Flash Weekend

Thai cashew nut chicken

Miss me yet? I have been keeping myself busy.  Leaving off with Friday, I finished with teaching and Thai classes and moved onward to the weekend. First stop,  Friday night karaoke - downstairs. In the lower level of the dorm, the building shares foundation with the "Margaritaville Bar."  Let me tell ya, hopping place.  I would say the main customers live above the bar.  This includes 4 retired white men with their Thai wives or mistresses.  I assume they live here, there are always in the bar area visiting.  I don't see much drinking going on.  Within five minutes of the Karaoke experience, the one white male (~65 years maybe) was 2-stepping with his younger Thai wife to... Brittney Spears. I cannot compete with that.  It was a rather chill night for me after a busy week.
 
And Saturday, the ladies and I tackled a nearby island beach.  The island is approximately 20-30 minute boat ride from mainland.  I will leave few details out. Me and several foreigners (Russians and Italians) drifting away to a magical island of foreigners and Thai employees.  I spent 100 Baht on a chair, originally being told that included a cold beverage.  Turns out just the chair. Fine, and cheap enough..not a big deal. Soaked subtle amounts of sunshine and shade.  I swam some, but the overcast weather began to chill me soul. Despite the busy beach, I enjoyed the company of my friends!

Sunday, Sunday... Let's finish this weekend off with a giant smile, shall we?. How do we do this? Let me take you for a safe and well planned adventure.  Bus to arrive at my dorm building between 1:15-2pm.  And 2pm we have a bus.  A bus of English brothers, 1 young docile Aussie and his non-talking/moving female Thai companion. We pay up for a full day of adventure at an "elephant sanctuary."  Off we go chaps.

We arrive at the "sanctuary." We are about to turn. Oh goodness, what beholds my eyes. GIANT WORDS - Tiger ZOO TIGER ZOO TIGER ZOO..nothing that says "Sanctuary,"and nothing in Thai. "Oh splendid." At that point I was so giddy that I could not stop my leprechaun toes from River Dancing my way into paved lots of GIANT MEGA BUSES. How many Mega buses?  Too many to count.  It was then that I associated the giant buses with lots of happy faces.  1/9 of China was at the zoo that day.  If you know my love of cultural immersion and bottle-necking, then you know the exceeding level of happiness that overcame me a that moment.

The van halts. I leap out of the van in my knee high tube socks, Birkenstocks, a digital watch (with three times zones) and my flannel fanny pack.  Yes, a Fanny pack, always a must - fully equipped with my Polaroid camera, Disney ears, and a lighter.  Within moments seconds a perky Thai slapped a brick-size name tag on my blouse. It MY NAME IS Holly.  Yay, I screamed in merriment, as I realized this was the heavy duty adhesive tape.  We made way to the gates and all huddled in a group with our name tags, cameras, and fanny packs. "This is going to be be swell," I say quietly to myself, looking to the eastern sky.

Without missing a beat I find an itinerary, secured in a plastic sleeve, with in my hands.  Perfect. I take a glance. Perfect. I have from 3:30-5:30 to see an entire zoo and four animal shows with a traveling zoo group before I frollic back to the bus-van. "But how will we stay together?," I think to myself. WRISTBANDS, we got matching WRISTBANDS. Lavender in color.  "It's 3:30:05 we must get going," said the Zoo Tour guide.

FLASH FLASH FLASH some Asian took my photo. 

"Now everyone look here through the freshly finger printed glass window.  These are tigers drinking milk from a pig" says the guide.  A pig. "The tiger says RARH", says the perky guide. Its now 3:30:45. We see bunnies through glass, well somewhat. "Attention group, to see the bunnies please look through the eye piece of your new Chinese friend's camera 6 rows in front of you. Perfect. I saw it all. Thank you Nikon super lens.  FLASH FLASH another Asian takes my picture.

"Anyone want a photo holding and feeding a tiger cub with fake flowers, a fake tiger, and fake logs, and zoo logo in the background?" I knew this was my calling, as my mom has for years talked about feeding and holding a tiger cubs. How great. I pay. I am taken to a booth. I sit on a perfected fiberglass log. I sit within seconds there is a magnificent red towel brilliantly draped on my legs. A cub is handed to me with a bottle already positioned in its mouth. I hold the cub. FLASH FLASH. The tiger is removed from my hold within seconds. I am not going to say it was the best moment of my life, but I would say it's the best 7.5 sec experience of my life?

We moved onward to miraculous circus-like shows, as indicated in our I-tin-ERARIES. Wow! Do you know what we saw? We saw.. crocodiles with teeth, elephants with trunks, tigers with stripes, and Asians with floral print and Nikons. And it's 5:29. Making my way out of the zoo, I see a keepsake ceramic plate with my face on it. Yep. Not time to purchase, itineraries are itineraries.  I look at my itinerary and check the last item off, "LOAD THE BUS PROMPTLY at 5:30 pm.  I look down and see that my HELLO MY NAME is Holly is still in place. Success. To home I go.

I called that handsome gentleman of my exotic adventures. Together, we reconnected our weekends over FaceTime plumbing. Another success. Leaking shower, no longer leaking.  With his skill and my encouragement, we made it though the job.  Cheers! Happy Thai weekend to all.