Yours truly is currently on a plane which left Detroit at 2pm today (well, or I will be shortly) and is headed towards Shanghai, China. I'm off to visit my parents in Suzhou and then a week each in Malaysian Borneo and Phi Phi/Koh Phenang Thailand. I'm so unbelievably psyched! I'm posting an open thread on China, Malaysia, and Thailand for anyone who is familiar with the area to give me tips about what to see/do/eat/dance/drink/etc. I'll be live blogging my trip (when I have access to the internet that is) so stay tuned for some funny stories and photos from the other side of the world.
Now, as I was packing last night and didn't have a lot of energy to type out a lengthy post, you get a nice little bit of parrot-related oddness instead.
Police arrested Edven Wallace Boutilier, 47, for aggravated assault domestic after he threw a knife at his wife during the argument. The knife punctured the woman's right big toe, McManus said. Boutilier's wife had accused him of letting the pet parrot go, he said.
"He said that he was glad the bird was gone, that it was a stupid bird," McManus said. "And she basically said, 'Well I was kind of stupid to marry you.' " [Sounds like she finally wised up.]
During the argument, Boutilier got a knife from the kitchen and threatened to cut open the couch his wife was sitting on, before throwing the knife at her, McManus said.
Now birds *can* be aggravating. I mean, there's the squawking and the feathers, and don't even get me started on the poop. But thats no excuse to resort to domestic violence. Next time you feel like picking up a Bowie knife and hurtling it at your loved one's toes, please, stop and go punch a pillow instead.
Happily, no parrot was harmed in this knife fight.
It was probably a good thing that the parrot wasn't there to witness the scene. If it had learned any language, it would have been repeating "it was a mistake to marry you" over and over. That wouldn't bode well for the parrot, what with all the knives lying around. Sad.
What a sweet trip you have ahead of you. I lived in Malaysia for a while, but i never made it over to Sabah or Sarawak (you don't specify which you are going to).
In general, i would make sure you get to one night market, see as many religious places as you can (Buddhist, Sikh, Confucian, Hindu, or animist are all represented well), eat as much fresh fruit as you can stand, and leave the beaten path as often as possible.
Enjoy! I'm so envious!
Cool! I am also envious, BUT, I would stay away from as many religious places as you can! Heck, you can see plenty of that crazy stuff right here.
I second the night market trip. You can find some amazing stuff in them for good prices. Buddhist temples are also fantastic to visit.
Parrots are not good at knife fights, what with no opposable thumbs, or hands for that matter. Don't turn your back on those pandas though.
If there's not a monkey in the knife fight, i am not interested