Don Det - Day 18

Today we had to be up and ready at 8:30am for a meeting – a pretty good sleep in for once ;). After the meeting we split into two groups for breakfast, because when all 16 people go into a cafe or restaurant it takes a long time for everyone to get their food. We had to quickly get back to the Souk Sun Hotel at 10am for a boat ride to the mainland. However, last night a new rule had been made, that for every minute you’re late for a deadline, you have to do 15 push ups. Sarah had 15 to do, and Sandi 30.

Once on the mainland we went on a minibus (the most comfortable mini bus so far!) to reach Asia’s biggest (volume) waterfall, Li Phi Falls. We then looked at the markets nearby the falls, and decided to go back to the hotel on Don Det. For lunch we could go out in groups of four or eat at the hotel. After lunch, there were several hours of free time for a few hours.

Note by Jane: During the free time Charlee and I went to get a facial and a oil massage, after several attempts at explaining what a facial was, the ladyboys and men who ran the place decided to go buy some strawberry yogurt to rub all over our faces. We were laughing so much, the ladyboys were convinced we were on drugs. (We weren’t) (Ed. though if you take a look at Charlee’s previous picture, you can see why they would get that impression...) We spent about 2 hours being pampered and are now fully ready for the trekking on Tuesday... NOT!

Note by Sarah: During the free time, Kiara, Cliff, Kim and myself went for a walk in search for a comfortable spot to have a swim, take in some sun and to watch it go down. After wandering by a lot of riverside bars, hangouts and bungalows, we eventually found a lovely spot in somebody’s garden (Yes Mun we did ask permission :-)). We swam (well... Cliff did) and tanned, until the sunset, which gave us a fantastic orange, purple and red glow over the water.

We met up again at 6pm, and Sandi did her push-ups (as well as some sit-ups to compensate), and then we went to a restaurant and ate. It was a peaceful and interesting day today, a nice break from the trek!

Written by: Kate