Barracuda Delight

Well, I spent the last couple of days on the beach most of the day. Yesterday I got a little too much sun. So, today, I'm staying off the beach to give my back a little break. I finally opened up the book I brought to read. Until now, we've been so busy that I haven't had time to read. The other night we had fresh fish for dinner. We got to pick out what we wanted to eat and then they cook it for us. We had butter fish baked in a banana leaf, barracuda grilled with butter and garlic and prawns also grilled with butter and garlic. The dinner also came with rice and french fries (they call them finger chips here.) It was really good. The butter fish was a little like cod. The barracuda is a little more oily, but firm. It had a great taste. Of course the prawns were wonderful.

01 Fishing For Dinner

We went to a Kathakali show last night. This is a traditional temple dance. It was really different from anything I've seen before. We arrived a little early so we could watch some of the makeup preparation. They used these old plastic rice sacks that were fairly stiff, gathered them fan style and then wrapped them to their waste to create a wide type of tutu. Then they draped fabric over this to create a wide skirt. They wore lots of decorations on their bodies as well. They had on so much clothes and ornaments I don't know how they kept from keeling over from heat exhaution. They use highly exaggerated facial expressions to denote emotion and there is no words used. Instead they hoot and whoop and use their hands and face to explain the story. I forgot to mention that they apply a lot of makeup to their faces and they insert a tiny bit of a special seed to caause the whites of their eyes to turn red. So, they look pretty creepy too. The flirting and weeping facial expressions are really good. I couldn't help from laughing when they would act out flirting because it is oh so expressive. It would make me want to blush. The music was live and actually part of the story telling. The music was used to emphasize the dancers actions and mood. There were two different types of drums and cymbals. That's all that was needed and it was amazing how well they were synchronized with each other and the dancers.

02 Barracuda Dinner

Today Kenny Lee and I went to an elephant festival. They bring elephants from all over to compete in a contest, sort of like a dog show. There are three prices given. They have a parade with floats and then all the elephants march to a road intersection and then they all line up for the judges. There were around fifty elephants in this parade. I have never seen so many elephants at one time. It was very impressive. The floats were very different, but fun. This festival was so crowded that I started getting a little nervous that we would get trampled. It was yet another great experience.

03 Sword Fish Perhaps

04 Kathakali Dancer

05 Spooky Dancer

06 Posturing

07 Elephant Festival Floats

08 Elephants on Display

09 Problem Elephant