Bloody limbs & my canine crisis of faith..
It all started on Monday – the day I arrived here on Ko Phangan. We had gone to a bar near our bungelows to celebrate the birthday of a dude called Paul. A wonderful time was being had by all & much beer was being consumed in an atmosphere of joy and happiness. & then it started to rain. Nobody was surprised. Nobody was shocked. This is after all, the rainy season. Somebody was a plonker, though. This moron decides to run the 10 feet of outside pathway to get to the loo, which is undercover. Said moron forgets that the floor of said loo is made of smooth marble. Said moron falls arse over tit and takes the full weight of his body on his right elbow. Said moron slopes off home in the rain & pain – slightly insane coz he couldn’t get a train.
I didn’t know it was possible for a smooth surface to make such a deep hole. and jeez did it hurt. But my week of pain didn’t end there. Oh no. On Tuesday the canoeing episode (see entry below this one) took place, & I suffered several pulled muscles. Thursday I got a massage – my 1st – which helped ease Tuesday’s pain, but not much of Mondays.
Which brings me to yesterday. We had moved to the other side of the island, to stay with a friend who has some bungelows here. We all agreed that a quiet night was in order so we sat in his neighbours living room & watched a dvd. Near the beginning of the film a really cute & fluffy dog came & sat nearby. I went to the bar or the toilet a couple of times whilst the dvd was playing & each time I would stroke the dog. This is because I love dogs. I have always wanted a dog. It has always been a dream to have a dog in a house in the countryside. Not a little rat-dog either. A normal sized fluffy dog that doesn’t need to get a pedicure or a little tartan coat or any of those other ridiculously indulgent things that people with more money than sense spend on their pets. There is actually a shop where I used to live in brighton called Doggy fashion where they shampooed & blowdried your dog for you. I mean come on!
Anyway the film finished & I headed for the bar again. As I went I touched the dog on his back & he turned round & bit me. & I mean he really sunk his teeth in. I was so shocked. This is supposed to a man’s best friend. More importantly, he’s supposed to be my best friend! I washed the cut (just a scratch really) and went to lie on my hammock. I began to have doubts about whether I’ll ever get a dog. What if this is an omen? Now I’ve heard it said many times that people are either dog people or cat people. I’ve always considered myself a dog person, but over the last few weeks I’ve become quite attached to Squitto the cat from the english school i lived at (& will return to in 10 days) in Ban Phe. My faith in canines was low. I went to bed.
I got up this morning when the dogs owner came by to my bungelow to apologise. I told her there was no problem, & she assured me that the dog had been vaccinated againt rabies (Et, the friend we’re staying with, told me the same last night). And then a few hours later i met Et’s dog Golden. & just like that my faith in dogs is restored. Golden really lives up to his name. So now i’m thinking maybe I can be a dog person & a cat person. The 2 dont have to be mutually exclusive. something to ponder anyhow…
& so tomorrow I leave Ko Phangan on the night train back to Bangkok. Its strange but all the “injuries” I’ve suffered have not diminished my holiday here one iota. if anything they’ve made me appreciate being in such a beautiful place more.
Take care of yourselves, dont run barefoot on smooth surfaces in the rain, & always, always let sleeping dogs lie..
Tags: Dogs, Thailand, Thailand
The Dude
You bloody fool! Good that you’ve learned your lesson with a dog whose had anti rabies jabs, 1 in 10 dogs in thailand is said to foam at the mouth, (more than that in bangkok) i kid you not!
Jimboby is stayin at mine in brighton for a while now, jut to let you know!
Yeah dude. I am a bloody fool. Especially after what happened to Yvette last year..
Luckily this wasn’t a foamer but a cute dog I was stupid enough to startle.
Excellent rhyming, (rain, pain, insane, train) the gold star is in the post.