Soon after we headed down the river in a longboat to our campsite, which was merely a small tent on the riverbank. We setup our 'bed' for the night amid fire ants, spiders, leeches, the lot.
We then took a trip further upstream in search for proboscis monkeys. We were in luck, we saw loads, and even saw an orangutan from distance. To see them swinging from tree to tree was quite something.
On our return, we had dinner (and lots of layer cakes), and headed into the jungle for a nightwalk. I wasn't expecting to see much, but it was excellent. Amazing how our local guide and Han can find all sorts of insects with only a small torch to help them. Despite the fact that we were making a fair bit of noise, especially when Jackie and Kristine jumped when they saw a flying butterfly, we saw lots - frogs, centipedes, lizards, but also a snake, a scorpion and the ultimate, a tarantula.
We returned to camp to play cards (Shithead) with Jim and Inkie. Jim also tried a ridiculous trick where he would ask someone to write their name on a piece of paper and then burn the paper. He would rub the paper, now ash, onto his arm and somehow guess the name. It didn't work, but he did burn himself.
It was time for bed, yes we were sleeping in hammocks in the sweltering heat, not helped by lots of farting. I didn't manage to get to sleep, but I was very manky when I woke up the next morning.
We had a jam-packed schedule for today. First up was a morning boat ride, hoping to see some birds. We saw more monkeys, and towards the end, we saw some great birds - an eagle sitting on top of a tree, the colourful kingfisher, and another cool bird whose name escapes me.
We then returned to the Mescot camp for a shower - with brown riverwater - hey it was something at least. Following this, we had some cooking lessons (mum will be proud). Denmark, Jackie and I opted to make doughnuts. It was fun, I was good at rolling dough (not surprising having seen my mum do it for 25 years). We even made rude ones:)
We then visited some nearby caves, where inside, as well as many bats, there were coffins of people and buffalos from many centuries ago. We also saw a karmeleon.
This followed a brief visit to a Muslim wedding that was taking place in the village. We were provided with local costumes. It reminded me very much of an Indian wedding. Lots of kids running around, food, chaos etc, but only around 200 people.
We were treated to an excellent performance by local artists in the afternoon, combining local dances, local instruments and some martial arts. Kathleen and I were also sucked into a dance of our own - fun, but quite embarrassing.
It got worse for me. Jim asked three of us to step up (Kenneth, Kristine and me). He then blindfolded us and asked us to stand on a chair. After that, he asked Kenneth to sit down and repeated the exercise on Kristine and I. After that, he asked Kristine to sit down, leaving only me. I was then blindfolded, asked to stand on a chair and the chair was then lifted on a few chairs that had been placed on a table. I was a good few metres off the ground. I was then asked to jump which was very scary. Little did I know it was a prank and I was jumping from a foot off the ground!
We then played some volleyball with the locals, only girls though because the guys were very serious and good.
We then separated and went off to our homestays. I was staying with Dennis and Han, and a family of a zillion. The father of the house introduced himself and we had a brief conversation. He has 15 kids, of which 10 are married! And 39 grandchildren! Most of the family just sit and lie in front of the tele all afternoon and evening. Dinner was good, very spicy, although it was a shame not to eat with the entire family, just the father. The bath was like my place in Indian, cold water from a bucket. I also had to share a bed with Han which wasn't ideal.
We then returned to the wedding for the evening event. We had different costumes this time, provided to us by our host family. Han and I looked very traditional, but also like muppets. It wasn't particularly exciting, although Scotland, Jim and I had fun spotting ladyboys. The bride's personal stylist was a ladyboy! After Han tried to set me up with a 22yr girl (who turned out to be 16!), some of us had a little dance with the locals, and the bride! It was the only time I saw the bride smiling!
The entire two days were excellent. Mescot has an excellent setup. I was looking forward to a shower though.
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