Wednesday(21/12/2005) :- A exploration of Bangkok's floating market and Samphran Elephant ground and zoo.

Buddhist Pagoda.

In Bangkok i was residing at the "Burapa Hotel" situated in downtown Bangkok at 160/14 Charooenkrug road, Bangkok-10200, one of the popular and reasonably priced hotels, popular with Indian tourists. I was accomodated into room Nos 562 at a daily cost of 550Baht(1Us$= 39 Baht approx @2005 rates), a large spacious airconditioned room, decent and reasonably priced.I had booked for a "Packaged tour" to Pattaya at the hotel reception , a convenient and cheap form of touring Thailand as local package tours are conducted by numerous travel agencies and at very competitive rates.Surprising, although Thailand's tourist economy is based more on "English speaking" tourists, yet, the common local thai population rarely speak or understand much of english, hence, travelling alone to remote parts of the country is dangerous as well as confusing."Local "Packaged Tours" are the safest and most convenient means of touring Thailand and this was precisely my itinerary once i reached Bangkok and checked into my hotel.All hotels in Bangkok have arrangements with local tour operators for conducting "Package Tours" and the same can be booked at the hotel reception counter on arrival to avoid disappointments as most of these tours get fully booked during peak tourist season.The World Media has mostly depicted Bangkok for its cheap "SEX TOURISM" in the past and in the 21st century i was surprised to note the tremedous change in the Bangkok tourist scenario with the once dominating "Sex Industry" playing a minor role compared to other travel leisures like "adventure sports","Water sports" and exotic Wild-life zoological parks". I am writing from personal experience having first visited the port of Bangkok in 1985 on a ship during my employment as a "Marine engineer" when this port was considered a "Sex Haven" for sailors with literally every seamen having a "Bangkok port wife"! I vividly remember visiting a "Nightclub" in 1985 a few kilometres from the ships wharf which had live music and dancing the night to glory, celebrating my 25th birthday at an age where work and pleasure were a part of shipboard living .My visit to Thailand as a private "backpacker tourist" in 2005 gave me a genuine authentic image of Bangkok as i toured the entire city at my own personal leisure unlike during my "Ship Voyages" when port stay time was at a premium, besides at the age of 25, the "male hormones" of a lonely sailor are in search of mostly sexual entertainment with a little sightseeing and shopping whenever possible and Bangkok was a sex paradise.

ELEPHANT SHOW :-"Mock Elephant Battle" enactment at "Samphran Elephant Ground" .(Wednesday 21-12-2005)

On Wednesday(21-12-2005), got up early as usual in my hotel and jotted my daily travel log, a writing wanderlust hobby since my early years, an inherent tendency for writing.

At the "DAMNOEON SADUAK FLOATING MARKET" in Bangkok. There are 5 popular "Floating Markets" in Bangkok  of which the "Damnoeon Saduak" floating market is the oldest and most popular . There is a snake farm within this market which demonstrates "Cobra snake shows" and also a opportunity for tourists to click a photo with a python.

I had booked a "Package tour" for sightseeing Bangkok and the "Toyota mini van" picked me up from the hotel at approx 0715hrs, the tour guide being a young woman who introduced herself as "Miss Thailand".The tour group consisted of a Indian and Malaysian couple, a multicultural crowd and myself, with our first stop being the "Damnoeon Saduak Floating Market" after a drive of approx 1 1/2 hr from the city. Bangkok has been nick-named as the "Venice of the East" and a visit to this beautiful scenic floating bazaar proves the same, a entire floating market with canoe boats displaying their wares.There are 5 popular floating markets in Bangkok of which the Damnoen Saduak is the oldest and most popular among tourists.

Bangkok's World famous "DAMNOEON SADUAK FLOATING MARKET".(Wednesday 21-12-2005)

                                                                                                                                                                      I purchased a local Thai hat and a wooden carving and as usual, busy clicking on my "Nikon RF" auto-focus roll camera, photography being my luxury passion, having still not converted to the cheaper and convenient "Digital camera" of the 21st century.

" COBRA SHOW" at Damnoeon  Saduak Floating  market.

 A Close-up view of the "King Cobra" in its enclosure.

World Famous "COBRA CIRCUS" at the Damnoeon Saduak floating market in Bangkok. Death defying handling of one of the World's most venomous snakes.

