I must really smell right now. I sat down here in this internet cafe, I am currently in Khao Sok of southern thailand, and the woman seated me and then opened up the window next to me and put a fan on the opposite side of me. I forgot to put on deodorant this morning and then I went for a hike, and see, they make you take off your shoes when you come into these places... anyways...

Today was a good day. Got up, had a small breakfast, said hello to the frog that lives in my toilet and the small snake in my shower, put on my hiking shoes and headed up to Khao Sok national park. There are many trails to take and I overzealously chose the longest one and only made it about half way. I had neglected to pack water, which was just plain stupid, and had to turn back. What's the jungle like? The first thing that pops to mind is the constant flurry of little bugs that are always trying to either eat you or start colonies in your eyes, nose, and mouth. Everything is green above, below, and around you. After hiking for awhile the sky disappears too. Hundereds of cicada beatles beat their bums against tree trunks and their collective hum is remincient of a chain-saw, off in the distance. You can hear monkeys but you can't see them. They don't make the "ooh-ooh, ah-ah" sounds I thought they would. It's more like a cross between a little kid wailing and a bird call.
When I got back to the visitor center and restaurant at the base of the trails and went straight for the water. Some Thai women seemed to be having some sort of meeting in the outdoor area. They were raising their voices and arguing about something, not so much in the angry way. It was more like a town meeting kind of argument. Anyways there was this little boy who was waiting around for his mom and he saw me drinking water in the corner with my ipod. He came over and stood behind me, actually was looking right over my shoulder, to see me sort through the songs. So I gave him one of my earphones and let him hear this song with me. It was "elephant gun," by beirut. I could tell he liked it, too. He called his little brother over and I gave him the other ear phone and then they just stood there sort of staring off, holding the earphones to their heads. They saw their Dad approaching as the song was ending and ran away, but the older brother made sure to smile and thank me (in english!).
So that put me in a pretty good mood. I started walking back toward my hotel but decided to keep going for a bit on account of how jolly I felt at that particular moment, and came up on this court. I don't know what the game is called, but I've seen it played on tv here. It's kind of like volleyball, only you can use everything but your hands. Basically it involves a tiny soccer ball made of plastic, and two teams juggle and pass to get it over the net. The teams seem to have the same positions as in volleyball. So I saw the court and the net and the balls lying around, and I started messing around. A guy came out of his house and started playing with me, which was pretty cool. I think he was a bit surprised that I could play (as was I). I headed it over the net once and felt pretty cool about that, ha. Anyways I'm invited to play in a game at 5 o clock now! I'm not sure whether or not to go because I told some of the girls that I'd go with them to check out some swing made out of vines around that time, but either way I don't think I'll be let down.

We have a new tour guide for the south tour. He kind of sucks. Actually he really sucks, but luckily, the group is doing well without his help. THe problem with this guy is that he drinks every night and incessantly hits on all the girls in the group. The only other male still in the tour is charles, the old man I wrote about once. He turned out to be a creepy old man, though. It's a crazy world, people. I don't want anyone to worry, though. I feel safe and am in the company of some other very capable women. We're having fun still and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trip. Tomorrow I head to Ko Samui island, then I go on a sea safari, and from there head to Kopanang (i'm pretty sure i spelled that wrong.) That last destination is where 'the beach' was filmed. I can't wait to get home and show you these pictures. You guys won't believe places like this exist.

ANyhoooo, I love and miss you all. Hope all is well, talk to you soon,
katie