TODAY I WENT TO THE ZOO-oops-I MEAN THE MARKET!

today i went to one of the biggest markets in asia called the "chatuchak" or 'weekend markets' here in bangkok.

i dont think there was anything there that you couldnt buy. it was insane.

there were dogs. cats. guinea pigs. chickens. ducks. parrots. sea snakes. normal snakes. turtles. albino turtles. tortises. porcupines. hamsters. stingrays. scorpians. spiders.

i felt really bad when i saw the animals they had for sale. None of them had water and they were all pantng, and cramped and overcrowed in thier cages.

the first photo is of baby rabbits in little bird cages. no water. no food. i promise you that some of them would have not made it through the day i am sure of it.

the next photo is of these squirrels. they were mostly in cages too but lots of them with soft ropes around their necks on top of the cages so you could pat them. they were really cute and grow up to be about the size of a chiauhau.

the last photo here is of some of the birds. it looks like these guys here are fresh out of the egg. there were birds of every shape and size. they even had two babie cockatoos god know show they scammed them into the country.

they also had every dog you could think of. huskies. chihuahuas. pug dogs. labradors. cockaspaniel. poodles. heaps of shi-tzu maltese.

i asked how much for the little chihuahua and he said 3,000B which is about $90.

of course i didnt buy it. but i do think that the animals we had at pets world in sydney were living a life of luxury. peolpe were buying the puppies and it made me think- the only pet dogs i have seen people have here are puppies. all the adult dogs are strays. i think we all know what happens to them once they are no longer cute little babies which is really sad.

there is not much you can do to stop it really other than not buy the animals.

aNyWaY!!!

i did buy one thing.

a piar of Lee jeans.

i know, i know. why am i buying more clothes when i have too many with me as it is?

well they were size 28 (a rare find) and i have ALWAYS wanted a pair but couldnt justify paying $250 for them. so i tried them on (just to see what they looked like) and then i thought ' if i cant bargain him down to 500B i am not buying them.

and so i think i have discovered the secret to bartering, and here is the big tip-

pretend you dont really like it.

if you act excited than they charge you more. if act all nochalant, they know they will have to offer you a bargain to make the sale.

i acted all casual like i didnt really like them and gave them back to him and said ' no i dont want them, how much are they?'

and he was 1,000B.

and i went " yeah look i dont really like them. sorry" and so he was all eager to drop the price and said "800B"

and i went and perked up a little bit and went " ummmmmmm" pretending i was considering it. and then went "no. no too expensive and i dont really like them."

then he said "how much you pay for them"

and i said "400B?"

he looked pained, like as if i had just whacked him in the stomache.

"600B" he pleaded.

"500B"

DEAL!

i think i have the knack of it.

i am only getting air conditioned taxis now. and i refuse to let them barter a price before i get in. i just say "no. we put the meter on." sometimes they whine a little first, but usaully they say o.k

if you ask for the meter they think you've been here for a while and know where you are going. even if they do drive you the long way it is ALWAYS cheaper then the original barter price.

hope your all well.

when i get to london i am going to try and find a job straight away. adam has moved into his boyfriends house so i wont be able to share a flat with him now. Oh well. i will meet more people if i am in backpacking places anyway.

so i will try and make it in brighton england first and if it all falls flat on my face go up to scotland after that.

xO