A day at the Zoo

I had originally planned to take a bus to Phuket town and then get a tuk tuk to the zoo – but was feeling a bit crappy so decided just to get a tuk tuk directly to the zoo from my hotel. I knew anything I caught along the beach front would be overpriced – so cut in through some back streets and went a bit inland. After disagreeing with a few drivers on the price I walked away and one called after me that he’d take me. I knew I had the upper hand as it was early in the day with very little business likely to pick up within the next 2 hours. I was surmised and a bit embarrassed that my tuk tuk turned out to be a brand new merc – leather interior and airconned. Pok was very polite and offered to pick me up and take me back for the same amount. He said he’d wait outside for me – but I told him to go and make some money and exchanged mobile numbers telling him I’d be out at a specific time or would call him.

The Zoo itself is very old, tired and shabby and fantastic. The grounds are meticulously kept clipped, raked and tidied. The cages are old and in many cases you can feed the animals by hand.. including the crocodiles. Animal feed selling stations are everywhere – 20 baht by an honesty system – bananas, seeds, smelly frozen fish, meat – whatever the animals are likely to want to eat – is sold near their cages.

I went in fully understanding that everything I went to see would cost extra – but for the uninitiated, this might seem that you pay to go in and then are constantly handing over small amounts of money the whole day. Well you are and it doesn’t matter. This zoo really is one of a kind and must see.

The very first thing I did was walk to the elephants – but was waylaid by the most magnificent tiger, just sprawled out on a throne slab. 200baht to take a photo of him. My luck with anything touristy was well with me today. Another Australian couple and I were the only visitors for over an hour. As it was so quiet, the tamer let me sit near the tiger and pat him on the head and he took a photo of me. He took a few photos with my camera and then got the other couple to sit with tiger. I took some shots myself and was about to go when the tamer called me over and patted the spot in front of the tiger. He told me to slowly slowly walk and sit. He then said “Lady lie down on tiger”… so I did. I must have moved a bit fast as the next thing I knew I had the jaws of the tiger and his hot stinky breath within centimeters of my nose. The tiger roared.

You know how time slows down and a million things go through your head. The first thing I thought was crap. It’s the monkey thing again – this time my head is going to ripped off. ( on my 30th birthday we were in Gibraltar. I was feeding an ape and it decided it didn’t like me and rushed me and took a chunk out of my shoulder. I have some cool scars after that one.) Next was – oh well – Adrian would be impressed.( he loves tigers above all animals)

The tamer shouted at the tiger and hit him on the nose with his bamboo stick. I looked up at the tamer and realized for the first time that he only had one arm. I had to try very hard not to burst into a fit of hysteria.

Its kind of a pity the tamer didn’t take photos during that time, but he’d dropped my camera to pick his stick up - so I only have ones from before and the strained look afterwards.

I gave the tamer 100baht as a tip and reckon I got out of that cheaply!

The crocodile show was amazing. Those guys are completely insane. Four large croc in water and they are either in the water with them on sitting on them or putting their heads inside their mouths. One stunt this guy does is the croc is on land and facing him with his mouth open. The guy takes a running leap and slides along the ground on his stomach and stops with his head inside the croc mouth. Insane.

The elephant show was pretty cool, along with balancing and dancing to rock music, they played instruments, kicked soccer balls and put basket balls into the hoops. The coolest thing was them painting. The elephants had paintbrushes in their trunks and then chose a colour and walked over to a big easel and started painting. How cool is that? Afterwards they auctioned them off and I bought two – one drew flowers and the other swirls. I think the kids would really like them framed and in their rooms. I doubt many people can say they have art by an elephant!

I even had my photo taken with the elephant that painted the picture and it ‘kissed’ me with its trunk! Man the trunks are so weird – tough and hard and kind of squiggy and hairy too.

I have to say the monkey show was a bit upsetting. Not badly – but just sad in a way. I understand that people want to see performing monkeys and its not even that they are treated badly. I saw in the back – beyond where tourists would normally see, the tamers being very affectionate and connecting with the monkeys while they were waiting to go onto the stage. I guess its not really up to us to judge – different culture and different rules. Also I guess, if tourists didn’t pay or want to see this sort of thing – then it would die out. However the thronging amount of tourists about clambering for photos with the monkeys was enough to cut that idea down in flames.

Princess in the Rain today

Phuket is so vibrant it is a living being. Day slides into night the flashing lights the bars that pop up literally out of the sand. Its an incredible place to just be part of, observe the tourists and the locals, drinking in every sense you have.

Every second motorbike you see whizzing down the road has a passenger perched on the bag clutching the hugest package of toilet paper – almost as big as the passenger themselves

Poses the question – is it hard to get – or do you just need a lot of it because of all the curries?

I just had to put this photo in - 4 on a bike - incredible... and I don't think it was much more than a 150cc either.

Today it was sub cyclonic along the beach front. I headed inland so didn’t see just how fierce it was for most of the day. I hired a taxi for the day to take me to the Zoo, the temples, Big Buddah, markets and the pearl farm. However, I decided agianst the Zoo - and did it the next day as a seperate outing - it really woudl not have been a nice day to do anything around the zoo. It was so disgusting – rain gail force winds, it was just a relief to be in the car again and driving, rather than dashing from building to building at the temples. I did persevere though – got so wet.

The Big Buddah usually has spectacular views all over Phucket – but when I was there , I could barely see his feet. The heavy cloud lifted momentarily ( thank you!!) in order for me to take a few shots –but barely that I had done that then the rain and fog ensued.

