Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

The Big Buddha, near Phuket in Thailand sits on a hill and is visible for miles. I love the serene expression on his face.

Here’s a model of the entire area, which gives an idea of exactly how big the big buddha is.

What do you think of his expression?

Hubby and I during an elephant ride in Phuket, Thailand.

My photo this week was taken in Phuket, Thailand.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

While we were in Phuket we did a day trip to PhiPhi Island and motored past PhiPhi Lei shown in the photos below. The locals harvest the bird’s nests to make the famous bird nest soup. The nests are made by swifts using saliva and you can see them hanging down from the cave ceilings.

The soup supposedly has many health properties such as aiding digestion and improving the immune system. Here’s a link to a recipe for the soup.

I’ve never tried bird’s nest soup, and I’m not sure I want to. It’s meant to be a gelatine-like substance and is full of iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Have you ever tasted Bird’s Nest soup?

One of the things I wanted to do when we visited Phuket was ride an elephant again. We managed to get a cheap deal for our holiday because it was monsoon season. The first day in Phuket it rained quite heavily and I was a bit worried it would spoil our ride. As it happened I needn’t have worried because the sun shone as we set out for our hour long ride.

This is hubby and I on our elephant.

This is the view from the top. I have to add that I didn’t feel very safe and the ground looked a long way down! An elephant’s skin is very rough and it feels abrasive to the touch, almost like sandpaper. It’s also very bristly.

Our elephant had freckles. He was very cute.

This is our mahout–the elephant driver.

This is the end of our elephant ride and me saying goodbye to our mount. I enjoyed the ride, but I was pleased to stand on my own two feet again.

Resting up after the road with a small snack to pass the time.

Would you like to ride an elephant?

This week I have photos of two different critters taken during my recent holiday in Phuket.

I think this is a type of Kingfisher. He sat very still while we kayaked around him and took lots of photos.

We hired a tuk-tuk to go the a restaurant and watch the sunset. This was one of the elephants we saw on the way there. He’s bedded down for the night with his dinner at his feet.

To visit other Camera Critters go here.

I’m so excited – no, I haven’t sold another book. In fact I’ve been receiving a lot of rejections, but I’m not talking about those today. No, I’m not. Hubby came home last night and said, “How would you like to go on holiday in September?”

“September?” I said. “I thought we weren’t going on holiday again until next September.”

He grinned at me and said, “How would you feel about Phuket in Thailand?”

My answer was yes. (of course!) and so long story short, we’ll be jetting off to Singapore and Thailand in September for 11 nights. I’m really excited since we haven’t been to Phuket. We’ve visited Bangkok and also Singapore, but Phuket is new territory.

A few days ago Sandra Cox posted the following called Ever Wonder? It made both hubby and I chuckle, so I thought I’d repost for your enjoyment.

EVER WONDER …

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can’t put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don’t you ever see the headline ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?
Why is ‘abbreviated’ such a long word?
Why is it that doctors call what they do ‘practice’?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?
Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes? -
Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?

I wondered recently what Samoan men wear under their lava-lavas. In fact, I’m still wondering because I didn’t like to ask…

What have you wondered recently?