Phuket Zoo

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Last Friday, my school had a field trip to the Phuket Zoo. It is a small, run-down place, but it was still fun because the kids were so excited.

We went to the crocodile show, where two trainers took turns performing stunts, including one kissing a croc and one putting his head inside the reptile's open mouth.

We saw a really impressive elephant show, where these gentle creatures have been trained to do tricks such as ribbon-twirling, basketball, soccer, dancing, playing musical instruments, painting, and walking over audience volunteers without crushing them. The kids found it thrilling!

Following lunch we went to a monkey show, which was cute, but the animals were not very co-operative; maybe it was just the heat. The rest of the afternoon was spent checking out the other animals and teaching the children their English names. We saw snakes, birds, tigers, leopards, and gibbons, just to name a few.

Most of the enclosures were pretty sad looking, but at least the animals looked healthy and alert. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking…



This past week we hosted 7 different couchsurfers (and they all overlapped on one night, too!). Kristen, from China, was celebrating her 21st birthday with us. We made sure to play drinking games, go out in Phuket Town, and make lots of crazy videos to make it special for her.

I also had the pleasure of spending time with our three French surfers, Cedric, Dimitri, and Eddy. They are on the level of world-traveling that I aspire to reach. They shared stories, travel advice, and lots and lots of positive vibes. Even despite the unusually wet weather, it turned out to be a fantastic weekend!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we have now reached 85 total couchsurfers hosted, in the past 6 months.

I hope you are all staying warm and dry! More exciting adventures coming soon...

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