Thailand day 6

We are in a grab and on our way to noong nooch and john decides it's a good idea to read the blog as he thinks it's merely a slanderous and comedic depiction of him. I will say, that he does provide good material, much of which I cannot write about as it would be entirely inappropriate. Maybe for an HBO special but not a family blog.

Here is an example... Have you ever wondered how a man can come out of the bathroom and give you a play by play in great detail with astonishment and horror while heading to the shower to rectify the situation then turn around and be offended that you dare birp daintly in front of him?

That's my life! 

We arrive at noong Noch and I'm an encouraged and excited. It looks AMZING! Even John is impressed. I decide we need caffeine, so we head to the food court. I ask if they have matcha... Unfortunately, no. I order iced green tea with honey after thoughtful consideration. I then turn to my right and see an entire stand dedicated to... You guessed it, matcha! Agh!!! 

commited to not being wasteful, I stick with my iced green tea which actually turns out to be very tasty. I'm going to bring out my inner food network personality and say that "it is smooth with a floral nose of jasmine and a slight hint of sweetness from the locally sourced honey" I made up the locally sourced bit- it just sounded better.

We get our tickets and head into what is touted as one of the "Worlds largest botanical gardens". Our plan is to rent bicycles instead of walking the 600 acres. We immediately see elephants and I have a mixture of excitement and trepidation. As we approach the majestic creatures, I notice that the first one is swaying back and forth. I immediately start to feel compassion for her and become overwhelmed with grief. She is chained to her area and her "trainer/slaver" is holding a very aggressive stick that contains a raptor looking hook on the end. I start bawling immediately! I probably look like a lunatic. I can't understand why everyone else isn't seeing and feeling what I am. Don't they see her pain? John, with heroic style reflexes, redirects me to the beautiful plant display and starts talking to me about the amazing plants. He truly gets me. Recovery from the terrible scene is slow going considering I can still hear them making what I imagine are cries of sadness. I am probably being overly dramatic and have hopes that their conditions aren't half as bad as my imagination has conjured. Prayers to the elephants🙏...Back to project (Distract Rebecca). BTW... John even suggested we take pictures in front of the hanging hearts. What? Am I lying? Absolutely not! He is a romantic at heart, just don't let him know I told you so. 😸

We end up getting tickets to ride through the gardens on an open air bus which ends up being a great idea as the heat and humidity is unbearable. The gardens are absolutely AMAZING! I will include a few photos but I took a gazillion and will upload those to the family drive. They did go a little overboard on the animals but the plants are a beautiful example on God's amazing creativity coupled with man's hard work. 

We don't stay long as it is really hot and humid. The bus ride around the park have is a great glimpse of everything with none of the agony of walking the very large park.

Im adding a picture of john pacing while waiting for our grab to pick us up in case you thought that an alien had abducted him.

Once back to the hotel, we head out to get our laundry and get a pedicure (to match my nails)! 

John brings me a coconut drink while I'm getting pampered!

They wash, fold and even package or laundry nicely in plastic. Too bad they use scented soap and dryer sheets😮‍💨I wear a mask to bed and air out the laundry as best I can. *I feel like such a complainer.i really an grateful and appreciative. 

we get massages then head to a show. No, not that kind of show! We see the Tiffany cabaret which is amazing! It is a family friendly show of some very tall and really beautiful people. They are all dressed in such elaborate and breathtaking costumes. They could use a little more practice as several of them look to be fairly new to the occupation but their enthusiasm makes up for the still developing talent. The show lasts a little over an hour and even John is impressed by the production. We get a taxi back to the hotel and try to find some dinner. Pizza is or only option this late. No cheese on my half😿.

Tomorrow is travel day! On to Phuket!