Scavenger Hunt

We had two major activities planned for today.  In the morning we had a scavenger hunt in the vicinity of the hotel.  The ground rules were that the students could not use any kind of transportation, could not cross the streets except for the pedestrian overpasses, and they had to be respectful as they interacted with the Thais.  I gave the students a page of things they had to search for and photograph, and a few things for which they had to talk to Thai people who had limited or no English skills.  That was followed by an early lunch, after which we went to our cooking class, which will be in the next blog post. 

Breakfast in the hotel included choices of American breakfast (cold fried eggs and sausages that look exactly like hot dogs), or a series of chafing dishes with delicious Thai food.  I'm pleased to say that the kids mostly chose the latter.

Shortly after breakfast, Blaire's luggage arrived wrapped in plastic.  So we are finally whole again.

After breakfast, I gave a briefing about the ground rules of the scavenger hunt.

The students were divided into four groups.  Here are Alex, Blaire, Kyle and Abby trying to find something on the list.

There's a great little meat & vegetable market near the hotel.  Most of the scenes are a little to gruesome to show you, but I thought this one was cute.

Are these pickhandle barracuda?

Everyone knows Thailand is famous for knock-off Rolexes, Ray-Bans, and DVDs, but here's a new one:  This monk approached me and asked for money in his alms bowl.  So, naturally I gave him some money... after all, he's a monk.  Then a woman in the market told us he's a fake monk who preys on farangs (white westerners).  So, we got rolled by a knock-off monk.  Sheesh!  If you can't trust a monk...

Franny, Gabby, and Luke at some vegetable vendors trying to find an item on their list.

After the scavenger hunt, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant.

The chefs prepare 20 plates of fried rice.

Max, Luke, Colin and Kyle.  No, we did not deliberately separate the guys from the girls.

The east end of our table.

The west end.

Snakes!

After our morning visit to the temples, we then visited the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute Red Cross Snake Farm.  At this facility, they produce the snake antivenom for all of Southeast Asia and give public presentations.  We saw some of the most notable and dangerous snakes in Thailand and had a chance to hold an albino Burmese python.

I'm glad we don't have snake farms in Missouri.

The first snake they brought out was an 8-10 foot long king cobra.  The snake stood waist high when the handler agitated it.

This is a mangrove snake... only mildly venomous.  Obviously, it lives in mangroves, where we are going on December 31.

The banded krait is one of the most venomous snakes in the world.  The aposematic black and yellow coloration is a warning that the animal is dangerous.

Here is a Siamese cobra, one of the most common snakes throughout Thailand.

Rebecca.

Jaime.

Abby.

Katie is curiously enjoying this a little too much.

Emily.

Colin.

Kyle.

Anna.

Annie.

Alyssa and Katie (for support).

Luke.

Max.

Franny.

Even Ajarn Wayne held it, just to prove he wasn't sceered.