The second night continued in the same vein as the night before, though overall was a lot less intense (in most ways, more intense in some) and didn’t quite last as long. It also didn’t start as late. The real highlight is one I don’t have a photo of which was the most decked out tuk-tuk replete with LED lights all over and a sound system which left us deaf upon our arrival at the destination. The picture below is alas not of the decked out tuk-tuk. Random fireworks have just started going off from the beach. I’m sure it’s legit (not).
Today we decided to book a tuk-tuk for the whole day and explore a few different locations. The first stop was Tiger Kingdom. Look, to be honest, I haven’t looked into the potential ethical issues of Tiger Kingdom and I don’t know if I’ve contributed to a potential problem. The presentation of the venue was that it was done up quite nicely and the tigers had decent sized grassed spaces to move around in, it wasn’t concrete floors and tiny enclosures. I also couldn’t pass up tigers. That said, being in an enclosed environment with essentially deadly animals was pretty intimidating. Sitting at the end of one and feeling it breathe, then having it change its breathing pattern and turn around was pretty freaky. Made for a cool moment and experience.
We then went to a shooting range. I won’t upload many pictures of it to avoid a Nick D’Arcy/Kendrick Monk controversy, but it was a) an awesome experience and b) an exercise in demonstrating the rather lax OHS regulations here compared to what I’m used to. The whole thing was fairly safe but I don’t know if going to a gun range with firstly no ID required and secondly having anyone handle any weapons and literally point them at people to get cool photos would cut it back home. It was nuts. Safe overall because we’re not crazy, but nuts all the same.
The tuk-tuk journey continued around Phuket with a long trip up to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre and nearby Waterfall. The walk to the waterfall was pretty humid to say the least. Even having just come back from Japan and it’s huge number of hills and humidity still wasn’t able to prepare me for the stickiness. It was reminiscing of walking up to the Arashiyama Monkey park, though less of a walk, but a bit more treacherous in the slipperiness of the walking surface.
Hearing about the way the Gibbons had been treated in the past was interesting, but sad. I love animals as much as the next person, and I also see how they can be good and fun for entertainment, but hearing about the way in which a lot that appear in the cities have been obtained is pretty crushing. The project at the Rehabilitation Centre hoped to start improving the situation and things may be on a better path, but I sadly can’t see it changing altogether.
From here we went to our last proper stop at Chalong Temple. I’d thought I’d be all templed out after Japan, but it was great to see a different take on the Buddhist temple design. It’s interesting how the same religion has such a different approach to buildings across different cultures. In Catholicism churches seem to follow the same basic pattern, just the ones in Europe have more history and generally, masterpieces of art in them. The Siamese/Thai take on temple design is fantastic and from the one I saw today, the focus is different from Japan. In Japan the focus seems to be on fitting temples (Buddhist or Shinto) into the surrounding environment, even a huge pagoda will try to blend into the natural surroundings. Chalong temple is about bright colours and standing out. Both are beautiful to behold.
We returned on our tuk-tuk via a couple of more scenic beaches than the rubbish laden Patong Beach and got back to our accommodation where some use of the Hotel Pool and Bar was in order. Delhi Belly has hit a couple of the guys so a quieter evening may be in order
Moshi Moshi! Daniel Desu. 