrived at the farm after almost an hour's ride.

Looking at the 'jungle ride' they've planned for us on the elephant, it's definitely a tourists' trap... oh well, might as well make the most of it...

Not too shabby a posture...

looking good, looking good...

A short, bumpy elephant ride...

4:00 p.m.

Wahey...! That was fun... (wry grin).

Well, at least I got to ride on the elephant itself, not the saddle, but on the head! Woo hooo (drumming up enthusiasm...)!!

Okay, now for the exciting elephant show... yay! *Thrilled screams...!*

Baby elephant show.

Just before we left, the elephant was given a shower...

5:30 p.m.

Got back to our hotel... now to freshen up, dress up and get ready for Phuket Fantasea!

7:00 p.m.

Ooh, right on time, Neng is here to pick us up and bring us to Phuket Fantasea theme park at Kamala beach.

7:30 p.m.

The Golden Kinnaree Buffet Restaurant.

Oooh... glorious spread of international buffet at the Golden Kinnaree... sorry can't talk now. Must eat.

8:10 p.m.

Goodness me! That was a fabulous spread.

I had Thai curries, Western roast beef, Hakka beef noodles and even Japanese sashimi and sushi.

Now for the desserts.

8:40 p.m.

The Palace of the Elephants.

Am now completely stuffed. The chocolate cakes and sweets are just too delectable to resist. Ok, I had some fruits too... now have to get into the theater (aka Palace of the Elephants). Supposedly done up to the last detail in Sukothai style.

8:55 p.m.

There's a disgusting person seated one row behind me. First he drapes he legs over, onto my seat. He retracts it only when I refused to sit down but stared at him. Then he sniggers to his girlfriend without even so much as apologizing!

Stupid ang moh! Methinks he's from the UK judging from his accent.

Who's from the third world now? Well, at least in terms of attitude and behavior anyway.

Darn! Now he's pushing and rocking my chair from behind.

IDIOT!!!

10:40 p.m.

Gosh, that was a good show. Well, it's a bit touristy, but hey, after 2 days of it, I am conditioned I guess.

Especially loved the aerial show of the fluorescent kinnarees. The performance was so graceful and beautiful I was positively tearing by their elegance and expression.

Lovely!

11:15 p.m.

The prince, his palace and I.

It started to rain a few minutes after we left the theater. I managed to get some shots of the place, the program and highlight DVD of the show though.

Now back to the hotel and off to bed... it's been a long day.