Kentucky Derby – Thai Style

This ranks up there above a trip to the zoo or a baseball game!  Once in a while, we stumble upon something that is so outrageously and intriguingly non-traditional and I realize my kids are in fact going to one day look back on this crazy unconventional childhood that they’ve had with fond and unique memories!

On Saturday, we attended the Kings Cup 13th Annual Elephant Polo Tournament.  An event that reportedly has grown in popularity over the years and for the first time ever, has been moved from neighboring Hua Hin to the city center of Bangkok.  Its where all the movers and shakers come to “see and be seen”.  Very Kentucky-Derby-ish!  Best part about it – it was free to the public and hosted by one of the posh hotel chains here, so it was super classy with lots of fun freebies!!

Carnival games, caricature drawings, popcorn, macaroons, and cucumber flavored ice cream….(ewww!)

The kids fed the elephants their popcorn….and Tristan got a little cucumber shower when one of the handlers fed an elephant his ice cream and apparently the elephant thought the flavor was revolting too!

I will say as a southern gal who lived my childhood next to a polo field and grew up picnicking on summer evenings and watching the thundering hooves of horses, that the game played by lackadaisical elephants was less than impressive.  Those beasts are beautiful but wouldn’t “move their bloomin’ arses”.

And there must be no job less glamorous than being the “pooper scooper” for these massive mammoths!  All the kids got a giggle seeing the guy who followed behind them with gloves up to his shoulder collecting enough compost to fertilize Central Park.

We’re super excited that we have family now in Bangkok!  C’s aunt and uncle have taken the pastorship of a church about an hour from us, so its really special to have family so far from home.  Gigi’s quite taken with Grandma Debbie!…..and with the elephants.  My Miss-Priss who won’t feed the baby goats at the zoo because she’s too scared, was right up there staring down the elephants!

The Muay Thai show provided additional entertainment and some new moves that the kids are now trying to execute (they forgot to offer the “do not try this at home kids” disclaimer)

I mean really……going to the zoo from now on and seeing elephants caged a hundred feet away will never hold the same appeal!

(C was away on a trip and Brit was helping with a charity bake sale this day which is why they’re excluded from pics….they missed out!!…….such a memory!  Who wants to come join us next year!?)