Beautiful Strangers - Part II: Street Dogs from my Travel

Previous: Beautiful Strangers - Part I

Outside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, July 2010

This beautiful puppy, possibly a German Shepherd, was sleeping on the road near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, not exactly the safest place to snooze yet there it was, sleeping so peacefully. Why is a dog this beautiful and young out on the street? If I live in Istanbul I would have taken this little puppy home already.

Banteay Srei, Cambodia, September 2010

This lone dog was seen hanging around the Bantaey Srei temple, part of Cambodia's Angkor complex, it is strange to only see a stray as usually outside these temples there would be more. It has interesting marking on its eye and I like the faint dots all over its body. The dog didn't give me a friendly feel so I kept a respectful distance.

Fisherman Village, Koh Samui, Thailand, October 2012

Like Batty, Dog lives in the hotel next door to mine on Fisherman's Village at Bophut Beach on Koh Samui, I don't think he belonged to the hotel officially but the hotel staff let him sleep there and feed him.

I met Dog when I took a dip in the small hotel pool, he stuck his head out from the bush that separate the two hotels and let out a bark at me. Perhaps the sound of my splashing woke him from his slumber? I called him and he came, that was when the nickname Dog got stuck. Dog was cautious at first but was happy for me to pat him and play, he particularly love chasing after baby coconuts.

Dog usually play on the beach with his buddies in the afternoon - a skinny yellow girl and a black Dachshund mix puppy, from nearby streets or hotels - it was a real joy to watch happy dogs running free. They'd play the game of tag with one another along the beach, digging for crabs or just madly digging, and sometimes can be seen climbing onto the deck chairs to snooze. Yellow Girl was happy for me to pat her but Puppy wasn't so sure, always running away when I approach.

I took this photo on my final day on the island, Dog was eating the breakfast dog biscuits which I bought from the nearby 7-Eleven, as a farewell gift I suppose. I also noticed he sustained an injury to his eye, which wasn't there before, poor baby, it looked painful... I think Dog will be ok, thank you, Dog, for being my friend.

Next: Beautiful Strangers - Part III