I had planned on taking some NyQuil before bed last night
before bed but I ended up staying up much later than I had anticipated and was
scared that if I took one I would sleep through my alarm and miss my tour so I
had a drug free sleep. I woke up several times throughout the night, each time
noticing the three English boys still hadn’t made it home and would start to
worry before falling back to sleep. Luckily they all made it home safely around
6am. Unfortunately I had a pretty rubbish sleep and still felt pretty grim when
I woke up this morning.
I made my way downstairs at 8:40 as I was told I would be
picked up at 9am. At 9:20 I was still sitting at the bar so the receptionist
called the tour company to make sure they hadn’t forgotten me, they assured her
that they hadn’t and picked up me at 9:40. I could have slept for an extra hour
so I was pretty choked but really no point dwelling on it so I tried to pump
myself up for the day.
My tour included 7 activities the first of which was a ride
in an ox-drawn cart. It was very apparent from the get go that the animals at
this facility were not treated properly. The oxen pulling my cart had scars up
and down their backs from where they had been beaten and I saw the driver hit
one of them in the face with a stick before the ride started. I felt bad for
the animals but didn’t really know what to do about it so I just continued on
with the itinerary laid before me.
Once the ox ride was over I was ushered towards an orchid
garden. I was given ten minutes to explore this area but really only needed
about ten seconds as all of the plants were dead. I was feeling pretty
disappointed by this point and didn’t have high hopes for the rest of the day.
My next station was a photo-op with a water buffalo and a
lesson in rice farming. I always thought buffalo and bison were pretty much the
same thing so I was a little confused when I was directed towards an animal
that looked more like a bull and was told it was a water buffalo. Turns out I’m
just a complete idiot and had no idea that water buffalo look nothing like
regular buffalos. Great now I have a Silly Songs With Larry song stuck in my
head. Everybody’s got a water buffalo where’d they get them? I don’t know. Mine
is fast but yours is slow oh everybody’s got a water buffaloooooooo.
Alright now that I have that out of my system along with
learning what a water buffalo looks like I also learned about how rice is
harvested, which was a lot more fascinating than I ever would have expected. I
knew it was grown in water but never really put much thought into how it worked
and thought maybe it was like a cranberry marsh and the product just surfaces
to the top. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is grown in stocks over a long
period of time and the stock are opened and the seeds pulled out and then put
into a mortar and pestle type thing and smashed until the shells separate from
the grains and then are sorted out to edible and inedible portions.
Once I learned all there was to learn about rice (I’m sure
there is plenty more to learn on the subject but I don’t think I need to know
any more than I already do) we were off to ride elephants. Since I already
tried out elephant trekking in Bangkok I wasn’t super stoked about this but
ended up having a much different experience than the first time around. The
seat I was on was raised off the elephant’s back by a few inches so it felt
more stable than my previous ride. Also my driver wasn’t hitting the elephant
with a stick, he was too busy making me a kick ass necklace out of banana leaves.
He did yell and the elephant a few times though and hit his head with his hand.
Still not a great way to treat an animal but better than hitting it with a
pointy stick with a hook on the end.
The next activity on the itinerary was an elephant show. There
were two young elephants dancing while chained to the ground when I arrived.
They were soon unchained and the show started. They bowed after each task they
performed which I thought was quite cute. They stood on their hind legs, did
and headstand, played basketball, and soccer, and threw darts at balloons. They
also offered massages. I volunteered for an elephant massage and it was easily
the most terrifying part of my day. I had to lay on my stomach on a small mat
inches away from the elephant who then stepped lightly on my back several times
while ‘kissing’ my head with his trunk. Luckily the elephant was having a good
day and didn’t go rogue and kill me. I only wish I had a picture to prove I did
it.
The last stop of the day was the monkey show where I learned
that people in Thailand own monkeys and send them to training schools and then
send them into the jungles picking coconuts where they are paid 1 baht per
coconut and pick an average of 500 a day. That fact amused and disturbed me at
the same time. We watched some monkeys demonstrate their coconut picking skills
before watching one play basketball, ride a tricycle, and do some flips. I’m
not sure what I was expecting from the monkey show but that certainly wasn’t
it.
After the show several of us piled into the van and headed
home. I was in my bed shortly after 12 for a luxurious nap. I woke up a few
hours later and one of the English boys asked me if I was okay thinking I had
slept all day and was pretty surprised when I told him how I spent my morning.
I didn’t really do much with the rest of my day. I went for
a few walks but there isn’t really anything of significance within walking
distance other than the beach. I tried to plan out my day for tomorrow, which
proved to be incredibly frustrating. I swear I saw a brochure for a half-day
tour that went to the Giant Buddha statue, Phuket Town and a few other stops
for less than 1000 baht but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I tried to explain to
the receptionists what I was looking for but the language barrier proved to be
too much and they weren’t able to help me. I know I can take a bus to Phuket
town for 30 baht each way so I just needed to find a way to get to the Buddha.
I asked how much a taxi would cost and was told it would be 900 baht. I was super
frustrated so decided to just leave it for a while and try to figure something
out later.
I went for another walk and checked out a few tour booking
agencies along the way and there was still no sign of the tour in my mind. I’m
really starting to think I dreamt it and it doesn’t actually exist. One of the
agencies offered me a half day tour that included the Giant Buddha but not
Phuket town for 1000baht but that was still a bit more than I was willing to
pay and wouldn’t have given me much time in Phuket town since the bus stops
running around 5pm.
Eventually I decided to bite the bullet and rent a scooter.
I am absolutely terrified by this decision but I really think it was the best
solution. I can go and see whatever I want and not have to worry about schedules
or prices. I took it out for a bit of a test ride earlier tonight and it was
even scarier than being stepped on by an elephant. The throttle is so hard to
get used to and I kept wanting to put my feet on the ground. The bike is also a
lot heavier than I thought it would be. I managed to get up to 30km/hr and was
pretty much shitting my pants. I really don’t know how I’m going to manage
tomorrow so if you could all send some positive energy in my direction it would
be greatly appreciated.
Alright it’s getting late and I’m still not feeling the
greatest so I should get some sleep. Hopefully I feel better in the morning
because I really don’t need any distractions going into this scooter ride. And remember: i need some positive thoughts sent my way!
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