Wild Wild World of Tiffany

One of the coolest things about our Asian travels is our access to animals. As many of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of animals. Due unknown reasons (possibly a weak PETA presence and legal systems that don't allow people to sue over missing fingers and rabies), I've had lots of opportunities to get my hands on lots of neat critters during the last few years. Here's a list of some of my favorites:

1. My best friend Kimmy and I came across a daily 'March of the Penguins' at a Japanese aquarium during our trip to Miyajima. Kim had to politely but firmly peel my fingers off this little guy in order to give the huge line of kids behind me a chance to get up close and personal with the little guy.

2. Sticking with aquatic themes, here I got to pet a very friendly dolphin in Indonesia. So soft and slippery!

3. After the dolphin incident, one of the trainers introduced me to Sandy, a quasi-pet monkey they had tied up. Zach was mentally chiding himself for not making me get rabies shots before moving to Asia as he saw me get up close and personal with Sandy. This was done with good reason, as right after this picture was taken, she but my finger. Fortunately, she didn't break the skin, as a safety precaution, we doused it with Purell and Zach watched me closely for a foaming mouth for a good week.

4. Zach kept me on a tight leash around monkeys after the biting incident, especially on our Cambodia trip, where they were often found meandering in the parks. Here I'm safely abiding by his monkey to Tiffany distance requests.

5. I got handed this adorable ball of fur during our trip to the Ice Festival in Haerbin. It was a money making ploy, but they picked the right target, as how could I not pay for a picture with this beautiful powder puff?

6. These guys weren't the softest, but they are the largest animals I've managed to pet (and bathe, and feed, and swim with). The Elephant Conservation Park in Thailand has by far been one of the coolest place we've visited on any of our trips, at least in my mind!

Next up on my animal wish-list: Koalas and Pandas!