For Sale: Fireworks. Only Used Once.

Hey so in case you have been wondering why we havent posted anything for a while, it's cos we are busy enjoying one our favorite spots on earth (so far) - Koh Samui in Thailand. nice little island where the people are friendly, the beer is cheap and the beaches are like something off a postcard.

but I think we can go into more detail about samui in a later post, since we still have some time left to enjoy here. I just thought I'd post something about some of the interesting stuff that is for sale in Thailand, that isn't as easily available in a place like Australia.

For a start there are weapons. Not real guns, no that would be dangerous. Just tazers, crossbows, battle axes, katanas, wicked looking slingshots, flick knives, butterfly knives and of course nightsticks. these guys love their weapons, and they sell them just about anywhere. Not out the back of some guy's boot in the parking lot of a dodgy pub or something, but on tables outside the local supermarket in broad daylight. "Would you like a flick-knife with your groceries?".

Also there are the movies, games, and any other software based multimedia that exists on earth, all of which can be easily acquired from your friendly local pirate, and there are a lot of those. of course, most of the the latest movies are all cam jobs, with people standing up in front of the screen and pretty much ruining the whole movie, but when you are only paying about $3 australian for it, you cant really complain too much. One interesting thing about this little industry is that every now and again it seems to get cracked down on. in the ten days we have been in samui for so far, there was a period of two days where every pirated DVD seller in town shut down shop. we asked what was up after they reopened, and the response we got from the guy was him slapping his wrists together (handcuffs i think he was referring to) and him saying 'problem'. hmmm. yeah obviously not a big one if you can all reopen after 48 hours.

Next up would be the apparel. Now i dont tend to get too excited about all this 'fashion' stuff, despite being a pretty snappy dresser myself most of the time, but when you see a rolex for about AU$30, you know that it's a bargain. also there are the other big brand name copies all around town that most people know; Gucci, Tommy, Quicksilver, Diesel, blah blah blah. all that jazz. all fake, but hey, most tourists are just buying them as presents for their relatives at home, so what do they care? personally, i think ill stick to singlets bearing the logos of local beer brands, since that is a far more classy way to dress.

Lastly (for now at least), there are the fireworks. yep. lovely, lovely bundles of blazing joy. they have small ones, big ones, ridiculous ones in all shapes and sizes. they have bungers the size of your head and bigger ones as tall as me, and all at very reasonable prices. people tend to just let them off on the beach at night, but also, chinese people buy them a lot to celebrate birthdays and other special events. lots of fun. There are whole shops dedicated to selling this stuff, and boy do they do a good trade.

Cant wait till we explore Bangkok and find out what other pirated goods are available. till then, i have to go shopping for a new crossbow.

have fun :)

//Brendan