Leid Then Kissed

It is 7 p.m. The sun has been gone for over an hour and, showered and dressed, I am about to search for food.

My day began at 7 a.m. with a massive buffet breakfast loaded with lots of goodies I choose not to eat, but there was more than enough choices I liked to give me a good start to the day. I tried oatmeal for the first time, plenty of fresh fruit and fruit juice, linguine in a wild-mushroom cream sauce, sushi and a traditional Thai omelet with a side of shrimp-fried rice. Sipping tea on the terrace in 90% humidity, I was entertained by a woman playing a traditional Thai instrument (which looked like a hammer dulcimer) and Lilly & Lucky, two young elephants who live here at the resort.

It wasn’t long before I joined the crowd of children and adults wanting to get a little closer to the gentle beasts. I didn’t find out which elephant was which but I am hoping the one that kissed me was Lilly. Yep, you read right. One of the very playful elephants’ party tricks is a kiss. They bark, pose for photos and love to be fed bananas. The elephant wraps it’s trunk around your neck to lock you in, and then pops one – straight on the lips. Actually, it was more of a vacuum sensation – three times. It was gross but it makes for good writing.

My lunch, which I ate at the pool (where I spent the better part of six hours), may shock you. Thai-style noodles (another first time) with random seafood in oyster sauce with chilies. It was really good. In fact, my only complaint was that there wasn’t enough on the plate.

I was so hungry at that point that I ate everything in sight – including the octopus tentacles.

Go figure!