A follow up for Ann and something for Alice

Well, the school year is coming to an end here. In the teacher workroom everyone is alternately working on final exams and writing plans for summer school. Seems odd to say that in February but the morning program (every morning out on the terrace the student body lines up by grades and we sing the national anthem, recite the morning prayers and the school credo, then have announcements) I thought it felt warmer than usual for 8am. Then I noticed a couple of the high school boys were dripping in sweat just from standing there. And summer doesn't begin until next month!

So, with all the work week stress I decided to go out sightseeing in Bangkok this weekend. On Saturday I went to the zoo. Yes, the zoo. And rather than take a taxi, bus, or tuktuk, I walked the mile down a wide, tree-lined boulevard to the zoo. My walk took me past Chitralada Palace where the current king lives which happens to be across the boulevard from the zoo. The "moat" that runs between the boulevard and the palace property is filled with huge fish, turtles, and monitor lizards. In fact, I had to keep an eye out for the lizards as they tend to come up to the edge of the sidewalk to lay in the shade. Nothing more startling than tripping over one of those guys! At either end of the moat I was treated to a wonderful water show put on by huge water fountains. They look fabulous at night as I've seen them when driving by to go somewhere. Oh, and the armed guards walking on the other side of the moat and wondering about the crazy farang walking in the heat were a little unnerving. I've seen lots of armed guards since I came to Asia, but I'm still not used to it.

Despite the distractions I did finally make it to the zoo. Dusit Zoo (this area of the city is called Dusit) is world class. I happen to love the Asian elephants and always make time to see them. In the African exhibit the zebras, giraffes, and ostriches all graze together. I noticed that one of the informational signs had an excellent explanation of zebra stripes and breeds, so I took a picture and will post it to my blog for Ann. I know you wanted to know, but it makes me wonder if you have to look at them from the same angle as the picture was made to determine the breed. Hope not!

Alice, I hope you haven't been worried about Fred and Ethel. As you know, they tagged along on this trip with me. They were pretty upset about my leaving Phuket and all the seashores for the city. But I think they have found themselves a very happy home here in Dusit. Lots of girls for Fred to flirt with and feedings twice a day. And you know how they love to have their pictures taken. I'm posting pix to my blog on them too. But I hope something can be done about their noisy neighbors. They are real party animals - worse than 1007 Drummond!

On Sunday I did the tourist thing. Went to the river and got an all day pass to visit all the sights along the river banks. Temple of Dawn is the symbol that most people relate to Bangkok. I climbed to the top, which seemed like work until I looked down to see those steps. Going down is definitely harder. Where was OSHA and all their rules about steps 200 years ago? As I gingerly made my way down to terra firma I wondered if anyone had actually fallen on the way down. It was steep! Toured the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buhdha (which is really made of jade) and shopped the street vendors for lunch. By the way Alice, I passed 3 different vendors selling false teeth - full and partial sets! Now there's a souvenir you don't see everyday.

Whew! I was beat when I got back to my room and my feet were very tired. Going back to the classroom on Monday morning seemed like a rest after that weekend. But I'll have a week to rest up and by Friday I'll be ready to get out again. Besides, I feel sure that the students here are a lot like the ones back home. With 3 weeks of school left they'll be hard to keep on task and by the end of the week I'll need some time away from the school to wind down.