The Phi Phi cats of doom

Meoooooow

In September 2005 when our travels come to an end, I'm sure that one image will be stuck in my mind from this trip. It won't be seeing Angkor Wat at sunrise, or Machu Picchu at dawn. It won't be Ayres Rock or the salt flats of Bolivia. No. It'll probably be the harrowing sight of two strange cats I saw last Saturday on Phi Phi.

We were at a place called the Hippies bar, approaching a large circle of people watching a fire show on the beach. As we prepared to join the crowd we noticed a few people who couldn't bring themselves to watch the show due to the horror that lurked on the sand: two terrifying cats, surely plucked from the depths of hell.

The cats stood totally rigid on the sand, making a tortured growling sound, both staring at the same spot. They're muscles were so stiff they looked like they'd been stuffed, but oh no, they were alive and appeared to be looking at something no human eye could see. I've heard that cats can see the supernatural. Were their eyes fixed on the ghost of Blackbeard?

Passing people gave the cats a wide berth, staring back at the felines in disblief. I tried to watch the fireshow, but couldn't bring myself to have fun while this horrible din roared from the moggies' throats.

After about 30 minutes of fear, some Thai men decided to kick the cats, pushing the rigid beasts so close to each other that their heads were touching. But still no movement. Then suddenly they scrapped.

All along they were just sizing each other up and marking their territory. It's just they had a very funny way of doing it. After a scuffle that couldn't have lasted more than three seconds, the black cat walked away. The ginger one stared rigidly at the departing moggy until it was out of sight and then called it a night.

I had to get that off my chest. Now look at some nice photos of Phi Phi. I'll upload some more when I get the chance.

Where am I? I'm currently sitting at a PC that's so badly wired I get an electric shock every time I touch my camera (which is currently hooked into the PC). I told the little man about it, but his only advice was to keep my feet off the floor.