Post from Michelle:
Tonight, Tim and I set out to find a restaurant highlighted in our guidebook for its delicious fishball soup (ground fish shaped into small balls). We mistakenly walked pass the restaurant so ended up eating at an outdoor restaurant by a popular night market. We delighted ourselves eating sea bass and asparagus, rice, and a vegetable green curry dish.
Dining outside, especially in a tourist area, brought many distractions. Every few minutes walking street vendors approached our table, hungry for our money. Without leaving our table, we could have bought lottery tickets, flowers, jewelry, purses, nuts, candy and musical instruments.
At one point, I jumped high in my seat when I turned around and found a huge colorful paper-mache lion's head inches from my face. Under the mask were the eyes of a small boy peeking out. The mask was almost equal to the size of his body. His partner, a slightly older boy, demanded sharply, "You give money! You give money!" I know it is a Chinese custom near the New Year for the Chinese lion dancers to dance in front of business and storefronts. Giving offerings to the lion ensures good luck for the upcoming year. These clever lads were approaching diners, demanding money in return for blessing. We shooed them away, taking our chances on acquiring good luck.
My favorite seller though was the man selling elephant food. As Tim and I finished our meal, I looked up to see an elephant slowly lumbering toward us on the road. A man sat on top of him, looking equally as bored as the elephant. Another man approached each table selling fruit that the buyer would then feed to the elephant. I was so startled to see an elephant in the middle of a city street I couldn't help but stare. We didn't buy any fruit but watched as others offered it to the large creature. He hungrily accepted it with his large trunk.
This went on for a while until a policeman told the elephant driver that the elephant had to move. It wasn't until the elephant turned around that I saw the flashing red light attached to his tail. The light swung back and forth with each swish of the tail - a noble attempt to warn passing vehicles of this large gray mass in the road. It was a fitting reminder we were in Thailand, land of elephants.
Dining outside, especially in a tourist area, brought many distractions. Every few minutes walking street vendors approached our table, hungry for our money. Without leaving our table, we could have bought lottery tickets, flowers, jewelry, purses, nuts, candy and musical instruments.
At one point, I jumped high in my seat when I turned around and found a huge colorful paper-mache lion's head inches from my face. Under the mask were the eyes of a small boy peeking out. The mask was almost equal to the size of his body. His partner, a slightly older boy, demanded sharply, "You give money! You give money!" I know it is a Chinese custom near the New Year for the Chinese lion dancers to dance in front of business and storefronts. Giving offerings to the lion ensures good luck for the upcoming year. These clever lads were approaching diners, demanding money in return for blessing. We shooed them away, taking our chances on acquiring good luck.
My favorite seller though was the man selling elephant food. As Tim and I finished our meal, I looked up to see an elephant slowly lumbering toward us on the road. A man sat on top of him, looking equally as bored as the elephant. Another man approached each table selling fruit that the buyer would then feed to the elephant. I was so startled to see an elephant in the middle of a city street I couldn't help but stare. We didn't buy any fruit but watched as others offered it to the large creature. He hungrily accepted it with his large trunk.
This went on for a while until a policeman told the elephant driver that the elephant had to move. It wasn't until the elephant turned around that I saw the flashing red light attached to his tail. The light swung back and forth with each swish of the tail - a noble attempt to warn passing vehicles of this large gray mass in the road. It was a fitting reminder we were in Thailand, land of elephants.