As I have said before – and known to those who have visited Thailand – it is estimated there are approaching 1 million stray soi (street) dogs roaming the highways and byways of this beautiful country. Most of these are feral but a few are, sadly, abandoned or lost pets. One such animal arrived at our house the other day from goodness knows where and as soon as we opened the gate to let ourselves in, waltzed in with us! Our new next door neighbour, who happens to be be a semi retired French vet, gave our new found friend the once over and declared it to be a her, approximately 1 year old and neutered and who had clearly been well looked after.
Of course, once we started feeding Miss Dog, she realized she was onto a good thing so was never going to leave. So we started asking around the neighbourhood (and posted on Facebook) if anyone had lost a slightly nervous but otherwise very friendly pet. Nothing doing so Miss Dog clearly considered herself to be a permanent resident in our home which, with our planned overseas trip looming, didn’t suit us at all. Then, obviously not satisfied with the meals we were providing, Miss Dog took to chewing anything in sight whilst we were asleep.
Apparently, this is a sign of canine anxiety which is all very well and perhaps understandable but I suspect made us more anxious then her. So Miss Dog had to go. Our first attempt at achieving this failed miserably. Our security guard picked up the pooch (literally) and told us he would take her to a pet rescue centre. Within 45 minutes, Miss Dog was back again. Finally, 2 days later, the guard arrived once more but this time with a proper collar and lead. Our very disgruntled house guest was then led away and, so far at least, has not been seen again.
The other day, a group of us hired a proper working fishing boat
and went out into the deep. This was a first for me so I had visions of hauling in some enormous Tuna but it was not to be!
The camera, though, can be a great liar so we have fooled some people with this photo whereas in reality, this catch cannot have been more than 30cm long!
Nokky looked the part, though,
and it was a nice sunny, relaxing day but after 4 or 5 hours, boredom took over
so we headed back to shore with our less than inspiring catch,
At least it was enough for a BBQ and to make a delicious fish soup.
Our Toyota pick up truck is quite an expensive beast to run for our needs so we agreed to sell it to Nokky’s brother who wanted such a vehicle for his expanding construction business and have bought ourselves a more economical second hand SUV instead.
We did consider buying an even more economical vehicle
but felt it might be just a bit impractical – especially if we ever have family or friends coming to stay!
A few days after this purchase, in absolutely typical Thai style, 10 (or was it 11) brothers, sisters, aunts, nieces, mothers and a couple of friends to help with the driving arrived on our doorstep at 6.30 am to collect the truck having driven non stop and overnight the 650 odd kms from their hometown in Isaan, way north of Bangkok. Within minutes of their arrival cooking was under way
followed swiftly by an hour or so of family eating
all done, in typical northern Thailand style, sitting on the floor! Still a little strange to me as we have got two perfectly good dining tables but this is the Isaan way of doing things and I have to say, all very convivial.
A couple of hours later and they were gone! So, app 650kms to get to us, a few hours spent recharging their batteries followed by another 10 or so hours drive back home. Are they crazy or what??!
As is common in this part of the world, our house is home to a number of little geckos who roam about the walls at night feasting off mosquitos and other insects. Apart from leaving a bit of a mess (!) they don’t cause any trouble so are most welcome. On the other hand, their much bigger (up to 30cm in length) cousin, the Tokay gecko can be quite vicious if threatened
and can inflict a bite – albeit non poisonous- that you would certainly remember! And, as was experienced by a friend of mine when we were hacking around on the golf course the other day, once these creatures get their teeth into you (literally), they just don’t want to let go!
We are ever hopeful that our plan for a visit to Europe in April will actually happen this time (after a few false starts, courtesy of Mr Covid and the Variants). So, with good luck and a following wind, when I write again we may have some good news about Nokky’s visas so can start doing some serious planning.
Until then
R
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