Four legged creatures in Thailand

hey guys :)

Last night we went out again with our newfound Thai friend who took us to two different clubs (one old one new). One of them was close to a bar known for lady boys. In the case of some of them, I really can't tell if the person is really a woman or a man looking like a damn fine woman. If I can't tell the difference, some poor drunk foreigner (tourist = "farang" in Thai) is certainly going to get a surprise! Yes, this area of Thailand seems to just ooze sex and fun for sale.

Today was filled with spending time with four legged creatures. This afternoon, Jason and I headed out to another beach (Bangtao Beach not far from our beach, Patong). I always wanted to ride a horse on the beach so we set out to do just that. The place was a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be and for a rent a horse place it was decent. Jason was really impressed with the height of his horse. Mine wasn't overly thrilled to be doing any work...when we headed out to the beach, I was having steering issues with the horse I was riding (after being led to the beach...Jason was content being led because he doesn't like trotting...) I couldn't get my horse to canter unless we were headed back towards the barn (funny how horses always know which way is home). Oh well...the scenery made up for the not super great horse. The stalls were really nice, but the horses are definitely not as plump as we like to see them back home. On the way back from riding on the beach, Jason and I visited "Phuket Fantasea" show not far from Phuket (check out http://www.funtasiagroup.com/pf_old/fantasy.html for a description). Fantasea is supposed to be the first Thai cultural theme park. It feels a little like a mix of Thai culture, Disneyworld and small town carnivals...only this park had white tigers, a carp pond (I think it was carp...the fish almost looked like sharks. They were huge), and ELEPHANTS. like EVERYWHERE. I even pet one...their trunk is really weird, hairy, heavy and rough, kinda like how I would think an armadillo's skin feels like. Right in front of the theater you could take an elephant ride. There were three or four elephants walking around. It was so impressive. They seem like really docile, intelligent animals, although I am sure sometimes things can get a little nasty, like in the case of any wild animal. During the show they had a magic trick where a tiger appeared...and then the tiger jumped three jumps (for the horsey folk, it was like a gym line with one stride in between each jump). At one point during the show, chickens and goats ran across the stage. Then, at the end, i think at one there were 15 elephants on stage. FIFTEEN. The younger ones were doing really cool things, like they were all up on their back legs. I guess part of me should have felt sorry that these gorgeous, gentle creatures are being subjected to doing tricks on a stage, but the bigger part was just in total awe. Anyways, enough about the elephants...it was cool. Yes yes, I will post pictures soon (we couldn't take our camera into the theater, but you'll see lots of elephant pictures)

Sidenote: driving to Bangtao beach today, we passed a lot of people setting off fireworks and walking on the street. At one point, I noticed a few Thai men not wearing shirts and covered in what looks like blood. Apparently we are right in the middle of the Phuket vegetarian festival, and yes, that was blood I saw. If you have a strong stomach, here is an article that I read on the mutilation that takes place during the vegetarian festival. Sitting back here now and realized what I saw, that was probably the craziest cultural thing I have ever witnessed: (http://www.aegis.org/news/ap/1997/AP971003.html).

Tomorrow we are hoping to go to Ko Phi Phi. We'll see! I will keep you posted. Hopefully no blood...

M :)