Day 8: Thailand
From: Dandelion Snailrider To: Mr. A-- Subject: Day 8: Conversations with Elephants Date: December 17, 2002 Dear Mr. A--, Well, Moscow was certainly an interesting place! However, I found that it was a bit chilly for my tastes, and so, of course, I had to move on, leaving behind the young ones Ivan, Boris, and Dandelion behind. Our parting was joyful indeed! It was a slow journey from Moscow to my next destination. The Dread Snail Roberts, even with his new name and his strong constitution (fortified by a rare Muscovite vegetarian mushroom haggis), he was still quite slow. Slower than usual, in fact: we didn't make it any further than Thailand. Once in Thailand, I set about searching for a sign post like the one I found at the North Pole which would show me the distance to various places. The directions that my friends in Moscow gave me told me to take a left in Sri Lanka, but I believe I may have taken a wrong turn. Attached is a photograph of myself at a local elephant camp. Did you know that they have these in Thailand? It turns out that they have clever animal camps for all sorts of creatures, including elephants, macaques, and certain mollusks. Sadly, Patagonian warrior snails are not among that list, so the Dread Snail Roberts is understandably a bit miffed. However, it occurs to me that perhaps the majority of the slugs and other invertebrates invading Campbell may be sent to Thailand for re-education. At any rate, I engaged this friendly elephant rider in conversation, and he gave me directions from Thailand to Sri Lanka, from where I can easily get to Campbell! I do hope you're doing well. It's been quite an interesting trip! I hope I can arrive in Campbell in time for Christmas! Sincerely yours, Dandelion Snailrider