This is really bugging me!

Gotcha! I'm not really going to have a whinge, I've been going through photos from when JJ was here and completely forgot to post about the Siam Insect Zoo...which is on the way to Maesa Elephant Camp.

The zoo/museum is a small affair which appeared to be somewhat family run. The owner/collector happily filled us in on some of the non dead creeping, crawling displays on show, inside the building. Regrettably, many of the photos weren't up to par because of the protective glass.

Note the two butterflies on the right, one male, impaled on a pretty pink sewing pin and one female. Now look at the butterfly on the left. Half male, half female, or super glue?

Elephant on Thipanet Road

The other night on the way home from dinner we saw this on one of Chiang Mai's busy, busy roads. The elephant is only young and the mahout seems to be trying to sell food to locals, so they can in turn, feed it.

It's something I thought was reserved for tourist areas. I don't condone it, but thought you might like to take a look.

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai

Videos - Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Kanchanaburi...sort of. 2009

....still uploading old videos, finished now, I promise! 

On the last leg of our Thailand holiday we went out to Ayutthaya. 'I' could have spent days out there if it weren't for the heat, I love old architecture, especially if its crumbling. We arrived by mini bus at which time our tour guide diligently dispensed round stickers to our shirts...so we knew who we were! Stray offered to afix mine and proceeded to adhere it to my..well, not in an appropriate place. I could have and should have smacked him up side the head, but there were witnesses.

After visiting a Wat (one that was rebuilt after the Burmese burnt it down)...I cant remember the names and feel a little ashamed, but one can get a bit Watted out  after a while, we headed to one of the large ruin sites right next door. Wat Phra Si Sanphet?

Dragon Fruit Tree

This post should really be called 'Dragon Fruit Plant on a Tree'. Two posts ago I replied to a comment and mentioned our Dragon Fruit plant (Pitaya) and how the only fruit we ever see are small and pathetic, and on the ground, along with ginormous dead flowers. I first tasted the white fleshed variety in China, without it's skin and cut up, so didn't recognise it at the time. Twenty or more years ago I planted a small piece of the Pitaya cactus at the base of a gum tree.

This is the way a fruit bearing DF plant should look, neat, trimmed and well maintained.

Videos - Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia, Brunei 2008

...more videos and a few photos.

Apart from the pea soup atmosphere (humidity) in Borneo, I loved the Malaysian part of the country. OK...I liked all of the areas of Borneo we visited.

Looking left out of the hotel window to the resort area of KK.

It's alive...or it used to be!

Spring cleaning again. This post used to be a page and is dedicated to strange fruits, odd plants, interesting food and anything that is or was, once alive!

A butterfly that wouldn't leave us alone. Monkey Waterfall Vietnam.

Langsat, tastes like citrus and grape and splits into segments. Malaysia. (not my photo, I couldn't find mine, but I ate plenty of them)

One Elephant Fish on a platter. I felt a bit sorry for it, nobody wanted to buy it for lunch. Mekong Delta Vietnam.

Frogs at a Hanoi market. They were alive a few seconds before this, and skinless.

Crispy Pancakes or Khanom bueng, a Thai dessert.

Unusually scalloped bark. Shanghai China

Sorting tiny crabs from the even tinier crabs. Hanoi Vietnam

Part of the spread at the temple.  Hanoi Vietnam.

Large grapes, funny leaf. Hanoi Vietnam

Keeping the prawns fresh. Hanoi Vietnam

Pomelo...yum, like giant Grapefruit but not very sour. Hanoi Vietnam

The jackfruit in Vietnam (Artocarpus heterophyllus or A. heterophylla) is a species of tree in the mulberry family (Moraceae), which is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh. It is well suited to tropical lowlands. Its fruit is the largest tree borne fruit in the world, seldom less than about 25 cm (10 in) in diameter. Thank you Wikipedia.

Mangrove roots. Brunei Borneo

Giant moth. Brunei Borneo

Laksa. Brunei Borneo

Donut lady. Mekong Delta Vietnam

Nem Nuong (Nem nướng) is grilled meatballs, usually made of seasoned pork mince, on a skewer of lemon grass stalk. Slide it off into a rice paper wrapper, top with salad greens, herbs and rice noodles and roll up. Then dip into peanut sauce and eat. Hue Vietnam.

Some sort of flossy edible at the market, probably some type of sprout? Hoi An Vietnam.

Vietnamese coffee in the making. Really strong, really sweet and really addictive.

Part of the lovely gift given to me by Dung's Mum. Sapodila plum (Vietnameme: "quả hồng xiêm" or "quả sapoche") Plum = quả. Hoi An Vietnam.

Part of the feast Huong cooked for us. Some type of Vietnamese shellfish. Que Nhon Vietnam.

They don't look that nice, but taste great. They are Hong Deo...dried persimmons. Da Lat Vietnam.

Cooked Duck embryos..yes, that's right, chicks cooked in their shell. Saigon Vietnam.

The makings of Nasi Lamak in Christina's kitchen. Kuching Borneo.

Lichen and moss. Kuching Borneo.

Fresh ingredients at the Top Spot restaurant. Kuching Borneo.

Ready to go into the steam boat. Kuching Borneo.

The steamboat.

Offerings to Buddha...note the chicken! Nha Trang Vietnam.

Same same but different! Thailand.

Tom Yum Khung soup on the boil. Chiang Mai Thailand.

Please let me sleep. Still not sure if they were drugged or not.Chiang Mai Thailand.

Awww...how cute and definitely not drugged. Kanchanaburi Thailand.

A young goanna in our front yard. Australia.

'Outside' a shop, at the bottom of a pillar...a fish tank with a lone goldfish in residence. Bangkok Thailand.

Huge prawns on the go. Bangkok Thailand.

One of my daily bouquets...thanks Stray! Thailand.

Lunch. Golden Triangle Thailand.

Pho Chien Phong. Yum! Deep fried squares of rice noodle topped with slivers of beef and water spinach. Hanoi Vietnam

Bot Chien. Fried squares of carrot cake (not the type we know) mixed with an egg and served on a bed of shredded ??? salad. Saigon Vietnam

Wellington New Zealand

Dunedin New Zealand.

Swiss said...

i laughed so much when i saw those persimmons. you were right, unsightly. but you cant keep a good persimmon down.

i never knew what they were called but i also had the Langsat and had forgotten about them until now.

great pictures!! and the coffee has flared up my addiction... i might have to go brew a cup. i brought whole bags of khmer and vietnamese coffee back to the US with me, and some bags also for my mom which i am bringing back to her next week. i cant wait. she's the kingpin of coffee drinking and will go crazy for this.

i loved reading this!

m

August 15, 2010 3:32 AM

Snap said...

I know what you mean about the coffee! I bought one those coffee makers home with me and am lucky enough to have a friend in Vung Tau (VN) who sends me supplies.