Sunday, April 26, 2009

A Frightful Encounter With Intimidating Island Monkeys While Sea Canoing In Phi Phi National Marine Park




Alissa convinced Matthew to take his camera on our two man sea canoe to snap some pictures before climbing carefully onto its plastic body. We proceeded to paddle in tandem around high jutting limestone mountains, under rocky ledges, and between tight passes. It was awesome.

We came across some monkeys that were eerily staring at us as they reclined out on the rocks. We paddled in slowly to take a closer look and snap some shots. Our canoe got pretty close. As Matthew became more preoccupied with taking pictures, we soon found our canoe partially pinned up against the jagged rocky shore. The laid back monkeys slowly approached us, resenting the fact that we were photographing them. Now they were closer. They continued to encroach on our canoe that was helplessly beached up on the rocky shore. We frantically tried to dislodge the hull of the canoe from the spattering of jagged rocks. As the monkeys got closer we could see their dark eyes beam with territorial disdain.

Closer and closer they came, posturing with clenched little-monkey fists as if to defend their homeland. Just as one monkey touched the canoe we managed to free it from the greedy shore, distancing ourselves from them. Panicked, we peddled out from the shore, but the waves seemed to be attempting to beach us once again. A few monkeys started to wade knee deep in the water. In a furry of strategic paddling we broke away from the monkey island.

As we paddled into the scenic horizon, we breathed a big sigh of relief. We were safe once again.

1 comment:

Fanta said...

Good Story :P I really love the photos! You'll never get shots like these anywhere else. :)