|
|
|
Makerra Korats Photo Gallery Korats in Thailand Korats In Shows My other Hobby Links
|
The Quest for Thai Korats By Jean Robinson, Makerra Korats
This story is dedicated to the memory of Hedda Hood, Kothai Korats.
March 26th, 2000 Bangkok
I arrived at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. To explain my presence there is to examine my involvement with the Korat cat and those that are most dedicated to protecting and preserving this ancient and most treasured breed. But that would take a full length story in itself, so suffice it to say that those, such as Hedda Hood, Rose Marie Voelker , Cheryl Coleman and Norma O’Neill, had made a very distinct impact on me and therefore, I found myself at that airport in Bangkok, ready to pursue with my Quest for Thai Korats. While it has been a dream of mine to have an import Korat from Thailand, there had been a loss of communication between the Thai breeders and the western world. Part of this may be explained by the civil strife that has haunted the Kingdom of Thailand and devastated the economy. Many Korat fanciers were at one time stationed in Thailand, for one reason or another, and most did not have the opportunity to keep these ties to the homeland of the Si Sawat.
I credit partly the internet for
allowing these events to transpire as they have. But first and foremost is
Martin Clutterbucks book. The Bangkok Nation had published an article about the
Siamese Cat Lovers Club. Breeders of Si Sawats were mentioned and I wrote to
get the address of the president. Others and I were ecstatic! There were those
still breeding Korats! We sent off a package, but, never I knew that there were those that were seriously preserving these ancient breeds and I was determined to find out more, hence my initial phone call to Ed Rose, in Chiang Mai Thailand. That phone call cemented my determination to travel to Thailand and where Ed Rose later named my trip and thus this story, “The Quest for Thai Korats”. We had a lovely talk, and I admit that I was excited as I was actually talking to a breeder of Korats in Thailand! My questions were many and Ed Rose was patient with my inquisition. “No, they don’t get other colors from their Korat breeding” and “No, they don’t breed phenotypically” and “No, others, from the west have not contacted them in years about their Korats”. Later by email, Ed Rose graciously agreed to breed a Korat for me, where I then made arrangements to travel to this most enchanting Kingdom to escort my import Korat back to the United States and to reestablish relations between the Thai and western breeders. So to continue this tale, I found myself in Bangkok, at 12:30 AM and in spite of a restless flight, I was wide-awake. The stone-faced customs official who inspected my passport broke into a smile at either my enthusiasm at being there or because he thought what a silly “farang” or how she had butchered the Thai language! My guide picked me up and we were on our way to the hotel that he had suggested for me. After calling home, to let a most skeptical and worried Walter know that I had arrived safe and sound, watched with wonder the activity on the street below through the window of my room. I was in Bangkok! Against my guides’ wishes, I was up and ready to go by 9am. I wanted to visit Jim Thompson’s house as I had heard much about him from Norma O’Neill and Sue Brown had told me that there was an artist in residence that made copies of the Cat book poems. To get there we would have to get a taxi, specifically a “taximeter”. This is a Taxi, governed by the rules of the Thai Tourism Authority, which guarantees, that all fares will be fairly metered. To get to the taxi, we crossed the street. Bangkok traffic is infamous for its’ congestion and menacing drivers.
|
|
Copyright © 2005 Makerra Korats. All Rights Reserved.
This page was last updated on 12/11/2005 |
