Today is New Year's Eve, so HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE everyone! John dropped me off in Business Bay this morning on his way to work. I'm sitting outside at a Starbucks in Souk Al Bahar enjoying the view while editing photos from Thailand! Earlier today, I met a couple of ladies with their dogs while "walking" Shallie. They told me that rehearsals have been going on nightly for the past week for the New Years Eve program that will be celebrated tonight! John and I will come back after dinner to Jack and Karen's infamous balcony (thanks Jack and Karen!) to watch the show! I CAN'T WAIT!! There's nothing better than front row seats!
THAILAND: FLIGHT OF THE GIBBON
On the agenda for our second day in Thailand was The Flight of the Gibbon....in other words, zip lines....lots and lots of zip lines. A Gibbon, after all, is a monkey (I never knew that!). So we would soon be flying like monkeys over the rain forest in Thailand! Cool!!
We were picked up promptly by our driver (thank you We Tour Thailand) in a huge, comfortable van! We were headed to Pattaya, an area where locals go to snorkel and dive. About 45 minutes outside of Pattaya is where we would be zip lining!!
Our ride was not only ultra comfy, but it had Thai garlands hanging from the mirror to bring us good luck and prevent accidents. We sure hoped they would prevent all kinds of accidents -- not just ones on the road!!! All across the dash were little origami figures -- our driver must use his spare time to be creative!
Immediately upon our arrival John, Jon, Jas and I began to "suit up"! The first step was to put on bandanas!
Then we had to get strapped into our harnesses! Oh goody!
Once we were all strapped into our gear, we went over the safety information and proceeded to start the long trek up the mountain -- ugh. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was gasping for air and thinking to myself, "What in the heck did I sign us up for?" OMGosh, it was a dirt and rock path straight uphill and I thought I was going to DIE!! Once we finally made it to the first platform I looked over and saw this.......after our first short zip line we would have to walk up all of these steps to the next platform. I knew I was going to die right then and there!!!!!
But in all actuality, the initial walk up the darn mountain was the horrible part. The climb up the steps looked far worse than it really was. And the good news -- we had approximately 15 lines and no more climbing ahead of us! WHOOPEE! That was great news -- I was going to survive this after all!
I know it's hard to tell, but we were literally in the tree tops! John said we were about 300 - 400 feet in the air! It was amazing!
None of us had ever zip lined before -- I was assuming we would all love it, but I guess one never really knows until you are standing at the edge of the platform......
We LOVED it! What a thrill to be flying so high from one treetop to another!!
Did I remember to tell you we were really, really high and had amazing views?
And did I remember to tell you that all four of us absolutely LOVED every minute of it?
After about 1.5 hours, we actually had to be lowered down to the next level of lines! That, in and of itself, was a fun ride down!
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Unfortunately, we didn't see any monkeys in those treetops, but we did see a pretty butterfly that followed us around!
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There was a rickety hanging bridge we got to walk across as well! Thank goodness for the harnesses!
Did I mention how high up were? It's kind of hard to tell, but yeah, we were up there!
Here are the three Diedam men, loving every minute of it!
Still no sight of a monkey, but we did find a lizzard!
There were all lengths of lines. There were short ones, one was the length of a football field and the last one (my very favorite) was three football fields long. IT WAS AMAZING!!
After we had conquered each and every line, it was time to be lowered down once again!
After 3-4 hours of zip lining, our feet finally touched the ground and it was time to celebrate! What a great adventure! CHEERS!!!
We highly recommend The Flight of the Gibbon! I could have done without the initial uphill climb (I know, I'm a wimp!), but the zip lining was amazing!
The Flight of the Gibbon was located in a gorgeous park setting. Within the grounds was a zoo-like area that was included in the price of our ticket. So off we went on a golf cart to view the animals. We really weren't expecting much, but we were pleasantly surprised! The animals were well taken care of and the spaces where they lived were exceptional!
Monkeys were running around the ground loose! Why oh why were they not in those tree tops we were just zip lining through?
These guys weren't running loose, but they seemed to be very content with their living quarters!
I've seen many a hippo in my day, but I can't say I've ever seen a hippo beg for food! These hippos were a riot to watch as they opened up wide in hopes of someone throwing some food to them! Too funny!
I can't remember what the guy called this thing, but he was ultra friendly (thank goodness!).
Yes, the little ones were friendly.....
.....but look at the full grown one! YIKES! Somehow, I couldn't quite see myself cuddling up to this one!
We finally made it to Pattaya and had a chance to relax a bit poolside! Hmmmmm, those drinks tasted good! We sure felt like we deserved them after the day we just had!
Ahhhhh, it was sure good spending time with these guys again! It had been too darn long!!!
