Larry and Larna's BEEG Adventure: Caves, colour and creatures

Hi guys it's Larna writing this entry. Just wanted to share a few random things about our 3 weeks in Thailand now that its virtually over. Firstly, my favourite things about the trip (in no particular order):

Banana pancakes from the street stalls all covered in sweetened condensed milk - mmmmmm
I saw a baby elephant - something I've never had the luck to see before and it was amazing.
Washing and swimming with the elephants (that's an obvious one for anyone that has known me for more than a minute!)
How much bold and bright colour there is - on the houses, especially the boats and tuk-tuks.....everywhere.
The amazing caves full of stalactites and mites - and bats - just incredible.
The transport: fast boat rides down the canals, elephant back, crazy tuk-tuk rides (so long as they aren't tricking you by taking you to tailors or gem factories instead of where you want to go!), the death rail train, riding in the back of a ute with nothing to hold on to...that sort of (life-threatening) thing.
There are dogs for Africa - literally dogs everywhere; in the streets, on the beach, on tables even......usually scratching themselves or just collapsed in the heat but still looking pretty cute all the same.
The way the Thai just man-handle you if the situation calls for it, which it seems to very often. I mean like when you need to climb in or out of a boat, or if you're afraid to do something like stand on the back of a bathing elephant (next thing I knew I was being lifted by the armpits to standing position) or if you're having communication difficulties they'll often show you by physically making you do what it is they're trying to explain. And this wasn't man-handling but when the guy put the monkey on me even though I protested (to be fair, I probably had 'eager' written all over my face - I wouldn't be surprised). Anyway I know it sounds like a negative thing but it was always pretty funny and I had to respect it really because it always ended up being helpful....a bit like a parent who knows what is best for a protesting child or something.
How precarious and make-shift all the buildings and bridges and ramps across things seem - and yet they don't seem to break but it's always at the back of my mind when I'm standing on one.
Old-fashioned coke and fanta bottles....even though they're recycled to the point of fading or maybe even because of that...so nostalgic.

Those are just the things I can think of right now. A few other things to stick in my mind:

The hotest thing I had to eat was a pizza - I was honestly in agony after my second bite and had to order milk to cool my tongue. I bit right into a sneaky chilli hiding under a basil leaf. It was 5 x hotter than any of the Thai food I had! Larry found it hot even after all the chillis were carefully removed (no way was I going to try and finish it).
I was pouring our muesli one morning when I noticed that there was a rather chunky gecko spread-eagled inside the plastic packet. Needless to say I got a bit of a fright and was put off my cereal! Not that I don't really like them cos I do......just not for breakfast.
I remembered that on a boat ride down a canal in Bangkok that the roof of the boat had been pulled down (they pull a lever and the whole thing kind of leans forwards) to fit under a bridge. We had been sitting on the way to our destination so it didn't affect us but on the way back we were standing and when I saw the bridge coming I squatted and began warning Larry that I was sure this was where the roof comes down.....but by then it had hit him hard on the head. hehe. Naturally I laughed until the pain subsided and he stopped rubbing his head.
Meeting Trico the little Spanish dog who has been travelling with his owners for 8 years all around the world....I wish I could do that with Violet and Crunchie!
An elephant walked down the main street of Krabi one night with neon lights on his back...I didn't catch what he was advertising.
Ronald McDonald has his hands in prayer-form.

Again that's just a few things that come to mind right now though I'm sure there must be much more. But now for a few choice picks out of the 586 photos I took...so hard to choose....

How amazing is this lizard? He was about a meter long. And check out the plumage!