As smart as a buffalo

Where does this phrase come from?

No idea!

But I don't care.

I disagree, anyway.

Water buffaloes are smart, cute and can be trained. Well, they can't jump through a fire hoop or stand on two legs like a dog or play football and paint like an elephant.

But a water buffalo can smile.

Yeah, I mean "smiling" when his round shiny harmless eyes close and you can see his big yellow teeth.

Just invest a bit of time if you want to see the smile with your own eyes. Otherwise, you can see it from my (un) professional photo.

First, find a victim to drive you to Buffalo Village in Suphan Buri which is two or three hours drive from Bangkok, depending on the year and model of the car and the speeding bravery of the poor driver.

Then pay an admission fee including a 30-minute-long buffalo show which is as cheap as Bt50 for Thais (if I don't remember it wrong). I'm not sure how much farangs pay but I bet it costs more. There are some sorts of weird "buffalo" in this country who believe that farangs earn more so they must be treated fairly by charging at least double.

Besides the smiling buffalo, you'll see the kneeling-down-and-crouching buffalo, the climbing-ladder buffalo, the standing-on-a-stool buffalo, the lifting-leg buffalo and the albino buffalo.

And I was so lucky that day! I saw the pooping buffalo as well.

The show is worth it, but since I went there near to closing time and it was raining, I didn't have a chance to walk around the village so I can't say if it's okay.

Driving a couple hours only to see the "stupid" buffalo may be "stupid" for some people but Suphan Buri is not a bad place. Check it out in the TAT website and you may find yourself in a different mood, yearning for fresh open air, not being tanned by air-con and so pale roaming the city's shopping malls.

Who says "as stupid as a buffalo"?

I'd say as smart (and cute) as the buffy.