Thailand day 1 and 2!

Ok so from now on I’m just going to hit the highlights. We only had two days in between each Asian country so they all blur together a little bit.

Day 1: Got off the ship and went to a HUGE mall in the port town and got STARBUCKS! YUM! Then Dalia and I headed for the Pattaya Elephant Village. It was a little village where elephants who were once used for lumber jobs and in circuses now hang out and do tricks or tourists. Usually you can tell when the animals are pretty freakin miserable, but it didn’t seem that way here. We got to ride them bareback which was pretty frightening and then got to double up in little carriages. It was so fun!! After the elephant village we were taken to this gem place where they have a ride that takes you through I guess the mining culture? It was pretty strange! Then we caught a shuttle into the town of Pattaya to meet up with Sara, Ashley, and Taylor at the Marriot. Well it turns out that the Marriot was harder to find than we had expected so we got there waaay later than they did and they had already left. So we had some drinks and appetizers at the Marriot (which was absolutely beautiful) and then set out for a real dinner. At this point Pattaya was alive with night life. I have never seen so many half naked girls just standing around. The sex industry in Thailand is one of the biggest in the world and its pretty hard to miss. You name it you see it. Also, Dad-you were absolutely right…they do some crazy things with their girl parts. Guys would come up to us in the street and hold out a menu of the different types of shows that we could see. Sara studiously took down each one for future reference (please excuse the language):

pussy flower fire
pussy writes letter
pussy ping pong
pussy fish
pussy eel
pussy opens beer
pussy candles
pussy balloon
pussy snake
pussy chopsticks
Pussy razorblades
Pussy fishbowl surprise (this I later found out…not first hand…that this girl did a dance and pulled all these things out and then at the end, brought out a fish bowl and dropped a baby turtle into it!!!)

We found a place to eat some Pad Thai and then headed back to the Marriot to grab a cab. Well it just so happens that the Marriot cab service is actually just a private car service FOR THE SAME PRICE!!!

Day 2: A bunch of us Chapman folk headed for the Tiger Zoo and Mini Siam today. I will not describe the zoo in too much detail other than to say that there was a show and that it wasn’t the most pleasant tiger show in the world. The whole thing payed off though when I got my arm licked by an orangutang and got to hold a tiny little baby tiger! Dalia and I actually paid off the zoo keeper to let us hold the little ones. We signaled to her from behind the glass and when no one was around she came out and asked us for 50 Baht each (so cheap) for a picture with it. ADORABLE! I almost died. Then we headed for Mini Siam, which was just really bizarre. It was this amusement park thing that had miniatures of all the world monuments and famous buildings. Then Sara, Dalia, and I hopped in a cab (cabs in Thailand are pick up trucks with benches in the back and a cover over the bed) with two other SAS girls, Charlotte and Elysse and headed back to Pattaya. We ate delicious dinner and drank girly, tropical drinks from pineapples and coconuts on a big floating restaurant with live (bad, but fun) entertainment. Then we headed back to the mainland and down walking street (where most of the strip clubs are). We even stumbled upon a Muy Thai boxing match that looked completely rigged. All in all it was a pretty good day!