Tigers and Full Moons

So the past week was a bit of an up and down one. Following on from the trek that Conor wrote about, we pretty much all got pretty sick. There were 10 of us on the trek and everyone felt something. Basically, on day one, the driver/guide/chef pulled in about 11am to pick up chicken, then had it in his backpack for 24 hours before cooking it. Not a good idea. So while we were getting over that, we decided to get our lives back in order. A trip to the barbers, the dentist, and a massage parlor had us feeling right as rain again and ready to go again.

While we were laid up, we took a trip out to see some tigers. We presumed we would be looking at them through cages, but no, we arrived, the cages were opened, and in we went. First off we went in to see the newborns. These had just been fed so unfortunately were just like cute cats. After that it was time for the big boys. We had presumed that these would be on leashes, or at least had their teeth shaved or something. Not a bit of it. 5 of us flung into the Tigers cage, passing the "These are Wild Animals" sign on the way. Eventually, we got a bit courageous and started playing with the tigers, although any slight movement by them, resulted in us juming 10 feet in the air. Didn't stop Ed taking the "hit first, hit hard" mentality to the extreme, by biting a tiger's tail before the tiger could get him!

We had a long journey south then which was 2 overnight trains, broken up by a 10 hour layover in Bangkok. Our previous stay in Bangkok was ruined by jetlag, so at least this time we got to see the royal palace. Nice spot. We've recieved a few complaints recently about the lack of museum and cultural photos so here's a few nice ones for ye! After that it was back on the train to head south to Ko Phangan.

Now Ko Phangan isn't much of an island. It has a few nice beaches, waterfalls etc, but nothing out of the ordinary. It is however, famed for the Full Moon Party. We asked a few people for the origins of this party. The best answer was that in the 80's, some Aussie lad was staying there for a few months, and when he left he had a leaving party. By chance, there was a Full Moon that night, and all in attendance agreed that the moon brought the wildest out of people.

It has grown since then, and now it is a monthly party on the beach, where 12-15,000 people dance the night away drinking buckets, usually dressed from head to toe in body paint. Nowadays it has everything, with a central theme of fire. Giant flaming skipping ropes, flaming hoops to jump through, and locals playing with fire sticks. Thankfully we escaped without any permanent damage, and are now on the next island, Ko Tao, relaxing once again.