Aquariums, durians and scoops of happiness

Yesterday evening Catheleen took the kids for a massage - Thai-style. I've never been a big fan of massages and I find the Thai version is my least favourite, based on the torture I received at the hands and feet of a masseuse many years ago. These massages involve a lot of stretching, pummelling, and cracking. Think chiropractor meets personal trainer. Catheleen's plan was to just get a foot or a head massage for the kids while she enjoyed the full body treatment. But something was lost in translation and while she started her massage on a table she looked over to see Elizabeth and John getting their full treatments next to her. Elizabeth seemed to be ticklish, John needed to take a break half way through to go to the bathroom, and only Catheleen was stood upon. But otherwise the kids and Catheleen claimed to have enjoyed the massage. I was suspect though when Catheleen said post-massage that she could be sore tomorrow. 

In the early morning I tried a new coffee stand, and the coffee lady attempted to make a cappuccino with some success. At her stand she also had ice cream for sale with the tag line "scoops of happiness". This works for me - I'll be back later for a few scoops. Compare to yesterday where we tried a couple of iced drinks. Mine was called Roselle juice and the sign said it "relieves phlegm in the throat, fatigue, expectorate, digestion and blood distribution". Not exactly scoops of happiness but I tried it and it tasted pretty good - a bit like grapes perhaps. Can't bear witness to the purported health benefits though.

Today we took the sky train to visit the Siam Ocean World aquarium, which is reported to be the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia. We've been to Thailand twice before, once every decade or so. Every time we come I see that the country has developed a little bit more. Like the new airport we viewed upon arrival, the new sky train is a nice addition which wasn't here last time. Not quite as well organized as Tokyo's subways, but not bad. After a short trip on the train we arrived at one swanky mall, with the aquarium on the lower level. The aquarium was world class with some amazing exhibits. One of my favourite exihibits was watching the sharks swim overhead while scuba divers fed some of them with fish on metal sticks. I'm not sure if this was a necessary way to feed these sharks or whether this was entertainment. Perhaps a bit of both.

Afterwards we explored the mall. What a contrast to the street, where it's quite clear the standard of living is not that high by western standards. In this mall you would think you were in some high end shopping area in a wealthy country. There were even Bentley and Rolls Royce cars for sale on the top level. We tempered ourselves with a few pastries in the food court.

It's durian season and I see them everywhere. On the outside the fruit is tan coloured and around the size of a large melon, and it has big intimidating spikes - you could probably use these things as a weapon like the spiked metal ball on a mace. On the inside there is a small amount of yellow filling. Catheleen picked some up at the market the other night. She tasted it and used sommelier terms like custard, butter, cream, ambrosia, and savoury onion. I tasted it and preferred descriptions like smelly, stinky, and awful. Supporting my case were signs at the train station specifically banning durian and other strong smelling items. The kids were not impressed either. After some complaints, Catheleen finished off the offending remainders from the fridge.