A Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)

---

For Christmas and New Year; I spent my time in Vietnam and Thailand. I loved the getaway from school cus I realized how much I missed these places and cus I had a load of fun. It was nice to put schoolwork behind joy and excitement for a change, felt tranquil and happy, became even more united with my father and nature. The holiday made me felt like I really belonged. When we met familiar faces from the past, they greeted us with warm welcomes and kindness.
<br>
During my holidays I went to many different places, from a nightclub (long story) to the zoo.
<br>
In Saigon, Vietnam my favorite places to visit must’ve been my dad’s friends’ house and Allez Boo, a pub.
At my dad’s friends’ place, we had a Christmas party with about thirteen people. It was one brilliant dinner with delicious seafood and exquisite Filipino cuisines:), and karaoke. Karaoke was fun - people were actually competing, and some were even dancing. I enjoyed dinner mostly because I got to be around lots of friendly people and listen to the little jokes they told as well as the experiences they shared.
<br>
My other favorite place in Vietnam was Allez Boo, a pub because it was pleasant sitting around talking and playing pool while listening to wonderful old and new rock music. I lovve rock. :) The pub was full of high spirits and life. The loud music, and meaningful lyrics reminded me of warm memories.
<br>
I especially loved returning to Vietnam because of the fact that I haven’t been there for two and a half years and things were still pretty much the same. It felt like I belonged because I could speak the language and because we were welcomed in a way that it felt like we never left Vietnam, or in a way that there’s always a place for us, my father and me(divorced when I was 10, I was adopted at about 9, I believe my dad's one of the greatest people you could ever meet:). Having to visit Vietnam again together with my dad truly reflected my earlier ages of childhood. The trip was mind opening, it made me realize how much I appreciate life.
<br>
A week before New Year, we flied to Thailand, Pattaya(we have a little house there:), where we spent the rest of our holidays. I could still feel the excitement and anticipation of being there. We went elephant riding at a place called “Elephant Village,” watched a tiger and crocodile show at “Srircha Zoo”, had some amazing Thai food, visited “Mini Siam” - a place full of small versions of the world’s most famous monuments, went swimming at the beach, and went jet skiing;). The experience was fantastic, and I would recommend it for anyone and everyone, anytime.
<br>
The things I miss the most about Pattaya, where we stayed, is the undeniably food and the animals.
<br>
The food was so good, I shed tears and ate, and shed some more, but kept eating. Lol, not because of the joy of having it, but because it was sooo f#^king spicy, haha:). It was almost the same with my dad, but he handled it better(his face turned redxD). Then again, he had a little helper - beer. We had a special favorite, shrimp soup called tom yam. Its essential taste is sour and extremely hot, even though the Thai people simply call it “hot.” My dad understood that when the Thai people say “spicy” they meant very very spicy, too spicy for us, so whenever they asked “spicy?” my dad would immediately say no, whenever he could. A non-spicy soup for Thai people was still spicy for us, because chili and mints and such ingredients are essential in Thai cooking. Most of our meals in Vietnam and Thailand were seafood, because dad knew that fresh seafood would be hard to find here in Uzbekistan.
<br>
Earlier I said that I missed the animals there, and I truly do. We went elephant riding, and such a thrill it was. The elephant took us through a small jungle, where there were beautiful flowers and trees, habitat to various insects and perhaps wild animals. The ride lasted for around an hour. We had two stops and got to feed the elephant bananas, six bunch of them. We fed a few more, but no matter how much, it never seemed enough - they kept trying to charm us for more. Really adorable. Couldn't resist buying more food for them. They were very friendly too; they allowed us to pet them on the trunks and on the cheeks! --- Well, at least they were friendly when we gave them bananas. Just kidding, they were friendly the whole time. :)
<br>
We also spent time visiting tigers, crocodiles, pigs, dogs, elephants, camels, deer, rabbits, a kangaroo and other species of animals at Srircha Zoo. The workers at the zoo seemed to treat the animals with kindness, so we felt pretty good about it. Usually when we visit the zoos, we leave feeling pity and upset for the animals. For example, their small space to roam around, their dirty habitats, or no toys to amuse them with. Srircha was different.
<br>
The animals had plenty of space, several toys to play with, and clean, fresh habitats. I think the best moment spent at the zoo was feeding the animals, because they actually liked what we fed them, and seeing them munching and drooling for more makes me smile and feel all warm inside. n_n I think my dad liked the zoo even more than I did though, because he had an admirer. A camel fell completely in love with him, as he was the only one brave enough to actually pet or get close to it. I petted it, but was afraid to get too close. It was pretty hilarious cus the camel made several attempts of giving my dad a kiss, pouching its lips as if a person wouldxD. Sadly my dad didn't feel the same way, hehe.
<br>
Several views at the zoo was somewhat strange to the eyes, because the zookeepers somehow managed to mix a combination of two dogs, a tiger and a pig together, or crocodiles and ducks. It was quite funny cus a playful baby tiger, almost twice the size of the Golden Retrievers obeyed the two dogs directly when the dogs barked. The bark probably meant that play time was over, or stop annoying us - because the tiger went to a sleeping pig and distracted the poor creature instead.

---

---

---