It snowed all morning, so when hubby came back from work we went for a walk in the park, threw a few snowballs and took some outfit pics, as you do ;)
Today's Ensemble:
Musk Ox of Copenhagen parka coat
Three pairs of leggings
Crushed velvet leotard
Revamped kilt pin top
Vintage 20s gents waistcoat
Steve Madden boots
Tibetan prayer bangle
Studded collar
Earrings that I made myself
Knitted scarf as headdress
I'm wearing two of my favourite things today.
My 1920s waistcoat that I got from my mother-in-law about five or six years ago. I love it so much I have literally worn it to pieces, the armholes are fraying, the seams are coming apart and the lining is threadbare but I still think it improves with every wear. The last button fell off a couple of years ago but instead of replacing it I added a punky kilt pin. I call it my tatterdemalion waistcoat.
The second favourite I'm wearing today is my Danish made parka coat. I bought it from a car boot sale on a roasting hot summers day some years ago and got it for song. It is amazingly warm, I think you could quite possibly undertake an Arctic expedition wearing this.
I can see myself wearing this coat for many many winters to come, unless I of course emigrate to a country that doesn't do cold winters ;)
When we went to Ko Lanta in 2010 I fell
head over heels in love with all the beautiful dogs and cats on the island but
was also rather saddened by the fact that there seemed to be quite a few
straggly and malnourished looking strays on the island too.
On one of our pre-breakfast walks one morning we spotted a dog hiding away in
the undergrowth, he looked really unwell and from what we could see he had
a nasty gash on his leg, it looked as if he’d been stabbed, he seemed to be
very scared and as we got closer he showed his teeth and started growling.
We got some food
and water and put it down at a growls distance, moved away and watched as he
limped over and devoured it hungrily.
Later that day we went back but he had
gone and we never saw him again.
Throughout our holiday I had seen strays
being chased away by locals in a rather brusque manner, so I gathered that they
were not very popular on the island and would probably not be taken in or nursed back to health.
Therefore I was chuffed to bits when I on
our last day there spotted a notice about ‘Lanta Animal Welfare’ in a shop.
I thought, "Thank goodness these poor
mites have a guardian angel here after all" and promptly stuffed all my
remaining Baht in one of their donation boxes.
Needless to say I was thrilled to go back to
Ko Lanta so that we could finally pay a visit to this brilliant organisation.
I only wish
there was a Lanta Animal Wefare on every island in Thailand.
In the UK
animal rights and animal welfare organisations comes as standard but in many
countries throughout Asia they don’t and sadly
without appropriate laws, it’s very difficult to combat cruelty and promote
animal welfare in these countries.
When I read about the absolutely atrocious ways that
some people on Ko Lanta use to rid the island of unwanted cats, dogs and strays
I was naturally horrified but it also made me want to understand what really
lay behind such appalling behaviour towards animals and in particular dogs.
The majority of the population on Ko Lanta are Muslims so
I decided to have a gander on Google to see if I could find out if there was anything
written in the Koran about dogs.
As with most searches on the Internet,
this one yielded a heap of contradicting views and information.
From what I can gather there seems to be
two camps on the whole ‘Dogs in Islam’ issue.
There are those who consider any physical
contact with a dog an unclean act and state that Islam prohibits them from
keeping dogs as pets and then there are the more liberal Muslims that seem to
consider dogs in a more western context.
Apparently the Koran doesn’t say anything
expressly against dogs however there are several hadiths (important
sacred texts that many Muslims choose to live by) that seemingly condemn them.
"Five
kinds of animals are mischief-doers and can be killed even in the Sanctuary:
They are the rat, the scorpion, the kite, the crow and the rabid dog."
(Book #54, Hadith #531)
I
do want to mention that there are also hadiths that cast dogs in a more
favourable light and because of that I’m not content in believing that cruelty to dogs on Ko Lanta is simply down to peoples religious beliefs.
Maybe to some extent
there was some method in the madness when these scriptures were penned, serious
decease like rabies may have been rife at the time and the hadiths were written
to safeguard the people from being infected.