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Ta Daaaaaa!!! Finally, I could recognize him!
What a great day it was flying like gibbons together! We enjoyed a beautiful Thai sunset and a wonderful Thai dinner and called it a night. Tomorrow would be a day spent on the water. Can't wait!
THAILAND: FLIGHT OF THE GIBBON
On the agenda for our second day in Thailand was The Flight of the Gibbon....in other words, zip lines....lots and lots of zip lines. A Gibbon, after all, is a monkey (I never knew that!). So we would soon be flying like monkeys over the rain forest in Thailand! Cool!!
We were picked up promptly by our driver (thank you We Tour Thailand) in a huge, comfortable van! We were headed to Pattaya, an area where locals go to snorkel and dive. About 45 minutes outside of Pattaya is where we would be zip lining!!
Our ride was not only ultra comfy, but it had Thai garlands hanging from the mirror to bring us good luck and prevent accidents. We sure hoped they would prevent all kinds of accidents -- not just ones on the road!!! All across the dash were little origami figures -- our driver must use his spare time to be creative!
Immediately upon our arrival John, Jon, Jas and I began to "suit up"! The first step was to put on bandanas!
Then we had to get strapped into our harnesses! Oh goody!
Once we were all strapped into our gear, we went over the safety information and proceeded to start the long trek up the mountain -- ugh. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was gasping for air and thinking to myself, "What in the heck did I sign us up for?" OMGosh, it was a dirt and rock path straight uphill and I thought I was going to DIE!! Once we finally made it to the first platform I looked over and saw this.......after our first short zip line we would have to walk up all of these steps to the next platform. I knew I was going to die right then and there!!!!!
But in all actuality, the initial walk up the darn mountain was the horrible part. The climb up the steps looked far worse than it really was. And the good news -- we had approximately 15 lines and no more climbing ahead of us! WHOOPEE! That was great news -- I was going to survive this after all!
I know it's hard to tell, but we were literally in the tree tops! John said we were about 300 - 400 feet in the air! It was amazing!
None of us had ever zip lined before -- I was assuming we would all love it, but I guess one never really knows until you are standing at the edge of the platform......
We LOVED it! What a thrill to be flying so high from one treetop to another!!
Did I remember to tell you we were really, really high and had amazing views?
And did I remember to tell you that all four of us absolutely LOVED every minute of it?
After about 1.5 hours, we actually had to be lowered down to the next level of lines! That, in and of itself, was a fun ride down!
.JPG)
.JPG)
Unfortunately, we didn't see any monkeys in those treetops, but we did see a pretty butterfly that followed us around!
.JPG)
There was a rickety hanging bridge we got to walk across as well! Thank goodness for the harnesses!
Did I mention how high up were? It's kind of hard to tell, but yeah, we were up there!
Here are the three Diedam men, loving every minute of it!
Still no sight of a monkey, but we did find a lizzard!
There were all lengths of lines. There were short ones, one was the length of a football field and the last one (my very favorite) was three football fields long. IT WAS AMAZING!!
After we had conquered each and every line, it was time to be lowered down once again!
After 3-4 hours of zip lining, our feet finally touched the ground and it was time to celebrate! What a great adventure! CHEERS!!!
We highly recommend The Flight of the Gibbon! I could have done without the initial uphill climb (I know, I'm a wimp!), but the zip lining was amazing!
The Flight of the Gibbon was located in a gorgeous park setting. Within the grounds was a zoo-like area that was included in the price of our ticket. So off we went on a golf cart to view the animals. We really weren't expecting much, but we were pleasantly surprised! The animals were well taken care of and the spaces where they lived were exceptional!
Monkeys were running around the ground loose! Why oh why were they not in those tree tops we were just zip lining through?
These guys weren't running loose, but they seemed to be very content with their living quarters!
I've seen many a hippo in my day, but I can't say I've ever seen a hippo beg for food! These hippos were a riot to watch as they opened up wide in hopes of someone throwing some food to them! Too funny!
I can't remember what the guy called this thing, but he was ultra friendly (thank goodness!).
Yes, the little ones were friendly.....
.....but look at the full grown one! YIKES! Somehow, I couldn't quite see myself cuddling up to this one!
We finally made it to Pattaya and had a chance to relax a bit poolside! Hmmmmm, those drinks tasted good! We sure felt like we deserved them after the day we just had!
Ahhhhh, it was sure good spending time with these guys again! It had been too darn long!!!
Pattaya was a fun place to walk around. John, Jas and I enjoyed our first Thai leg massage (heavenly) while Jonathan went in search of a (much needed) haircut!
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Ta Daaaaaa!!! Finally, I could recognize him!
