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8:04 p.m. - Monday, Sept. 23, 2002
Lions and Tigers and......Ms Leslie!
I went to Nan Nooch Tropical Gardens today. It was just the half-day trip, but in four hours I managed to get my picture taken wrapped in the forearms of a huge gentle tiger, a couple of leopards and getting a kiss from either the ugliest guy or the cutest orangutang I ever did see. I thought I could judge from his breath whether human or critter, but in the end, one is as bad as the other.

I walked in the most beautiful orchid garden in SE Asia, according to our guide, and then watched a show that gave small tastes of Thai dancing, music, martial arts, elephant warfare and kick-boxing. It was non-stop stimulation as dancers and drummers ran offstage in their marvelous silk costumes, only to be replaced by full-sized elephants in full battle array parading and engagin in mock battles right in front of the stage. Afterwards, we moved to an outside arena where fifteen or twenty elephants of all sizes played soccer, rode tricycles, played golf and did other things one would never expect an elepant to do. In between acts, they wandered the stands, mugging Japanese tourists for the bunches of bananas they bought for a few baht from the wandering vendors. For thirty Baht, an elephant would lift you high and swing you around with its trunk while your companions or the ever helpful handlers captured your terrified eyes on camera for you.

I sat under a metal eave in the soft and daily rain eating fried plaintains and some sort of meat, hopefully pork, barbequed in the open air and served hot and running with juice. Yes, mom and sis were there, and they both enjoyed the trip once they overcame their fear that it might rain while we were there. I got some great pics of them with the critters too. When I com home, I'll post some of them. In the meantime, think tourist with more money than sense, suddenly realizing she/we were sitting in the arms of a wild carnivorous beast. We were assured that they were safe and tame, yet the park had their "bite and bleed" policy posted everywhere and in every language.

Tomorrow I'm doing something really daring. I have an appointment to have my teeth cleaned at a local clinic. Depending on how much cleaning is required, it's going to cost me between twelve and fifteen dollars. For that, they're going to throw in an exam to see if there's a cavity or two they can get me to let them fix. Hmmm... Yes, I'm crazy, but not stupid. Drilling isn't on my itinerary this trip. Maybe whitening though. It's dirt cheap.

More later. Adventures now, feelings later. Tons of them. Unexpected ones that come from some unexpected places, like the color and consistency of the mud and looking at the country up close from the bus to the park. Ouch.... hello PTSD and flashbacks of a place just a few miles and light years from here. But I'm holding those things off for now in favor of a new wild happiness I've found, and a very new and intimate relationship I'm forming with a long forgotten person inside myself. A person I am coming to care for very much.

Leslie

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