Thailand Day 2 – Market Merchandise & Animal Adventures
Monday Oct 13th, Day 2 – Market Merchandise & Animal Adventures
2 weeks prior to coming to Thailand, Joe noticed a spot on his upper back of hard skin (like something starting to protrude beneath). I tried to tell him to go get it looked at before we left but he said he’d just get it taken care of when we got back. Well, that medical situation came to a head this morning. Now that hardened bump on his back appears to be growing with white spots where the infection is trying to come out. We tried to squeeze some of it out to alleviate the pressure and a lot of nasty yellow pus came out. Realizing we can no longer wait, we decided to take him to the local doctor which only lived a few blocks away.
Joe’s doctor was very helpful and affordable – the entire visit including medicine was only $5
We walk into the doctor’s office and there are about 10 Thai’s waiting to be seen. Here is an example in Thailand, where the locals really like foreigners or they don’t. And we would experience both on this trip of genuine hospitality and later on, indifference and invisibility both occurring in times of need. Fortunately this part of the trip, they welcomed us and whisked Joe away into the examining room. Sheepishly, I followed avoiding eye contact with the waiting room as I felt guilty about the preferential treatment ahead of the Thai’s patiently waiting. The doctor spoke decent English which was incredibly helpful. He said it was an infected cyst and gave Joe a prescription for antibiotics which they filled onsite. The doctor visit and the medicine cost only $5. How’s that for healthcare costs! He also told us not to squeeze it anymore because that would just make it bigger….whoops. He said if it doesn’t get better in 4 days, to come back but unfortunately, we’ll be in Krabi by then.
After the doctor visit, we went to the Monday market. The Monday market is a larger version of their daily market and it was quite a sight! Think of the Monday market similar to your weekend Farmer’s Market on a very large scale. It was positively massive with everything you can imagine and well, everything you can’t imagine too.
Endless options of fresh seafood are available at the Monday market
At one point, I’m looking at some shirts and I turn around to see a baby elephant standing beside me. We bought food from his handlers to feed him. To be honest, I have no idea how much of the money actually goes to caring for this elephant but at least he got some food. And I’m sure from what I’ve read that I am perpetuating a treatment of taking elephants out of the wild by encouraging this behavior with my dollars. I just couldn’t help it — he was so darn cute. I fed him again later on when I saw him a second time.
There was much to see at the Monday market including a baby elephant
The market is not for the weak stomach — lots of weird, strong smells wafting thru the air. I’m sure the odors were attributed to the stacks of fresh seafood in the streets and the loads of meat being butchered and hanging on nearby hooks. I saw raw animal legs with hooves on them for sale and there was no shortage of tripe (intestines). All that meat hanging outside in 95 degree heat cannot be good but this is typical for how they sell food.
We marveled at all the meat hanging up for sale in 95-degree heat
To cool off, we got ice cream from a local vendor which was an experience in itself. He put scoops of ice cream on what looked like a hot dog bun and poured some strange syrup on it with nuts. Joe got one too but asked for an ice cream cone. But if you didn’t tell him a cone, the standard serving mechanism would be ice cream in a bun. It tasted pretty similar to vanilla except the bottom of Joe’s cone had rice in it. A strange twist!
Joe and his sister each enjoy different versions of Thai ice cream served on a bun or in a cone
At this point, Joe and Erik left us to have their boys outing. They went to see the chicken fights which is exactly what you think: 2 chickens fighting in a ring. But not to the death. Just like boxing, they get points for attacks and the fight lasts 10 minutes. Even though I had seen a bullfight in Mexico, this really didn’t appeal to me. So Becky and I made our own plans.
We enjoyed a 90-minute Thai massage. They give you complimentary loose fitting capri pants to put on while they work on you. It was fantastic of course since history will suggest that massage was born in Thailand. It’s hard to say how old the practice is but supposedly the founder of Thai massage was said to be Buddha’s physician 2,500 years ago. They used some sort of ointment that smelled similar to Ben-Gay for the foot soak but likely the ingredients were all natural considering our location. The foot part of the massage was a full reflexology but also included a hand massage as well. Becky gets a massage once a week and I can see why. Our 90-minute massage was only $5. No I am not kidding — that is what massages cost in Thailand! Is everything in Thailand $5? I love this place!
