Why am I not an Animal Lover Again?

So, after a lovely breakfast buffet and a bit of puttering in the room, Julie and I explored our environs some today. We spent a little over an hour walking around the center of ChonBuri, the city the hotel is located in. And what an experience it was.

First of all, may I take a moment to say that I love the way that first world nations handle their sewage. Not that there is a major problem with how it is handled here, just that walking past grates in the streets in more, um, fragrant. More than making up for that, however, are the multiple street vendors with their curries and meats and fruits of various sizes and colors. Nothing was purchased from any of them today, but the experience was more than worth it just to see what was being offered.

A Thai shopping mall, for the record, is very unlike an American one. Rather than a collection of shops that share a common building, here it is a series of shops that make up entire city blocks. Most are separate physically from one another only because of shared walls, but they all face outwards. Walking around at 1100 was likely a mistake, however, as it was quite warm and the natives all gave us strange looks for being out and about and active. I am sensing that excursions in the neighborhood will likely happen earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon for the rest of our stay.

One of the very interesting differences between Thailand and the US is the prevalence of random dogs here. During our hour of walking, we came across four dogs in various stances - from the black and white dog that was sacked out next to one of the shops to the brown mama dog wandering around saying hi to everyone. It was clear that the dogs belonged to no one in particular, however none of them appeared unhealthy or unhappy in any way. They had good body weight and none seemed inclined to snatch food from any of the food stalls. Clearly, they are looked after by the locals without regard for ownership or anything else. A lovely thing to see and something I wish there was more of in the States. There would be far less overcrowding in shelters, if nothing else.

For the record, there are both a KFC and a Pizza Hut within easy walking distance of the hotel. Both scare me a little bit, however, and I think that I will skip them.

Also, is it wrong that I am vastly amused by the Gideon placed New Testament in this hotel room and wish there was a copy that I could buy to take home with me?

Now it is almost time for me to hit the hay. Tomorrow we are planning on taking the bus into Bangkok and seeing the Grand Palace. I want to be well rested for that.

:)