Unfortunately
rabies is still a real threat in this part of the world,
I found this information on the WHO website:
“More
than 55 000 people die of rabies every year mostly in Asia and Africa.”
“Dogs
are the source of the vast majority of human rabies deaths.”
Thankfully rabies is a
vaccine-preventable disease and the best strategy for preventing rabies in
people is by eliminating rabies in dogs through vaccination which is one of the
very important things Lanta Animal Welfare are doing.
I
can understand the fear of decease, the want to keep animal populations at a
manageable level and even that some people find dogs unhygienic and don’t want
to keep them in their homes, each to their own.
What
I cannot understand is how an individual is even capable of such unspeakable
cruelty as to throw boiling hot oil over a poor defenceless animal?
Surely
we’ve left the realms of religion here, or can people really rationalize doing
stuff like that off the back of their beliefs and not see the utter evil in
their actions?
A
brutally sadistic act like putting fishhooks in dog food or leaving kittens on
a cliff shelf when the tide is coming in would land you in a world of bother in
the UK but goes unpunished on Ko Lanta.
Keeping
the stray dog and cat population under control is of course very important but
it should be done humanely and this is why a place like Lanta Animal Welfare is
so important.
Through
the provision of a humane alternative to population control and education of
the younger generation they show the locals a better way of doing things and
this in turn will hopefully stop the senseless violence towards these beautiful
creatures.
This was the notice that I spotted in the shop back in 2010. The founder Junie Kovacs used to shelter the strays in her own home at the back of her restaurant & Thai cooking school 'Time For Lime'.
The proceeds from 'Time For Lime' went to build this fantastic shelter situated by the Muay Thai stadium, where Pra Ae beach meets Klong Khong beach.
If you are not a dog person there are plenty of cats to cuddle too.
Who needs elephant trekking when you can go on a stroke-a-thon outside the Happy Cat House :)
We spent a good few hours just cuddling the cats, they are very friendly.
I have a severe weakness for jet-black cats.
The shelter encourages visitors and there are free guided tours every hour.
The dogs are divided into four packs and spend the day outside in four spacious pens. At nighttime they stay in kennels inside.
More cuddly cats. After you are all cuddled out with the cats, you can take one of the many gorgeous and remarkably well-behaved dogs for a walk.
Bones, Tarzan (who is in the process of being adopted), cheeky wee Spot (who went for walkies with us), Lanta, Sugar and my niece.
Rocket (possibly the most handsome dog I have ever seen), Gorgeous Chilli and Momma (who we took out for walkies).
Whilst we were there on our second visit someone brought in a slightly different patient.
WALKIES with Momma, Spot and Star.
I really can't think of a better way to spend a few hours. We met some really nice people here too.
On our second visit I convinced my sister (who is afraid of dogs) to come with us. A bit of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy whilst on holiday and guess what I think it worked ;)
Denver was trying to catch miniature crabs as they scuttled across the sand and Pepsi was sniffing out the bigger ones hiding in their holes.
This is Dok Dek and he was rescued after someone poured boiling hot oil on his head. He's a real cheeky chappy with bundles of character. All the dogs and cats at LAW are looking for loving new homes.
After spending a few wonderful hours with the cats and dogs not to forget the lovely people at LAW chilling out at Time For Lime's laid back beach bar is the icing on the cake.
If you want to find out more about Lanta Animal Welfare please visit their website and if their work speaks volumes to you why not make a donation to this wonderful organization, they need every single Baht to keep the good work going.
Before we traveled to Thailand I read about a dog called Sky on LAWs facebook page and needless to say her story made me cry. When I saw her in real life I just wanted to take her in my arms and keep her safe forever. How can people be so cruel to such a beautiful soul? If I had the money and lived in a big house in the country I would love to give Sky a new home. I hope someone with the biggest of hearts finds their way to her.