Its so hard to choose which photos to put up here too - everything was wonderous ( to my eyes at least) the Changmai Temple abounded in Elephant statues ( like many other places) and the richeness of the perfectly kept gardens to the gold edging on the fountains and railings all shouted the respect and reverence these peopel have for thier religion. I took heaps of photos in the temples and gardens - and got totally satched.


I felt like a princess today – chauffeured around visiting gem and jewelry shops. I was totally aware that the places I was being taken woudl have had kick backs tothe taxi driver and was incredibley overpriced... but it was a fun day to be out of the terrible weather.

I tried so many things on – all gorgeous – but even at their cheap cheap prices – so out of what I was comfortable in spending on my self. I loved a simple white gold band inlaid with sapphires and diamonds – worked out to be around $600 and I am sure if I was serious I could have bartered them down a bit more. Adored a string of pearls – black, purple, cream - $150 – matching bracelet $120.

So many necklaces and bangles too I could have just scooped up. It was fun trying them on and despite the rain at the scenic spots and temples.....I'd do it again!

Making your Mark

Friday Night and you’re out and about in a foreign country, the lights blaze, eager voices beckon you into the multitude of bars and restaurants, the exotic smells of freshly cooked stir fries and the interesting mix of the open drain sewage system waft about you. You’ve no-one to answer to, the air balmy and a contented excited feeling of expectancy envelopes you.

This is what I was feeling moments before my feet found themselves marching down one of the streets behind Phuket beach. I’d been thinking deeply about my personal transformation, of the decisions I now made to guide my life and of the commitments I entrusted within the universe. I knew I needed a symbol to cement these decisions and was unsure exactly how that would transpire – perhaps an ornament for a shrine at home? ( nah – would get dusty and ignored.) A tattoo. Something permanent and with me at all times. It was so perfect. I’d wanted a tattoo of some sort for years – maybe even 20 years – but have been so scared of needles and pain, I’ve put it off. I have had countless designs and chucked the lot – nothing seemed right or relevant and I was so aware of having something was significant and not ‘age’ – it all seemed too hard… till now.

I have been exploring the depths of mothering and the feminine spirit and now knew I needed a symbol to signify this path. As a traditional thing, we have had an ivy plant on the tank stand – which was from the past generations tank stand etc… it popped into my head that this was what I needed inscribed on my skin.

I have been concerned too, about the energetic exchange which goes on between the tattooist and the subject. Impressing a permanent image onto someone requires a certain level of creativity and the energy flow from that person, for me, needed to be in accordance with mine.

No kidding – along the streets at Phucket you get – bar, a seven eleven, a tattooist, a massage shop, a junk t-shirt shop and then a dentist… and then it goes bar, seven eleven.. etc etc.. I found myself outside a very small shop – the size perhaps of a bathroom. Heart hammering, I pushed the door open and was greeted with the sunniest smile I’d experienced. Although he had limited English, he almost intuitively understood what I wanted and sketched up a few things for me immediately. I am a shameless negotiator, but didn’t quibble or change the price he named. ( well under half what it would cost in Australia) Lek asked me to come back in half an hour and he would have everything prepared.

I dropped my shopping back to the hotel and wandered about, had some fruit and nibbly things from street stalls and came back to Leks shop. He was so precise and pedantic with the placement of the transfer – asking me to walk up and down several times to ensure it was placed exactly right. He must have replaced it three times before he was ready to start.

I was a bit nervous about the energetics as I glanced around the room. Flaming skulls, death on horseback, all that sort of thing. I was given a comforting glow – a feeling I had begun to associate with the divine saying it was totally fine.. just go with it.

He gave me that big grin as he set about his work and I took a deep breath. I entrusted the feelings to the divine and asked for a message or guidance through the time. I had been told that getting a tattoo was worse pain than having a baby. I’ve had two with no pain relief and if getting a tat was anything like the first one…..I was prepared for screaming torture. I nearly laughed when Lek asked me if everything was ok. I asked him if he had started – and he just giggled and showed me my leg.

I understand that getting a tat on certain parts of the body is more painful than others. Certainly over boned areas and where there was little fat under the skin would be more painful. I was not prepared for the nothingness I had. I gift part of that to the link I had with the divine during this time, but also that it actually didn’t hurt. More like an annoying scratch. I admit too that the colouring in over the boned area got to a point that I thought hummm you could stop that now – in a min it might actually hurt… but that’s as far as it got.

As Lek worked I breathed in my gift – that this was a symbol of my commitment to beauty – inner, outer, spiritual and to grace, gracefulness and graciousness. Almost as an afterthought I was told it was a symbol of forgiveness and that needed to start with me. ( yes and I am still working on that one.... and the others....)

I love love love my tat. Its so beautiful, so delicate and feminine and yet so grounded, strong and beguiling.

Almost as he finished, I began to wondered what tat I might next get… I had heard this from many of the bikies I know – but never really understood it till now…. Once you have one – you can’t stop.. and its true….

I was comfortable with Lek as a tattooist – he was careful, very tidy and meticulous with his gear. I had the niggling feeling about the energetics again as I stared at a devils hand crushing a hapless sinner. I asked Lek about the tattoos he had on his arm and in his halting English we worked out that it was sanscrit. Through pointing at pictures in magazines and goodness knows how else, I worked out that he had been a Buddist monk for seven years in the mountains. He taught himself to tattoo using the bamboo sticks and then himself. He was then told to go into the city and work amongst the people using his gift.

You’ve no idea what a chill I got when I heard this. He was exactly the right person to have done my tattoo. How blessed is this symbol?!!!!