R.I.P. Jeebo

April 2006 - February 21, 2008

Nok and I have just heard the sad news that our loyal cat Jeebo has died. The circumstances surrounding his death are not certain, but the official story is that he ate a poison-filled dead rat. I suspect something far more sinister. Thai people have a very different perception of animals than most Westerners, and stories of intentional pet poisoning are abundant. If a cat or dog annoys the wrong neighbor, they will think nothing of destroying it. The very idea makes me sick.

.

So long Jeebo. You were the best cat a person could ask for. Sleep well, my old friend.

A trip to Northern Thailand

Well, I guess I’m going about this backwards. But seeing as I’ve just started this lovely little blog and wasn’t able to write about it when it happened, I have no choice but to talk about it now.

The weekend before I came to Taiwan, Nok and I made a trip to the north of Thailand to drop off our rascal of a cat at her aunt’s house. We could have left the little punk with her parents in Bangkok, but I thought the fields and forests of the north would be much better for old Jeebo than the exhaust fumes and rabid dogs of the city. So with a mere two days to spare before we needed to pack everything up and hop on a plane to Taiwan, we boarded a night train to the north and spent a day and a half in the beautiful rolling mountains of Lamphun, in Northern Thailand.

Riding on the train with Jeebo. My hair is looking a little rank after a night on the train.

A beautiful lake surrounded by rolling hills is just a quick moped ride away from Nok’s aunt’s house. Not a house to be seen! We couldn’t even get a phone signal out here.

These little huts were actually part of a restaurant. The food was carried out to the hut, and we relaxed on the floor overlooking the lake. We were the only customers.

Nok walks towards the water during a beautiful sunset. Her cousin’s beast of a motorbike can be seen on the right.

Just for Micah. What are the odds of that?

Saying goodbye to the beast. Jeebo had some trouble adjusting to the other cat at first, and the two dozen scratches on my hands and arms were the consequences.