Sunday was our last day at the park, such a bittersweet feeling. So many awesome people in one place, doing extraordinary things.
We had one last chore and that was our choice between poo duty and food prep. I chose poo duty of course! Such satisfaction can be found in shoveling massive piles of dung! Only 6 of us chose this job out of 19. And we conquered that poo! As the beloved Janie put it in her posh British accent, "shit excellence". We finished faster than on the days we had the full 8-19 people. We were drenched in sweat by the end. The heat had picked up a bit on Saturday and Sunday as well.
After poo it was time to pack up our things to check out of our rooms by 11, then lunch at 11:30. You could feel the melancholy in the air.
The last morning of seeing the girls wander out to forage for the day. (Taken from our breaky table)
Hoping it flew free after. My heart has grown for even the unlovely animals this trip. Taking a new stance on not killing bugs! (Unless they're threatening)
The van took me to my hotel, called Baan Sa La Guesthouse. It was off of Th Nimmenheimen which is known for shopping. After dropping my gargantuan bag, I headed out to see the area despite my exhaustion. The feeling of being back in civilization was amazing! Although I was quite relaxed this last week, it was nice to have access to things and see people.
The books talk about how great the street is for shopping, but you must have loads of moola to do so(which the book failed to mention) Every store is very boutique-ish and not of this bargain hunting girls liking! $80 for a dress you can get for less than $20 in the markets. Needless to say, I didn't shop much.
This trip has shown me several things to be grateful for that I often take for granted. I am compiling a list for later, but I never thought 7-11 would be on that list! They are on every block! On this posh little street I walked by two that maybe had 10 shops between them. But this I am thankful for, yet ashamed to say how often I have frequented 7-11 this trip. My bargain shopping was completed at 7-11 before heading back to my room to rest up a little before meeting the group for our last time together.
A good sized group of 11-12 of us met at the Park's office to then head out to grab a drink. We ended up across the street at the "Rooftop Bar", which was amazing! Never have I seen anything quite like it. America needs to step up their drinking establishments.
We wandered through some mighty low hallways (that even had me ducking a few times) that were brightly painted to be highlighted by the black lights. It felt very secretive. We reached a staircase where we left our shoes at the bottom and then teetered up the teensy yet steep stairs barefooted. The bar and the DJ were immediately at the top of the stairs and the actual bar room was up another few stairs (about my height). All around the room there were tiny tables and cushions for our bums. We found a spot against the wall and posted up. The floor felt a bit questionable, especially for so many people in a small spot. Opposite of the wall was the open aired street side. When we arrived it was raining, but eventually the roof was opened about a third of the way. I am sitting on the floor of a bar under the stairs in Thailand! This can't be real life!
We were perched just behind this sign. (From the bar)
The ambience and the seating made for such a great last time together. Slowly we all parted ways and I was reunited with my beloved tuk tuk rides! I had missed them. To my room, after yet another 7-11 stop, for some much needed sleep!
As seen walking "home". This is everywhere and it makes me think of home in America.
My cute lil room. Oh to have air conditioning again!
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