                                                                                                                                                               After a short stay at the "Floating Market" we next visited a "Cobra show" at a "Snake Farm" situated within Damnoen Saduak floating market vicinity. Milking of "Cobra Venom" was demonstrated, something which i had seen in Madras(India) at the "Crocdile Snake Park" run by World renowned Herpetologist Mr Romulus Whittaker with the help of the local "Irula Tribes".In Madras, the snakes are "milked" commercially and later released into the forests, a continuous cycle of venom harvesting benefiting the local "Irula tribes" as well as the "Pharmaceutical Industry".

Entrance to the "SNAKE SHOW".

In Bangkok the demonstration of a human snake-handler handling a venomous cobra was the major attraction as these snakes have their "venom Gland" intact" unlike most "snake shows" where either the snake's mouth is stitched shut or the snakes "De-fanged".Proof was shown as seen in the photograph of   this same cobra being  milked prior to the "human- snake" demonstration, although the "Venom" could be less potent after "Milking". A few years later , I did see an article on "National Geographic" where a local Thai snake handler died due to "Venom poisoning" while demonstrating to tourists in Bangkok, hazards of the profession. Photographed myself with a python and also took a few photo's of a giant king cobra and later we made our next tour stop at the "Samphran Elephant ground, crocodile farm and zoo" which was established by Mr Pichai.Chaimongkoltrakul and opened to the public on Sunday(24/3/1985). .I have been to numerous zoo's in India as well as other Asian Country's and the "Samphran Park " has its uniqueness in the form of demonstrating the efforts of wild-life conservation as well as entertaining humans .

"ELEPHANT FOOTBALL" :- Superstar footballer David.Beckham would definitely have been impressed had he watched this "Elephant Football Match".

There was an "Elephant Show" organized in front of a grandstand, depicting the past cultural history and warfare of Thailand, famous, as the land of "White elephants". Tourists were freely allowed to take photographs with the elephants after the "Elephant show" which was performed at select time intervals, a massive attraction amongst the tourists.

This sight can be seen only in Bangkok. A tourist photo-shoot with a pair of full grown tigers at the "Samphran Elephant ground and zoo". Tourists literally queue to have a photo-shoot with these pair of tigers.

A pair of full grown tame tigers in "Dog-chains" were kept at the entrance to the park and most tourists photographed themselves with these pair of tigers, memento's that could prove to be collectors items as the inevitable extinction of the tiger in the wild seems inevitable, especially in its homeland in India.As a wild-life conservationist i felt sad at seeing these majestic wild beasts being treated like "Pet Dogs or exotic cats ", but, ultimately the survival of these beasts might be in "Zoological parks " around the World, leading a totally artificial life from the land of their birth,"THE NATURAL WILD FORESTS".Next , attended the "Crocodile Show" at the same park and to me it seemed a "Russian Roulette" game between the human handler and the crocodile to the amusement of the tourists.

"BELIEVE IT OR NOT":- The Crocodile show.

                                                                                                                                                                  The local Thai human handler would put his entire hand or head into the open crocodiles mouth, cheating death or serious injury as crocodiles are not considered intelligent reptiles for circus training , hence, a mystery and trade secret as to the method of demonstrating these unique "Death Defying" stunts.

A crocodile has an immense "Bite compressive strength" and hence if the crocodile just leisurely shuts it wide jaws then it would either be a  decapitation of the human handler's head or hand.I have never in my life seen this particular "Crocodile/Human" stunt ever demonstrated in any circus or zoological park and hence Thailands "Samphran Park" has this unique distinction of holding the "Trade Secret" of the wild crocodile shows.Our next visit was to the "Rose Garden", a huge garden complex with a beautiful pond and were given a demonstration of Thai wood carving manufacture, later visiting the auditorium where a demonstration of "Thai boxing" and local "Thai dance " and culture.

Wood carving demonstration and sale of expensive carvings.

                                                                                                                                                                 Our last visit was to the "gems & Jewellery" shop, a common routine in all "Bangkok Packaged Tours", the last stop before departure to hotel.The Bangkok tour operators have an excellent network of "Tour operations" akin to "Mumbai's Dabbawalla's", and hence tourist passengers are shuttled from different "tour mini-vans" at certain junctions depending on their personal sightseeing itinerary.From the "gem shop" i was later shuttled into another van and was sent to my hotel.