Today we were off to the jungles again - this time to do some zip-lining with the gang from Flight of the Gibbons!! After suiting up, we headed off on a walk up the mountain for a little way to get to our first line. Along the way our guide pointed out some of the local plants including Arabaca coffee plants, tea plants and bamboo. He told us how bamboo was used for just about everything in Thailand from building houses, use as scaffolding, cooking, eating. Seems there is nothing that can't be done with bamboo. Along the way, we also got to see a gibbon in the trees. It was a white one, which meant it was a female. The black ones are males. We all watched it for a while, hoping to spot more in the trees. Unfortunately we didn't see any more, but we could certainly hear them. 
Our first zip line happens to be the longest in the Thailand - what a way to start out - and we were off zipping down the mountain. We learned how to do different tricks at different spots, swinging back and forth, turning upside down, flying, free arm, etc. It was fun to watch the kids challenging themselves and having fun and the local guides were having fun with us. There was no challenge we were not up for. I think they were impressed with us.
After our adventure was over - we had lunch there - which was all organic, grown right there. Then it was back down the mountain to the hotel to freshen up before heading to a local food market with our cooking instructors to see where they buy fresh food - sometimes fresher than we had expected. We got to sample some of the spicy sauces and foods that you can buy at the market. 
Then we were off to the cooking school where we learned to make a spicy pork soup or veggie soup, depending on what we wanted and they some grilled chicken with a turmeric marinade. It seemed like everyone was enjoying the cooking and knowing at the end of the class we would get to eat our creations along with some dishes that the chefs at the school prepared for us, including pad thai, sticky rice, and steamed veggies. Pom even told us that one way to pick a good wife is to make sure that they can use a mortar and pestle - that way you know she can cook. I'm not sure I completely buy that, but...
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to drop off our recipes and certificates and then headed one last time to the night market to do some last minute shopping before we start our journey home tomorrow. It has been a great trip, but we are all looking forward to seeing our families and sleep in our own beds, but we will miss our new friends.
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