I am so happy that there are people in this world like Junie Kovacs and all the brilliant volunteers at Lanta Animal Welfare, all I can say is thank goodness for them!
When we first arrived in Thailand just before Christmas we spent two days in busy Bangkok before heading on to beautiful and tranquil Koh Lanta.
The capital pit stop was probably more for my teenage niece, so that she could do a bit of hardcore shopping in the insanely huge malls over there.
Living in London for fifteen years has made me develop a severe dislike for big cities and I actually think I'm allergic to super malls or as I like to call them 'bastard bastions of capitalism' cause I can't spend more than ten minutes in one before starting to feel decidedly queasy.
Despite the fact that only 4% of the people in Thailand are Christians, you could have been forgiven for thinking otherwise, the sheer amount of gaudy Christmas glitz on display and tiresome tacky tunes abusing your eardrums was quite astounding in some areas.
The upmarket super malls had obviously been taking style notes from Oxford Street et al, with more Christmas lights than you can shake a stick at.
My favourite was the bright red faced Santa with Bono sunnies...DUDE!
We went walkabouts and took in the amazing flower market and Chinatown...
Then we jumped on a boat to get a view of the city from its Chao Phraya river and ended up at the Wat Pho temple, home of Thailand's biggest reclining Buddha statue...
There are so many amazing temples to see in Bangkok but on our second day there we decided to seek refuge in Chatuchak Park instead.
I was thrilled to escape the city the following day, a short flight took us to Krabi and then onward with taxi to Koh Lanta.
Twelve wonderful days of lolling around on stunning beaches, swimming in the sea, snorkelling, going for long walks on the island, popping off for a couple of days amazing scuba diving, visiting Lanta Animal Welfare, cuddling with cats and walking some adorable dogs, spending a precious Christmas with the people that I love and meeting some awesome new people too :)
Klong Khong Beach on Koh Lanta.
A beautiful sunset is like food for the soul.
Scuba diving, snorkelling and fishing boats on Koh Lanta.
More stunning sunsets and a pic from an early morning walk with the locals bringing in their nets.
Fresh fruit shakes and fabulous grub.
I was tempted to try the Geek Salad but sadly I didn't, I did have a delicious Veggie Spattie though ;)
New Years Eve celebrations on the beach on Koh Lanta were a hoot and a half, the entire islands population seeminlgy had made their way onto the beaches. Fire works galore and literally thousands of Chinese lanterns lit up the sky. There were an abundance of fire shows and a scattering of local bands performing for free.
On New Years Day we left Koh Lanta to head for Langkawi...
We visited three waterfalls, namely Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells), Air Terjun Temurun & Durian Perangin.
Hired a car and explored the island, hung out on the beaches, went snorkelling and eat with the locals.
I ordered veggie fried rice and found little sprat heads in it, I did enjoy the gorgeous ice tea though.
Trust me to find a car boot sale half way around the world :)
We went jungle trekking, saw the sunset from the top of the Langkawi cable car and enjoyed some general mucking about on the hotel beach and in the grounds.
All holidays come to an end too soon I think and before you now it it is time to leave paradise behind.
We had a day and a half in KL before we flew back home.
More shopping for my niece who also turned eighteen that day and more culture & city impressions for us...
We went to the amazing Sri Mahamariamman Temple which is the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur.
Last time we were in KL we only managed to see it from the outside at night but this time we were able to delight in its interior.
We also came across the Kuan Ti which is a Taoist temple but unfortunately it was closed.
The last thing we did before going to the airport was meeting up with our cousin who lives in KL.
He works on the 52nd floor of Petronas Tower 2 and was able to get us a couple of visitor passes to come and have a look...
The lift was amazing, you could hardly feel it moving, it was so smooth yet tremendously fast and you had to pop your ears ;)
Pretty amazing views and the building itself is pretty stunning too...
KL from above; they do seem to like their tall buildings...
...and that was that!
Then we jumped on a plane back to 'Ol Blighty.
I've just a few more holiday posts to do and then I'm back on normal Frocktasia duties again :)
