in thailand, you c...

in thailand, you can float down canals past the buddhist temples and feed bread to the fish that live in the water. you sit in a rickety boat with other tourists and there are hundreds of white fish that bubble to the surface, for one second the water is calm and then you throw your pieces of bread as far as you can and everywhere around you splashes and jumps and explodes with excitement. somehow i think the experience is supposed to be soothing and life-affirming, like we as the general westernized public should appreciate this twisted circle of life concept where they keep the fish to entertain the tourists but i just thought it was a little bit frightening. when i was a little girl, i used to have nightmares about monsters under the water, maybe it felt just a little bit too close for comfort because i haven't eaten another fish since..the water is so dirty that it is the colour of weak chocolate milk. there used to be a water market that you could actually go and enjoy but the government shut down that practice due to pollution.