Caving

Hello friends, one last clue for the movie quiz: "the cliffs of insanity." If no one gets if from this clue, I will be forced to reveal the mystery.
I had a lot of fun yesterday in Khao Sok National Park.
I was staying in a bungalow (read: bamboo hut). I didn't think I was scared of bugs till I saw a scorpion in my bathroom!!!! I smooshed it with sandal before I could take a picture of it. In the morning it was covered with ants and by evening it was gone, without a trace! The circle of life, friends.
I went on an organized tour yesterday. We went to a huge , man-made lake (hydroelectric power). We had lunch at a floating house and a nice little swim. The water was perfect temperature. We took an easy jungle walk. It's dry season here. I can honestly say that hiking in the jungle in dry season is a lot more pleasant than in the wet season. No humidity, no leeches, no mud. I'm glad I was able to see the jungle in the dry season and contrast it to Taman Negara. We hiked to a cave that is inaccessible during the rainy season (it's full of water). We hiked through the cave, spotting bats and giant spiders and crickets on the way. Then came the fun!
There's a river running through the cave that we waded through. At some points we had to swim the water was so deep. It was so fun! I can honestly say I'd never swum through a river in a cave before. It was pitch black except for flashlights.
We were on a boat on the lake, going back to the pier. I was dozing on the prow of the boat. Every once in a while I'd open my eyes and see how really beautiful the scenery was.
We got back to our bungalows really late and I was really hungry. Luckily, I enjoyed my most sublime Thai meal yet! Some you are aware of my love for cucumber salad. I tried Thai cucumber salad last night and it was transcendent! It was spicy and sweet, there were peanuts. Sigh. Then I enjoyed a delicious red curry with tofu. A perfect punctuation mark for a very nice day.
There was a guy on my tour who'd just come back from the Similans on a liveaboard dive boat. He said it was amazing. He got within a meter of a manta ray, said another group saw a whale shark and he saw a million fun fish. I'm really excited! I leave tonight at 7 and will be diving in the morning!
As I'm running out of time for everything I still want to do, I decided to fly to Chiang Mai on Sunday. That way I'll have plenty of time to take cooking classes and learn to make my own delicious cucumber salad, etc.
Hugs for all! You will not hear from me for several days--probably not till February 11.
TTFN,
Lauren