Sightings at a Huahin fish port (meow)

< December 2014 >

You know what they say about travel – the traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see. A quote by dear old deceased Chesterton, who was a theologian, writer and a list of other related occupations, as well as being one who loved his word play while he was alive. BUT I DIGRESSED. Anyhow this basically means instead of going to where all the tourists go for selfies and just be satisfied with having viewed so-and-so, you go to different places with an open mind and soak in not just the beautiful views, but also the culture. And then hopefully it brings you new (positive, empathetic, etc) perspectives.

So after visiting all the beautifully man-made tourist spots made to look like famous foreign landmarks or those integrate parts of foreign landmarks just so people could take more pictures around Huahin, one morning my aunt brought the brother and I along to visit something different. Some place which reeked less of forced artificiality. With the help of our tour driver, we managed to visit a fish port near the chalet we were staying at. It was situated behind a neighbourhood full of modest looking houses and shop lots.

At 7am, the streets were mostly quiet, stray dogs were everywhere sleeping still. However, nearing the fish port… people were alert waiting for the ships to dock… and so were…

Cats.

Being the smart territorial little beasts that they are, I noticed that there would only be one cat waiting at each dock. After waiting and getting what they want, they retreat to different spots along the street as well. No competition at all. Or none on the day I was there.

So by the time these vessels came, this meant real work was about to get started as well. Both the workers and the hungry uns. Meanwhile both my aunt and I were also working our cameras a bit more vigorously to catch all the action. As for my brother, he was sulking somewhere out of boredom.

Every dock had people in lines working systematically with their different roles.

Prior to the ships arriving, I’d seen some cats hiding nearby under vehicles. But I can’t remember now how this white cat suddenly popped up into the scene. She lingered around these plastic baskets for a relatively long time, eyeing the fish and then eyeing the people who were hard at work, ignoring her. Even though she could have just easily took one fish and run for it, she did not. The amount of patience exerted in this one is amazing. One of the younger men working nearby saw me watching the cat and probably decided to give us a little extra attention by throwing her one of the smaller fish caught.

Which she immediately caught and without waiting, ran towards this place which was just opposite the dock she was waiting at. Being the stalker of cats that I am, I followed.

She went to the side of the grocery store and scurried under a closed table laid by the side of the wall. Apparently there were… MORE CATS! My heart palpitated at this new discovery. She was feeding both herself and another two kittens, both of different sizes.

Here’s a close-up shot of the youngest kitten enjoying leftovers. It’s really shy and protective of its meal. Also, watching a seemingly innocent kitten look up at you with a bloodied mouth is somewhat unsettling. Can it be said that this is savagery in its most natural, instinctive form? All for survival eh?

And to end this post, here’s a post breakfast lounging momma cat for you.

Foreign (cat) culture is so fascinating!