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Hiiiii guys!
I am exhausted.. If you've read the previous entry you know I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night and it has been another long day for me in Thailand (not that I should complain, I loved every bit of it).
The visit to the floating market of Damnern Saduak was a bit of a tourist trap but I went there fully aware of it, and I recommend it as it is one of the last places where you can still witness the charm of traditional Thai markets. The canals, which were originally built to irrigate fields, were as crowded as a department store on christmas eve, and it was a struggle to paddle up and down the central ways due to water traffic ( Thai people really have it bad, I shall make sure to never complain about traffic in Milan again!!) and the lady who was paddling my boat got into a physical and screaming match with a young and quite hot Thai paddler -just my luck, I get the neurotic b**** and some aussie tourists get to speed around with an attractive strapping lad. Having asked why the houses were built so high up off the ground and being told it is to try and avoid poisonous snakes coming into the house during the wet season, I spent the next 30 minutes anchored to the boat in sheer panic, fearing we'd flip over and I'd face a tragic death by unknown exotic beasts.
The colours and imagery were priceless, despite its touristic traits so I do recommend the visit, just try picking an emotionally stable paddler.
I managed to do my thing here too and basically 'stole' a beautiful handmade ankle bracelet with bells on it, which I was told is worn because the bells recall the sound of thunder which scare evil spirits off ( or at least that is what I understood, I still don't get anything they say, not even in english so if anyone has a different explanation please come forth with it) but I suspect it may be worn to scare off snakes and warn them some one is approaching.
I then went to the white elephant training school where I fed these huge white fatbums entire bunches of bananas at a time. They were awesome, soooo adorable.. They were friendly and surprisingly gentle for their size.
Apparently most of the elephants only respond to trainers which are normally raised from a very young age to bond with the baby elephants and they end up being friends for life. I strongly suggest not approaching an elephant without its trainer being there.
Also on site were a lot of fighting roosters, you know, for cockfights ( I'm an idiot and much like Peter Griffin would, I can't stifle a giggle every time I hear the term).
Cockfights, cruel as the may be were anciently used to avoid direct confrontation between rival populations;; in order to avoid wars and copious amounts of human blood loss every party would present a c*** and the winning country's rooster would take control of the rival's territory.
I also stopped at a local food market, where I am told food is very fresh and yummy. Unfortunately being the Milan bred princess that I am, I did not find chicken guts, frogs, fish and seafood left to rot in the sun the faintest bit attractive, nor was I a massive fan of the smells emanating from them. My wonderful Brother and Sister in law have warned me that worse is to come in Siem Reap market so I am bracing myself.
The charming thing about this market is that it runs right on top of a railway line and when the train passes they quickly dismantle the stalls and just as quickly rebuild them once the train is gone.
I also discovered how they make their chickens so fat and tender and i'm pretty sure I'd rather not have known.. They bury the chicken neck deep so it cannot walk and burn off calories or build muscle, while being force fed.
Lord.. and we are fighting for free range chickens..
Anyways, heading out to the town now..
will post the pictures tonight, they're awesome!
Catch ya later
xx
- comments
Marco Beretta Hi Marta...sounds good if you have more time visit this place Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), or Wat Phra Chetuphon, is located behind the splendid Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It's the largest temple in Bangkok and famed for its huge and majestic reclining Buddha...and try a traditional Thai massage, Wat Pho is a good place to start. It's quite different to most other forms of therapeutic massage and tends to be invigorating rather than relaxing, incorporating yoga style postures to relieve stress and improve blood circulation take care..have a good trip xoxo
Maria Jose Martinez ufffff sounds amazing! Have you seen any snakes? What do they sell in their markets? miss you!