Tribute to Khaaw: How Bangkok has changed my life

Khaaw

By writing this blogpost, I want to tell everyone that myself, Li Li and Baby in Bangkok are all ok. Thank you for your concern. If anyone wants further proof of our resilience, you will soon see more information of us travelling down to Hua Hin over the weekend for some great relaxing time-off with a couple of friends. The flood situation in Bangkok is currently under control, with concerns in some areas till the end of the month. The worst flood in Thailand in 50 years has spared us for the time-being, and I am grateful everyday for it.

Enough of floods, the focus of this piece is really about the cute street dog pictured above. His actual name is Nom-Sod, which means Fresh Milk, but he himself doesn't know his real name, so let's just call him by his nickname Khaaw, which he identifies himself by.

More than a year ago, I wrote about how living in a local suburb in Bangkok has helped me overcome my 20-yr-old fear of dogs, but now (2 of the dogs mentioned in my post have sadly passed away), 2 months after moving out of the local suburb, Khaaw has absolutely deepened my love for them.

He has long fluffy hair, different from usual Thai street dogs

I have fond memories of playing with Khaaw and stroking him to sleep during the two years at my old office, especially during the many months when I was staying all alone, fighting a lone battle to establish my company in Thailand. He felt like my only companion when everything seemed stacked against me, and would always jump on me in enthusiasm to give me a reason to smile.

Since moving away 2 months ago, I had been back to visit him 4 times, and on every occasion he would be sprinting towards me from far far away before pouncing on me again and again, as if to give me all the affection he accumulated over the weeks of my absence.

Last week, I made one of those visits again, but this time I went to have coffee at a stall 50metres away, which is strictly out of Khaaw's designated zone (btw, street dogs work like professional mafia gangs, they have designated regions of influence, and trespassers would not be treated lightly). He took the risk and just sat peacefully beside me as I reminisced with the stall-owner. As expected, the dog controlling the area soon arrived and Khaaw did something to really touch my heart.

Mafia King finally arrived to chase Khaaw out of his area, they circled around, flashing canines at each other, while I was trying to coax Khaaw back to his neighbourhood

To my shock, he did the unexpected! Instead of returning to the comforts of his own village, he came up the platform where I was sitting and continued to accompany me, all the way till I left, despite the angry growlings of the Mafia King

In case any of you are rolling your eyes at this very unspectacular story of mine, take note that we are talking about a street dog here, who never had an owner nor proper training whatsoever, showing such love and loyalty to a friend who doesn't feed him (yes, aside of the odd bone, I NEVER feed him).

Khaaw stole a kiss on my cheek while we were posing for this picture. Our first kiss!

This is not the most flattering picture of me, and in normal circumstances I would never let this appear anywhere in public, but seeing the smile on Khaaw's face and the coincidental fact that I was wearing a bright white shirt as well, I think this is the best picture to show our deep friendship.

Thank you to Khaaw, and to all the dogs who are giving your hearts to the people around you. Your sweet actions prove to us that in the present society full of ignorance and hate, love always prevails.

My new-found friends--The real native dwellers of Bangkok

My goodness, it has been nearly a week since I got back to Bangkok from Singapore and how time has flown by! The rat race in the business world has started and the busy-ness has been spreading like wild fire. Visits to customers, preparing my next container order from Singapore, taking a look at our potential new lorry, running errands at the bank etc. etc.... it's almost impossible to even think of what's happening to the rainbow-coloured protestors at Silom.

Anyway thanks to all my friends who have been sending me sms-es and speaking to me on MSN, I am fine and I know how to stay out of trouble. It's frustrating that I cannot see the end of protests, but all's well on my end, and I will keep it that way.

Ok, back to my topic of the day. From the first day I arrived in Bangkok, I have been amazed by how the Thai people have been sharing their land with other dwellers (cockroaches, geckos, rats, spiders to name some of them). In Singapore, some of us are quite irritated by the number of hungry cats marauding proudly in the void decks, but you will be surprised that the number of dogs roaming the streets here is exponentially higher than the number of cats you can find in Singapore.

I have had my fair share of doggy experiences in my 7 short months here, and I am proud to say that after being touched, licked, and ran after by different canines, I have officially overcome my doggy-phobia which I had since I got chased around my garden by a dog when I was a little boy. In fact, I have had the fun of naming dogs and spending some really great time with them. They have provided me real companionship, especially when I spend 80% of my time alone in a foreign country.

Now I shall introduce to you my new-found friends, and believe me, these pictures are all taken with my camera or mobile phone within a radius of 1km around my office.

He belongs to the tzechar stall near my office. I have not named him yet. He is usually naked, and I have hardly seen him get out of his sleeping position. Obviously his owner dressed him up to welcome the Songkran festival. The colourful shirt did not perk him up one bit though.


This cute little one is owned by a neighbouring office. Full of energy and love, I am determined to find out his name one day.


Khaaw, which means white. He is by far my best doggy friend. Being the youngest of the 6 stray dogs active in my village, he is the most friendly and active. No matter how late I come back sometimes, he will always be throwing himself at me, wagging his tail non-stop. I could only take a nice picture of him sleeping though, haha.

Namtaan, which means brown/sugar, caught on camera by me while he's snuggling beside the refrigerator. He is resting so that he can feel rejuvenated soon, as he always goes about showboating his good looks. And really, when he wants to, he is easily the smartest looking dog in the area.

See what I mean? That's Namtaan at his best. No wonder we caught him shagging a female dog at 7am in the morning, no dog could resist him! Good looks and showmanship aside, Namtaan had better take care of his rapidly-expanding waistline, or else Khaaw is gonna overtake him and grab all the female attention!

My impression of dogs has changed completely after living in Bangkok. I remember watching Marley and Me on HBO and holding my tears at the end when Marley was put to sleep. Let me finish off with a quote at the end of the movie from the usually-hilarious Owen Wilson.

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes or designer clothes. A water log stick would do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Just give it your heart and it will give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?"

He can!