koh samui safari - the good, the bad and the really really ugly

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Photos

crazy as a coconut
the coconut's flesh and juice can be consumed

working monkey
the Thais use trained monkeys to pluck coconuts from high above, picking up to 1000 coconuts a day for up to 30 years

elephant tricks
a few more years of this - and this poor elephant will probably snap its tusks/legs

more elephant tricks
the Thais seem to think that foreigners love it when they get their animals to act like humans. we think it's cruel......

poor monkeys
the worst part of the day was when they dressed chained-up monkeys in human clothes and made them do things only humans should do. i left halfway through out of principle (as did a few others) but aaron stayed to document the cruelty....

lighting a ring of fire
getting an audience member to light the ring of fire - perhaps to absolve some responsibility to others !?

give this monkey a couple of years...
and keep giving them sharp knives to play with and just wait to see what they do next...

mummified monk
this monk was unnaturaly 'under-decomposed' after he died so the monastery decided to mummify him in a prayer position as a testament to younger monks and Buddhists

prayers to the dead
people write messages on these square tiles as a commemoration to the dead

temple architecture
this shrine has Chinese/northern Lanna influence and is atypical of early 20th century temple design in Thailand

Comments

[amy]

haha i was just going to write that the grandfather rock looked like an odd-shaped cock. miss you guys. have been very busy. love you lots xoxo

[Elise]

ps that was me Elise lol