we went for a hike

We couldn't drive three hours outside of Bangkok without heading into the Khao Yai National Park. We clearly do a lot outdoorsy stuff as it took over five minutes to convince Violet it was OK to leave the pavement of the parking lot. 

After our 'born and raised in Bangkok child' finally came off the asphalt and onto the trail, she walked gingerly at first, trying to clean away the rocks and leaves. Then, feeling more comfortable, she took off at on a frenzied sprint and immediately tripped over an uncovered root--flying a good length and landing on her face. She got up and muttered something about the poor condition of the roads around this place and how this never would have happened if we'd brought her scooter on the hike. 

 We hiked over to this lookout. It looks out over a salt lick.  According to the posted signs, wild elephants come after they've eaten their daily 150 kg of fruit and plants to get more nutrients from the exposed salt and minerals.

We saw nothing. That makes us 0 for 3 on wild elephants in Khao Yai.

Though we did see some monkeys driving into the park. They were the wild kind, untouched by humanity. They were waiting on the road, when we rolled down our windows to get a better look, they stood up and put their hands out for food.

They were cool with us not giving them anything, they just started howling and showed us their two inch long fangs. Violet hasn't been requesting to sleep with her stuffed monkey anymore. If she gets rid of four or five more stuffed animals, there might be room for her to lay down in her crib.

 E really thought we were going to be OK with her bringing this stick back to our hotel and then home to Bangkok. She was quite confused as to why I wouldn't help her carry it to the car.

 I forgot to bring their protective eye wear. My bad.

 Isn't this how most hikes are supposed to end up?

We settled for seeing stone elephants while we cooled off at the pool. 

We packed the girls scooter and bike. When we first got to the hotel, I let them ride around the parking lot while Rocky checked in. It wasn't long before they were riding around the lobby and up and down the halls. We are optimal hotel guests. 

Winston rocks a seersucker pinafore like nobody's business. I bought it in the boy section.