Thai massage involves a lot of stretching, more so than you would receive from an American massage
After the massage we went to lunch at a traditional Thai restaurant. A “traditional” Thai restaurant is one that has the restaurant downstairs with the family’s living quarters upstairs. You won’t ever see anyone coming to “open up” the restaurant like we do in the U.S. The restaurant we went to was only 1 story so one half represented the restaurant, and the other half was their home. This is also very common. I could see the dad sleeping on the couch while his son watched TV in the living room from where we were sitting in the “restaurant area” of their home. Can you imagine, people coming to your home to receive a cooked meal? This gives new meaning to the American version of “work from home”. Haha
We stopped to walk around the grounds at the “bat temple” just outside of town
Joe called us to say they were going to the water buffalo races next. So Becky and I drove out of town to what she refers to as the “the bat temple”. The grounds were expansive and the temple itself was beautiful. But the main attraction was HUNDREDS of giant fruit bats. And I do mean hundreds. Hanging upside down in the trees, chattering and shrieking away.
We stopped to see the giant fruit bats at a local temple
I have never seen so many bats flying around in broad daylight like that
Apparently these bats are not nocturnal. Nor are they the small bats you might see at the zoo. Oh no, they were gigantic and the trees were just thick with their masses. Becky said this is one of the few places in the world they will congregate like this and nobody knows why but surely its been the subject of a Discovery channel documentary at some point. To this day, I’ve never seen anything like it, despite all our travels. We also saw several monks walking the grounds. Every Thai male is expected to be a monk at some point in their life for a period of time. Typically after they finish school and before they get married and raise a family.
Joe and Erik returned excited to tell us their tales of the day. The Thai’s quickly realized Joe was the “dumb American” with lots of money to bet on the chicken fights so they all wanted to bet him. Keep in mind, Joe could lose only $20 at the end of the day but to the Thai’s, that might as well be a million dollars. What is not a lot of money to us is a sizeable amount to them.
The chicken fighting is legal but the gambling is illegal and yet, it went on out in the open. They keep score on something that resembled a basketball scoreboard using red and blue colors. They will tape up the chicken’s spurs with this colored tape so they don’t get hurt and to identify each opponent. That’s right – no chickens die and its not intended for them to get hurt.
Joe got a backstage pass to the “dressing rooms” for the chicken fights
They have 3 judges that operate similar to an Olympic boxing match. If 2 of the 3 judges hit the button , that means the chicken had a hit and it records a point in that chicken’s favor.
Since gambling is illegal, there is no gambling window like you might see at the horse race. You simply go up and say what you want to bet and they make a note (ex: the big American wants to bet 250 Bhat on the red chicken). To leave the match, there is a long walkway, you have to stand on and wait to get out. This prevents people sneaking out without paying their bets.
The handlers take good care of their chickens and always wash and clean them afterwards. Training means they toss them up in the air to get them used to jumping and help make them strong. The successful chicken fighters are quite wealthy by Thai standards – they’re real big shots in the area.
Joe gets personal attention with a potential fighter. Can you say Avian Flu?
After the chicken fights, Joe and Erik’s guide asked if they wanted to see the water buffalo races. Apparently once a year in Chonburi, they have this famous festival. How lucky Joe was to see it. A film crew was here today shooting a documentary that’s going to air in March on the Discovery channel! Joe got some great footage of Thai’s riding their water buffalo stampeding toward the finish line.
As you can see, there is no saddle or stirrups to hold riders on
Of course Joe was shooting the movie at the end of the finish line and was clearly warned “beware yourselves”. That means, you’ve been warned. Sometimes the water buffalos do not stop at the finish line and when asked, they replied “Yes people get hurt all the time.”
This would become a common theme of our trip. The only one in charge of keeping you safe in Thailand is YOU. It’s Thailand folks – its not a U.S. sanctioned event that has met safety regulations. Everything you do is of our own accord and best judgment. If you get hurt, you’re not suing anyone.
If you got bored watching the buffalo races, there were other games and activities to amuse such as the pole climbing, lined with money. The higher you could climb, the more money you could grab off the pole. But easier said than done – it was fully greased!
It was a fun-filled day of adventure for the both of us. Looking forward to tomorrow when we will go to visit Kao Saam Mo (monkey mountain)!
