"Monkey Boxing", that's right, "Monkey Boxing"......

So now I had 3 more days to just enjoy Bangkok, maybe enjoy is not the right word, experience Bangkok may be a more appropriate term, not that I didn't love it there, I did, very very much..

I haven't really talked about the other amazing things I did and saw apart from the Floating Markets and The Lady Boys, but this was part medical treatment part holiday, and some of the things I saw blew my mind.

I also had the chance to go to Safari World, well, that place is one where you need to leave your Australian idea of animal ethics outside and accept that Thai people are different....

Firstly we saw "Monkey Boxing",that's right, "Monkey Boxing"......

They had Orangutans, my absolute favorite animal, dressed up, playing musical instruments  one was pretending to be a pole dancer !?!?!? and then having a boxing match...as much as I hate to admit it, it was entertaining, but I felt really bad watching it...That line from "Seinfeld" is very apt, Gross but strangely compelling.

We saw a seal show and an elephant show, I saw my first ever walrus, we feed some giraffes, I got chosen out of the crowd to kiss a dolphin, I got a kiss and a cuddle from an orangutan, I patted an elephant, and I held a baby tiger.

But the toughest thing I did was....I touched a BIRD!!!! Yes I did....it was too fast for a photo but I have witnesses to this event....I did this before my surgery, just to prove to myself I COULD DO ANYTHING!

I also visited Wat Pho, The Temple of the Reclining Buddha  and I found that place to be the most magical place I have ever been. The huge gold Buddha is a sight to behold, but the serenity and peace that is found in the secluded quiet gardens is beyond words, it was the most beautiful place I had ever sat, the surrounds and the energy were intoxicating. I visited there the day before my surgery and I dropped coins in the temple bowls and I was blessed by monks, it was so powerful I returned the morning of 29 January to say thank you.

I also visited Wat Arun, and got very sore legs as a result, but you must visit that place it so cool and old and I really liked it, you could feel the history. Nothing like Wat Pho, but still worth the sore legs and 50 baht.

I fell for the beggar bullshit pretty hard in the first few days then I decided to "Beggar Watch' instead of "People Watch", those people are making packets and they all seem to run to a dude every so often and give them loads of cash. Scammers. Dont get sucked in like me...thank you to a great Aussie Girl for helping me formulate a "Beggar Payment Plan", it saved me heaps!

The sex trade there is blatant and gross. I kind of thought I would feel that it was demeaning to the women but you know what, its not, its demeaning to the men. The dirty old western men. I don't really want to talk about it, it made me ashamed to be an Australian. It really did. And yes there were many many men with CHILDREN I do not believe were theirs... I did go and see  Ping Pong Show...and that is all Ill say...YUCK....but more disturbing were the offers of budgie and goldfish shows....I DON'T KNOW! DON'T ASK ME???? EEEEEWWWWWWW.....

Then of course there is the shopping, everything is cheap, and bargaining is fun, you will get lost and you will spend hours upon hours wandering the endless stalls...You can shop all day and get everything you want and still only spend a couple of hundred bucks, I'm talking 8 hours straight shopping!

Then there is the street food, the street stalls, the traffic, the tuk tuks, the scooters...its just an amazing place.

Not to mention the massages  I became a bit of a massage whore, but oh man, they were soooooo good and soooooo cheap...

There is also horrid poverty, disgusting pollution, stray dogs and cats by the thousands, not to mention the sex for sale and pickpockets.

My time in Bangkok has really changed me. It was confronting and scary but I triumphed and had an awesome time.

I got a tattoo to mark this adventure, it says "courage" in Thai....

I am so proud of myself.