Bangkok Day 3 - 16 November

We were up early today for the floating markets. The drive was long - about two hours. We were with another group of people in a mini van. I think they were German or Austrian, from what I could interpret it was a family. A son, with his thai husband, and the sons parents. Possibly with an uncle along for the trip. They all looked hot and bothered.

We arrived at a small concrete shed, with toilets and tables - not much else really. Where are the markets? The ladies who worked their took us to a table right along side a small muddy creek. They gave us some young coconut drinks... yummm!! After about three or four mins of drinking our coconuts all the boats started jetting past. The boats are long, thin and have massive V8 engines that look like they have been welded together in their garage. We got onto our thin boat and started cruising through canals. The water was dirty, with lots of floating plants. I swear I saw a massive pyton swimming with the plants - its body was a thick as my wrist. Peoples houses backed onto their canals. So while crusing along in the boat we could see into peoples lives. The houses were falling apart, many of them tied together with some kind of rope, tape or tarp. It is easy to get depressed when looking at how difficult it is for some of these people to live, they dont have electricity, flushing toilets, fridges or cars. Im finding it really hard to turn a blind eye to their unfortunate situation. Im starting to realise how good we have it in Australia. On a lighter note, as I peered into one house, expecting to get a glimpse of their poverty, I saw a massive flat screen tv with the simpsons playing, a microwave, fridge and a stereo. What the? He must be the rich one that lives on the street - every street has one.

After passing all the houses we finally made it to the floating markets. It was massive - there were little boat everywhere with something to sell. The first boat we passed had drinks - 'two tiger beer please'. We mostly got food, we are running out of space in our backpacks. It was interesting to see a markets in the middle of no where doing so well. It was popular, with both locals and tourists. We travelled back through the canalsto get back to our mini van. We said our thanks for the ladies and got into our vans.

There was an unplanned stop at the snake farm. I was a little excited by the thrill of seeing a snake but that soon disappeared once we got into the hell hole. There were snakes, crocodiles and many other reptiles. There were all housed in small boxes, even the crocodile was shoved into a small cage. I started to feel guilty for the entry fee I had just handed over. We were pushed through the cages into a small pavillion type area. The snake show was just about to start. The men/handlers in uniforms were standing out the front and the music began. One by one they got snakes out of boxes or bag and threw them onto the fake green grass. They tossed them about jumping back everytime a snake would hiss or spit. They would take the snake by the tail and fling it about without a care. I didnt want to be there anymore. They even had big pythons out stirring them up and trying to scare the audience. The final part of the show included a couple of snakes being thrown on the ground and attacked by a mongoose. Jono and I both felt sick - it wasnt right!! But this country doesnt have the same animal rights as Australia. Wont be doing that again.

We slept pretty much all the way home. It seems that we get exhausted pretty quickly here. We had a few drinks at Khaosan road again. Met a couple of aussie backpackers on their way to Europe. Home for an early night.

:-)