Local Wildlife

So I've had some pretty close encounters with some big species here in Thailand, but one thing you notice when you are here is the adundance of more familiar animals, namely cats and dogs. There are a lot of stray cats and dogs here, A LOT. They are all over the place, in stores, on the street, even in restaurants. Most restaurants are outside so it's not uncommon for a dog or cat to come wandering in and nobody bats an eye. They don't beg for food either, which I find strange. The place I am staying now has 20 cats owned between the 2 families that work there. Speutering animals is apparently not feasible for many people nor is flea medication, which makes it hard to resist tiny little mews or yips.

In Ko Phangan, there was a dog that I thought was a stray and then found out it belonged to someone who worked for the resort. He would walk through the bungalows and if anyone was sitting on the porch reading or hanging out, he would walk up and plop down on the doormat. I think he was lonely.

Right now there is a black cat named Mai Tai who follows me and curls up next to me when I read on my porch. I scratch him and he purrs like crazy and will then sneak into my room and lay on the cool tile in the bathroom. I feel bad when I have to remove him to lock up before going anywhere because the tile must feel like heaven compated to hot sand. So cute! It makes me miss all the City Kitty action back in Philly.

The bar a few doors away has puppies that are sooo adorable, but a close-up revealed fleas so I held one for a bit, but then released him, hoping I haven't picked up any visitors. I know I'm going to get a raging case of ringworm, but if you can get morphine at the local pharmacy, then I'm sure I can find something to take care of it. I hope.

On the beach, there are these tiny (size of pinky finger or smaller) clear crabs that wash up on the beach and then realize, "Shit, I'm on the beach!" and go running back to the ocean. When you walk along the beach near the surf, they scurry off when you get too close and boy are they fast, suprisingly so. You all of a sudden see this tiny ghostlike creature haul ass to the sea. Its like when props peel off a maul or pickup a ball from the back of a ruck and start tearing down the weakside and you hear everyone say, "I didn't know they could run that fast" and the prop has that panicked look on their face like, "Shit, how did I end up running with the ball?" and starts looking for people to pass it too, but nobody is there because the rest of us are still amazed that she is running that fast with the ball so we forget to support her.

I humbly await comments from all the props I know and love. Until then, enjoy these sunset pics and other random shots of Ko Lanta.