Shane accidentally, maybe goes to a house of ill repute

Since arriving in Thailand, Shane has become a big fan of Thai Massage. Being tall isn't all about reaching things on the high shelves, it is sometimes hard on your body. Massage here is totally cheap and great for the body, and there are a lot of really wonderful, legitimate massage places. There are also some massage places where you can opt for a wider range of services.

After a long day surfing, Shane's neck was feeling a little sore. As he often does, he set of to find a Thai masseuse. It should be noted that this would be the first massage had here in Phuket, and therefore we don't have a place we regularly go. After looking around our local area, he walked into a place that seemed pretty legitimate... but now we're not so sure.

The Shady Details:
1. After changing into the usual massage outfit (basically pyjamas) he was led into a private room... usually the massage areas are separated only by a curtain.
2. Things seemed a little less professional (and traditional) than usual, for instance, the masseuse was wearing what might be termed a provocative outfit (by Thai, not Western standards) rather than the traditional garb that is usually worn.
3. There was a TV in the massage room, which the masseuse watched the entire time.
4. At the end of the massage, the masseuse suggested that Shane have a 30 min. nap, and then she would come back and finish the massage. This is not normal... where was she going? Why was she coming back?

At this point, Shane said a polite kup-kuhn-krap (thank-you) and got the hell out of there, checking to make sure nobody we knew was out on the street.
We need your help, ladies and gentlemen. Please join us in voting for whether or not Shane almost received some of the wider range of services mentioned above. The poll is located near the top of the blog, you unfortunately have to have a google account to vote...

This Trip is B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Last week, our friends asked us if we would like to go with a group of people to the Monkey Festival in Lop Buri. How can you say no to a question like that? Our only response other than, "of course" was "there is a festival for monkeys?".

Yes, there is a whole festival dedicated to monkeys here in Thailand. Some genius Thai businessman discovered that if you encourage monkeys to hang around your city, you will very quickly see an increase in foreign tourists who think monkeys are adorable and hilarious. Since this was such a sucess they have a festival every year to thank the monkeys for the prosperity that their town enjoys. They tell the story of Hanuman the monkey god and feed the monkeys a giant monkey buffet.

However, even when monkeys are offered a giant buffet of fruit, vegetables and other monkey delectables, there is one thing monkeys like even more. Vendors had set up tents at the edge of the ruins where the festival is held to sell drinks and such to the festival goers. Monkeys, as it turns out, prefer pepsi to dragon fruit. They monkeys were skulking around casting dangerous looks at anybody who decided to have a drink and if one was silly enough to doubt the monkeys' seriousness they would leap from the ground onto you. It was smarter just to put down the beverage. Shane was monkey mugged in this way carrying a nearly empty water bottle around, the monkey looked at him, looked at the water, and made a threatening step forward. Shane is no idiot so he dropped the water bottle and stepped back.
(Picture below is from a palace/temple ruins in Lop Buri)

 Another sweet Lop Buri surprise was the performance staged in another set of ruins the night before the monkey festival. We were walking around looking for a place to eat when we chanced upon the area and were drawn in by the music, lights and crowds. Inside a performance of what can only be described as people-puppetry was going on. This traditional form of Thai dance features one person as the "puppet" who is attached to strings or poles, marionette-style.  The dancers at this performance were incredible and we stayed to watch for quite a while. They also had some high-school aged children performing and playing who were quite good given their respective ages.

 Monkey drinking out of a small water feature... this picture was taken while we were having breakfast at a little cafe.

 The monkey food pyramid!!!

 Mommy & Me -monkey style.

 Monkey to the right enjoying a coke and the monkeys in the foreground are enjoying a delicious Thai iced tea (milky and sweet, really delicious!).

 Sunflower fields! You can see the mountain where the temple was located in the background.

Lop Buri is not only the home of the monkeys, it is also home to other attractions like the sunflower fields and various temples and such. On Saturday we explored some beautiful temple ruins (sooo peaceful in busy, noisy Thailand) and on Sunday we rented mopeds and hit the open road for a tour of the area, stopping to take in Sunflower fields, a temple on the mountain and a somewhat disappointing lake. The views were beautiful, the driving was fun (except in those crazy traffic circles! yikes!) and all in all an excellent adventure was had by all.
Monkey video -An overview of monkeys in Lop Buri!

Shane also got a chance this weekend to try out Sepak takraw. Youtube this for more information! It is basically a form of volleyball played with the feet and is really wild to watch. We stumbled upon a team practicing at night and after they took a break they allowed Shane and a friend to give it a go on the courts.

Debauchery and Weekend Adventures

Another exciting weekend in Thailand! This weekend we ventured down to the MBK centre to check out what a mall in Thailand looks like. Parts of it are very similar to a mall back home, and then there are floors that have more in common with the market we visited last weekend with huge crowds of shoppers, narrow aisles and cheap knock-offs of brand-name goods. After some shopping we decided to head to the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre where we were told that if we stuck around until six thirty there would be free food, wine and entertainment to celebrate the opening of a really wild art exhibit of crocheted trees! Very reminiscent of The Lorax...

The wine and food were excellent, the entertainment... well we'll let him speak for himself. Here are a few clips of the musical entertainment we saw on Saturday night...

After the performance we went to an open-air food court near the Victory Monument in Bangkok and had some Kau man gai (rice with steamed chicken and a delicious ginger-chili sauce) and a couple of drinks (supplied of course by the local 7-11). Not feeling quite ready to head home yet, we started brainstorming about what we should do to close out our Saturday night... Since we had a friend with us who will not be in Thailand long we thought that we should try to get the most experience out of Bangkok possible, and therefore the only logical choice was to visit Soi Cowboy, Bangkok's seedy red-light district. One can easily imagine what goes on in Soi Cowboy, so we will leave it up to you... if you can't imagine I am sure that Google has a great deal of pertinent information. Needless to say, we didn't stay long. After feeling like we'd had our fill of the underbelly of Bangkok it was off to bed... after a short encounter with a crazy cab driver (drove much too fast and laughed when we asked him to cha cha ... slow down). Another interesting weekend in the land of smiles.