This Little Froggy Went To Market In Phuket..

By Author: Rebecca Smith
Total Articles: 151
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A couple of weeks ago I was at the market in Patong.

I was poking around the fish section when I noticed a box full of live frogs.

And then I remembered the ‘frog-on-a-stick’ I wrote to you about a few weeks ago.

(If you missed it you can read it here).

http://blog.phuketoceanvillas.com/hidden-phuket-food-curious-food/

They were all crammed in and looked really sad.

So I asked the guy how much they cost.

He looked at me like I was crazy. I suppose he doesn't get many foreign women buying his frogs.

"120 Baht a kilo, one frog - about 30 Baht" he replied.

I guess he thought I wanted to put them on a stick and barbecue them.

I’d already noticed one. He was a big one - right in the middle of the box - and he looked really, really sad.

He’d need a friend, right? So I picked another.

The stall owner was a bit rough with them. He bundled them into a plastic bag and sealed it tightly.

I asked him if they'd be ok. I was worried they might suffocate. He just nodded and smiled; "yes, Yes, YES".

But I wasn't convinced because he ...
... probably thought I wanted to cook them.

So I paid him. Didn't wait for my change. And ran to my car.

I was making good time and there was plenty of rustling coming from the bag so I started to calm down a bit.

Then I hit a traffic jam.

I didn’t know what to do. So I turned the air conditioning on full. Don't ask me why - I just thought it might help.

I considered opening the bag for a minute. But then I imagined two large frogs jumping around in the car whilst I tried to drive. I decided against it.

Luckily the traffic cleared quickly.

When I was almost home, there was a loud bang and I thought the bag had burst. But when I arrived, it was ok. And there was still plenty of movement inside.

I ran down to the pond and set them free.

I felt pretty pleased with myself. And decided to call them Sonny and Cher.

But I made a big mistake...

I forgot to tell my Thai staff.

The next afternoon my gardener and handyman, Jock, said to me: "There are frogs in the pond. Did you buy them?"

"Yes, I rescued them" I said proudly.

"They'll probably hop off" he said.

I thought that was a strange comment. But he's Thai so he probably knows frogs better than me.

A little later my maid, Kaew, said something similar; "they'll probably hop off you know".

I started to get suspicious. I'd just bought two frogs which are a delicacy for the Thais. So I went to check the pond.

There was Sonny relaxing in the cool water. But I couldn't see Cher anywhere.

To be honest, I was a bit upset.

I hadn't told Jock and Kaew that I'd bought Sonny and Cher to set them free. They may have had Cher for lunch - literally!

But let’s assume that Cher “hopped off” to a better place and is enjoying her new found freedom.

That was a few weeks ago.

Sonny is still in the pond. I say hello to him every day.

This is a picture of him...

http://blog.phuketoceanvillas.com/this-little-froggy-went-to-market-in-phuket/#sonny

I also see his friends at the market, but I try not to look too closely.

I only have so much pond space at my house. And I don't want to get a reputation as some mad foreign woman who buys all the frogs.

Mind you...

The other day I saw some turtles at the market. I don't know if they'll live in a pond - but I'll let you know.

http://blog.phuketoceanvillas.com/this-little-froggy-went-to-market-in-phuket/
Rebecca Smith is a real estate journalist and author with over 15 years’ experience. She has published 3 books to date:

'The Definitive Guide to buying property in Thailand'
http://blog.oceanvillasgroup.com/the-definitive-guide-to-buying-property-in-thailand/

'10 simple ways to slash your marketing costs and sell more property'
http://www.ovgmarketing.com/10-simple-ways-to-slash-your-marketing-costs-and-sell-more-property/

'The Definitive Guide to buying property in Phuket'
http://blog.phuketoceanvillas.com/the-definitive-guide-to-buying-property-in-phuket/

Rebecca is currently the sales director for Ocean Villas Group and Phuket Ocean Villas.