Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia
September 30, 2014
A bit of a strange entry this one as I’m sure you have gathered by the title.
When Dani headed back to the UK in July I returned to the Lassie animal shelter in Langkawi for another 9 weeks of volunteering. I put the blog on hold as I didn’t think it would be worth doing daily or weekly updates as they would have been along the lines of “I walked some dogs today….then I walked some more dogs…..then I fed some dogs….” So instead I waited to see how those 9 weeks played out and if there was anything of interest I would pull it together at the end, and in fairness there wasn’t really anything spectacular or out of the ordinary that happened but there were a couple of interesting characters I met that are worth a mention.
First up we have Sheena, a member of the German Olympic cat stroking team apparently. She arrived about a week after I did from the Jungles of Sumatra where she had been living for some time and had heard about the animal shelter through a friend. The first couple of days she helped as all the volunteers do by walking and feeding the dogs but became quickly bored of the canine population. Whenever I have volunteered I have always done what is asked of me as the shelter has been running a lot of years now and those that own and run it have obviously got the place set up the way they want it. Their system works as the shelter has successfully served the island for a long time now. Sheena however had other ideas and decided that the cats at the shelter needed some special attention as well. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing as some of the work she did was excellent if not a little over the top. However I have never met a more annoying or immature woman in all my life.
The first couple of weeks she was brilliant and made some really good improvements for the well being of the cats which was admirable but once that honeymoon period was over it all turned sour and Sheena, lost for ways to further improve the cats lives turned to moaning and complaining. By this point the cats had the finest lifestyle of any cats on the island thanks to a rigorous stroking and brushing program but this did not seem to satisfy the woman and she then took it upon herself to become some sort of vigilante cat groomer. My days seemed to revolve around endless complaints aimed at the management or at myself. Complaints against the shelter itself were ridiculous as by now the cats were reveling in a celebrity lifestyle, waited on hand and foot in a manner that would make Madonna jealous. The complaints to my face about me however really wound me.
Sheena’s poor English obviously translated to the fact that I could not speak English properly. Me? I’m from England you cat stroking muppet. On a daily basis she ridiculed me and swore at me due to this fact to the point where I had had enough and I avoided conversation where ever possible……well I didn’t feel much like talking anymore anyway what with the apparent speech impediment I had recently acquired.
Next up we have Kelvin AKA Vinnie Sands AKA Jason Bourne. Kelvin had come from KL as a full time paid volunteer hoping to get a two year contract at the shelter. I actually liked Kelvin unlike Sheena. He’s a really decent lad just with a lot of tall tales to tell and in a way I wish he had not bothered with some of the stories as it would have been nicer to get to know the real Kelvin as oppose to the many different characters he portrayed himself as. That said the stories kept me entertained and many a time I would have tears streaming down my cheeks just thinking about them all.
He’s only a young lad at 24 years of age but grief he has crammed a lot into those years particularly since the age of 17. Headhunted by the special forces while working in a restaurant at a young and tender age he went on to serve for 6 years in most countries around the world. Shielding French diplomats in Libya and smuggling bars of gold bullion out of Russia from major cocaine dealers past Interpol was a mundane daily existence for this young chap and obviously something he took in his stride. So mundane in fact that he obviously found the time to indulge in many other activities when his diplomats back was turned or the gold supply chain had stalled for some reason. The owner of a surf shop and a keen free diver and spear fisherman as well there was nothing he wasn’t capable of. A high level employee of two major oil companies, although only as cover for his special forces role you understand he was also a published author under the name of Vinnie Sands. For a man of so many talents and sources of income I was surprised that he never had the spare change to buy a jar of coffee for the flat every time we ran out. Still I didn’t mind, it was nice to buy a coffee for a lad he obviously had a busy schedule.
So both interesting characters in their own way really and I guess between looking after the dogs it made the time fly by quickly. As always I really enjoyed my time helping out. The dogs there are wonderful for shelter dogs, so loving and caring and a good source of company. I also had the pleasure of fostering several kittens and their mother. Well two kittens that were born to the mother and one other stray that was dropped off who was accepted by the mother as her own. They were absolutely beautiful however it was a sad day when Alaska passed away with a disease. Thankfully it did not spread to the others and little Einstein the stray was adopted to a good home. It makes it feel worth while when you see the occasional kitten or puppy go to a loving home. Unfortunately it never happens often enough here.
I also met some other nice people there as well this time around. Sonja and James, a couple from Australia who were really nice to me. Simon a lad from Manchester who I could share old skateboarding stories with and last but not least Jack the shelter manager from Birmingham who I shared many a laugh with, generally due to Vinnie’s stories. Maybe the one true fact is that he really is an author?
Before I knew it 9 weeks had flown past and I had deliberated for some time on when and where to head to after the shelter. I found myself suddenly needing to make a decision and eventually I settled for a return to Bali for a month. Still my favorite place and cheap and easy enough to reach from Malaysia. I’m sure I will return to the shelter again one day and help out some more. They need it as do many many other places around the world. I wish them well and if your ever in that part of the world pop in and see if they need a hand for a few hours, you wont regret it.
So off I go again, bags packed up for the umpteenth time. It’s now been over a year since I left home and looking back despite the many many places I have visited, it is all turning into a blur. Time waits for nobody, of that I am sure.
