It is no secret that both Ben and I are active animal lovers.
We both notice, enjoy and engage with animals often. We also miss our own dogs and cats and befriending other ones along our journey, enriches our travels. Mango was never far from our thoughts as we engaged with other animals along the way…..
Dogs:
A friendly puppy in an ancient village in East Bali.
Taking a break on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Central Viet Nam. Great to stretch our legs and get an infusion of cute puppiness.
Always dogs on beaches… This one plays along in Koh Lanta, Thailand.
Ben always takes the time to say hi to a pooch. Streets of Cohin, Kerala, India.
Cats:
While living in Hoi An, this kitten story had a happy ending. I first saw this cat in the market ~ eyes crusted, sick, dirty and on his “last leg.” I horrified the Vietnamese women in the market, when I scooped up this dirty sick kitten and took him home with me. After he saw a vet, got washed, ate, recovered he transformed from ugly to beautiful in just one week. Eventually we found him a permanent home. Viet Nam.
This cute ginger kitten lives at the butterfly farm near Luang Prabang, Laos. “Surrogate cats” we give love to and get love back in lieu of being with our own cats in Granada.
We love finding a snuggly cat at a hostel or hotel to keep us company on the bed. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Captivated by a Siamese kitten near a temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
A cat accepts a snuggle at the train station in Zichron Yaakov, Israel.
Pigs:
Wild boars near the road. Ho Chi Minh Trail, Viet Nam.
Captivated by a family of baby piglets following their mom across the road. Central Viet Nam.
Buffalo:
The omnipresent water buffalo in Asia. We always enjoyed interacting and observing this interesting animal. A herder in Southern Sri Lanka.
Water buffaloes are very aware of human presence. Many of them have expressions which reminded us of Mango and made us laugh along our travels. This group were on the side of the road during our week long motorbike trip in Central Viet Nam.
Getting close and personal with water buffaloes near to our rented house in Hoi An, Viet Nam.
A man and his water buffalo heading to the rice paddies. Hoi An, Viet Nam.
“Whaat me???” Viet Nam.
Cows:
Group of white cows licking each other lovingly in Pushkar, India.
And of course, we feed animals whenever we can. Baby calf rather hungry given that there are not many greens growing in the middle of the town of Pushkar. The holy cows often eat garbage. Ben giving this little guy a treat of greens.
This baby calf was fast asleep in the straw with other cows in the middle of the field in Central Viet Nam when Ben found him……
This was a long snuggle of over half an hour in the middle of the field. The baby, as you can see was most receptive to affection. Central Viet Nam.
Saying hi to a beautiful white cow on side of the road. Verkala, S. India.
Goats:
The largest and most unusual markings on goats we have ever seen. Pushkar, India.
This little guy stuck his head out to say hi to us in Pai, Thailand at a goat cheese farm.
Babies and their moms. Sheep in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Elephants:
Rare moments! How often does one get to snuggle a baby elephant in life? Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Seeing eye to eye with a large pachyderm. Elephant Sanctuary, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
My idea of fun! Elephant Sanctuary for formerly abused elephants. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
This particular elephant was blinded in her early years of life. Huge but gentle beasts. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Elephants consume enormous amounts of food each day. So great to see and be with them in a natural setting. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Tails and butts swing in unison. Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The famed “Rambo” who comes to the fence at the elephant park in Uduwalawe, Sri Lanka. Drought time means food is scarce and Rambo is known for his resourcefulness.
Namal our favorite baby elephant at the elephant baby house in Uduwalawe Sri Lanka. Tragically, Namal lost a leg due to stepping on a land mine.
Monkeys:
Baby Macaque monkey with his mom in Bali, Indonesia. In Ubud there is a monkey forest home to 400 plus families, many of whom are often found on nearby walls and roofs of houses. Cute haircut!
Very human like and endearing. Bali, Indonesia.
Let me groom your eyebrow for you…In the monkey forest, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
We walked through the monkey forest every day from our home exchange house, which was minutes away. We loved interacting with the monkeys and observing them go about their tribal activities.
Notice how this little guy is stretching his leg out against my hand. Make yourself at home why don’t ya?
A quiet moment of reflection in the monkey forest, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Friendly monkey takes advantage of eating offerings left by devotees to the holy cow sculpture. Pushkar, India.
Camels:
Camels are not particularly friendly but we enjoyed observing them nonetheless. Pushkar Camel Fair, India.
Camel art, Pushkar, India.
Camel herder in the desert with his camels. Pushkar, India.
Bats:
Bats are very misunderstood and feared by many people. In actual fact, they have many benefits and are highly intelligent beings. We got used to them while living in Nicaragua. These bats live on the roof of a holy cave, east Bali, Indonesia.
Chickens:
Ben always wanted his own crop of chickens. While that never quite happened, we enjoyed many along the way. Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
These large beauties visited us each morning to share our breakfast, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Biggest chicken EVER. 10-11 lbs family pet chicken. Pai, Thailand.
Showing off his colors. Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
A group of ducks comes to say hello to us. As a result Ben has dropped duck from the menu of edibles. Toledo, Spain.
Observing the underbellies of huge seagulls flying above our heads. Essaouira, Morocco.
BEST POST EVER! Thanks very much!
THANK you!! We had to highly edit from hundreds of photographs of the numerous elephants, monkeys, cats, water buffalo we have enjoyed along our Green Global Trek. So wonderful to share our travels with the animal kingdom.
A fun post. That’s one weird piece of camel art!
Thanks Gili.
(Re the camels, there was a “camel decorating” competition during the camel fair. We skipped that!!)
lo mejor en todos los blogs….me enchanto – from the sad truth that the cows eat garbage (and you actually did something about it) to the way you inspire me to just freaking do it (meaning pick up the cat and heal her) – increíble y único! besitos!
Best of all the blogs…..! Wow! Spoken like a true animal lover!! Gracias para esas palabras….
I think we can all contribute greatly to individual lives and make a difference, even if not long term ( which is challenging) but real time in the moment, whenever the opportunity arises. And it does, often 🙂
“Mas obras menos parablas” as we say in Nicaragua!
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma Gandhi
Absolute & utter gorgeousness.
I love love love how you both “give back” to the world…
even by cuddling a stray kitten is filling up my soul.
You, the Siamese kitten, goats, chickens, buffalo, dogs, camels, & OMGGGGG Elephants makes me VERY VERY happy indeed.
This is how I visualize heaven. WOWWW WOW WOW.
We have the same definition of heaven!!! Lots of furry animals.
Thanks 🙂
I love this post. You are both true champions of animals. My brother lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand and has been to the elephant sanctuary a few times. We both love animals as well. Stray dogs and cats tend to know we are safe to be around. I have a fondness for camels for some reason. Thanks for directing me to this post!!
Thanks Darlene, we thought you would enjoy it! That elephant sanctuary in Thailand is absolutely amazing. If only there were similar sanctuaries in other parts of the world. When we lived in Nicaragua, we were very involved with rescuing and fostering cats and kittens and our house was very popular with a lot of street dogs! But if camels are your thing, then check out the photos from our time at the annual camel fair in Pushkar, India.
http://www.greenglobaltrek.com/2014/11/photographs-of-the-pushkar-camel-fair-india.html
Ben