elephants, crocodiles, and magicians

I am discovering that the Thai people are consummate showmen! At school celebrations and in life in general--in everything they do, it's done with style.

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The above are all taken at Samphran park and zoo; you can find more about it at: samphran@ksc.th.com.

The two young men in red who played with crocodiles also played with their audience; each time one did something dramatic with a croc, the other man elicited a resounding jaw-snap from a background croc, made everyone jump. (To make a crocodile snap its jaws, you tickle it with a stick, then flick the stick on the top of the croc's mouth--easy!)

The magicians were amazing. You can tell from the picture which was the flamboyant ham and which the straight-faced assistant. Both were superb entertainers, worked well together with precision timing--you could almost hear the ba-da-boom drumrolls in their repartee (all in Thai, but their visuals provided ample clues) Slick tricks, too! They made fish appear in an empty tank, produced a live and wiggling rabbit and doves from flat bags, put the sidekick in a box, handcuffed and tied into a bag; the lead magician waved a length of lovely silk fabric in front of the box and presto! the sidekick appeared, opened the box, untied the bag, and there was the leader in handcuffs! The audience lapped it up, and so did I!

The elephants are amazing! There was a "petting zoo" area, mostly young elephants and their mothers. This is Nong JayJay, a 700-pound three-year old. He was able to climb onto the little stand with all four feet (I have pictures of that too); his trainer was a gentle and good-humored man who answered all our questions, and clearly loved being with the elephants.

A mother elephant showed off when I came close to her and her young baby. First I patted the little guy on the head (funny, bristly hairs); I said "funny hair!" and laughed in delight--the mother scowled (have you ever seen an elephant scowl?), batted my hand away with her trunk. She could have been much rougher had she cared to be, but it was enough to make me respect her potential, and to stop touching her baby. Then as if to make up to me for her necessary rudeness, Mama showed me a trick. First she made sure I was watching, and then with timing almost as good as the magicians, she reached over with her trunk to turn on a water faucet. She took a leisurely drink, wavered with her trunk as if to turn off the water, then looked at me. We both hesitated; I turned off the faucet, and she resumed tending to her baby.

I want to go back to see the elephants again; of course I want to go back to every place I've seen so far, and I also want to see more of Thailand--