DESTINATION TRUTH: Thai Tree People - Aiya Napa Monster

SyFy - Original Air Date: 4/12/11

First, Josh & crew go to Thailand to search for the Naree Pon, a mythological Buddhist plant-person, 3' tall. A temple supposedly has bodies of these creatures, so off the DT folks go.  After fooling around with local food, they head to the temple and ask to see the bodies.  They're allowed, and take photos.  They then head to an area where the creatures are believed to have kidnapped people, and they talk to a recent witness.  They hike into the jungle, set up base camp, and poke around in the dark.  They find Buddhist shrines and avoid spiders and a poisonous viper, barely.  They poke around in a cave and nearly get hurt.  Back in LA, they ask a mammologist what the what the temple photos are -- and he cannot figure it out.  Because of the bodies, the case remains ever-so-slightly open.

On Cyprus, people are seeing a massive sea serpent, and folks are concerned about what they call the Aiya Napa Monster.  While waiting for their luggage to catch up, the team sees the local ruins and sights.  Local witnesses and fishermen suggest they check out the nearby sea caves, so they jump right in -- literally.  Finding nothing, they hire a boat and head to sea, with Josh doing the diving duties.  Naturally, they have to dive at night, too, and check out some undersea caves & wrecks.  Finding only fish (though glimpsing a big one), they do a surface patrol and catch a thermal hit.  In the end, they figure the monster is likely a basking shark, a gentle giant of the sea.