Interesting Points Of Thailand Trip

Moving away from the heat of the recent post about a newspaper in Pattaya that turned into a Kenny Sia fans versus non-Kenny Sia fans war, here are 5 interesting points during my Thailand trip earlier this month.

1. Alcazar Cabaret

A trip to Thailand is never complete without watching an ah gua show. I dropped by a cabaret show in Pattaya called the Alcazar Cabaret.

What amazes me is NOT how these voluptuous "women" are not as much as the women they appear to be, but its the breathtaking stage settings. From Thai throneroom-like settings to settings resembling nightclubs with dancers fully dressed in clubbing outfits. The quality of the photos I took doesn't do much justice here.

My favorite performance was their rendition of Dreamgirls - almost exactly as seen in the movie. One of them even looked like a masculinized Beyonce Knowles.


2. Mango Sticky Rice

I thought the mango sticky rice at Kuching's Lok Thian Bangkok Thai Restaurant was fantastic. That was until I tasted the authentic mango sticky rice there.

For only 50 Bahts, the dish comprises of the steamed glutinous rice, creamy coconut dip and freshly sliced ripe mangoes.


3. Yellow People

One morning I was wondering why all the sudden 80% of the Thais in the streets were wearing yellow shirts.

I found out that ordinary Thais dress in yellow shirts on Mondays to show their allegiance to the king. Yellow because its the king's birth color, traditionally corresponding to the day he was born, a Monday.

Yellow-masked tuk-tuk rider

With the whole Negarakuku controversy in my own country, its a culture shock to see people showing such public affection to their king and country.

Yellow people were everywhere. So much so that it reminded me of this:

Fortunately, no yellow Thais were following me.


4. Stray Thai Dogs

While stray dogs in Kuching look like this:

Stray dogs in Bangkok looked like this:

Eh? That's not a stray dog! That's a stray baby hippo with the head of a dog. And what are the Thais feeding them? Protein shakes?


5. Snake Molesting

To much regrets later, I visited a snake farm where snakes were kept in aquariums for display. A snake handler was busy catching a snake in a barricaded section.

He proceeded to bend the snake and showed me 2 protruding "growths". He then asked me to TOUCH IT.

With no previous professional training in snake anatomy, I thought it was a tumour or a mutated growth. I must have given it at least a good 10 SECONDS RUB before he told me it was the SNAKE'S PENIS(es). WTF!

He was nice enough to tell me, "Snake have 2.... I have 1." Oh you have 1? That's a relieve.

Apparently the snake farm uses the snake's reproductive organs in producing medicine to sell to the tourists that visit the farm. When I was there, the tourists were going there by busloads.

I just wonder how many times a day the snake gets molested by unsuspecting tourists.