Night of the Zombie Dogs

We wanted to go to Kanchanaburi but by the time we arrived at the train station there were no more trains going that night. So we looked on the schedule to see what was leaving in the next 15 minutes. There was a train leaving for Ayuthaya, and so the fate of the moon sent us to our imminent evening of the zombie dogs.

The train pulled in gently and then gave a sudden lurch for a stop. It seemed to beckon us forward into the evening. It was not very late by most standards however there was almost noone around. The boats were no longer ferrying people across the channel, and so we were forced to walk the long way around over the bridge and into Ayuthaya. The streets were deserted but for a few souls walking about or simply sitting quietly in the shadows of the buildings. For a small city of one million the silence seemed haunting and surreal as if our surroundings were somehow holding their breath in wait for some as of yet unknown event to occur.

We passed by a a dog who a acted merely as most soi dogs do by simply noticing us with a turn of his head and then turning away. Then we heard the low gruff sound of a growl as he sniffed the air. It was then we noticed the man silently sleeping whilst sitting in a chair beside the mangy moaning dog. We tried to be quiet so as not to wake him but I’m not sure if it was out of respect or fear but the situation seemed to grow steadily stranger with each step as if the breath held around us was slowly beginning to exhale.

We soon found our guesthouse and after a few knocks on the door we were admitted to a room. We asked that we could go out yet as we had not had time for our dinner that evening. And so we ventured forth through the gates of the guesthouse and back into the night.

We assumed that dinner would be close by as the tourist areas of Thailand are usually teeming with small restaurants, internet cafés, and various soi carts and other small venders. But tonight there seemed to be many closed shops and few people. Soon we passed by a dog. We didn’t see him at first as we walked past the shadows but then the shadows seemed to change shape as he poured from them, pushed forth from the blackness as if being released. His back was already bristled preceded only by a growl dull and low, similar to the first dog we had seen. He began to follow us in slow pursuit. I turned toward him with a growl of my own to let him know to leave us be but he shrugged it off and increased speed, lessening the distance between us. When he came close enough for discomfort I finally squared my shoulders, stamped my feet, clapped hands, and growled further. He decided to let off his pursuit and meandered away. Thirty feet later we had a new predator. Another, much larger dog emerged from the shadows headed straight for us.

This is where we decided something was amiss. Soi dogs are a defeated lot. They are akin to the man who lies in the gutter drinking cough medicine, perhaps he isn’t the friendliest man but you would hardly expect him to bother you much less challenge you with a physically threatening fervor. But here we were amidst the k-9 bums of Thailand suddenly deciding to pronounce themselves kings of the night. It was like Mr. Hyde had absentmindedly left his medicine in the trash bin for all soi dogs to consume and we to bear witness to the results.

It appeared the evening had finally exhaled and all the evils of the witching hour were upon us. The dog pursuing us now was larger than the first and appeared to be much more adamant in his pursuit. He trotted along with a threatening arrogance that made me dash any thought of challenging him. We quickly crossed the street and quickened our steps, however, our attempted flight was intercepted by yet another dog. We hastened forward toward the next intersection where we could see some people dining on the corner and an open 7-11 store with bright lights. Perhaps the signs of common civilization gave us a feeling of familiarity to warm our fears amidst the twilight zone we were discovering ourselves in. We closed in on the intersection and began to cross the street when yet another two dogs appeared from the darkness. These new adversaries pursued us at a run with teeth bared and snarls erupting from their gaping maws. I felt sheer panic at this surprise realizing we were between many dogs all seemingly ready to attack.

We immediately turned directly toward the 7-11 store and it was then that I noticed the people eating on the corner were watching us without humour. This struck me as odd because Thai people love to laugh at the folly of falang (Thai for “foreigners”). The fact that they were not laughing illustrated for us the seriousness of our situation. We were not only scared of the dogs, but our fear was not funny to the locals, therefore our fear was warranted and we were in danger. We pressed close in to the locals and entered the 7-11 to take refuge and regroup our thoughts and fears. What was happening? Why were these dogs so heinous in intent to the point of senseless ferocity at random strangers? What was peculiar about tonight that these ordinarily pitiful creatures were acting so vehemently? It was like a bad horror movie where the sun goes down and ordinary things become satanic and extraordinary, except in this picture the writing wasn’t so corny (I hope).

We decided to abandon all hope of finding our supper and just get back to the guesthouse in one piece. We ventured forth into the night once more with only the mission of survival to a place of rest. As we walked we discussed the strange events noting the odd behaviour of the dogs. “I mean, what the hell is going on here? Is it a full moon or something?” As we rounded the next corner we found ourselves aglow in moonlight. The clouds had dissipated for a moment revealing a full, low, lamp-like moon hanging above us in the sky.

It was like the fates were laughing at us with a dark humour. Our musings had given way to reality. Was it actually the moon that had somehow turned these pitiful soi dogs into killers of the night? Who knows, but the moon was full, the dogs were zombies, and we were scared.

On our way back to the guesthouse we were pursued by one more pack of dogs and 2 more individual zombie dogs. The final dog to pursue us was none other than the first dog we had passed on our way into town. It was at that point that the man sleeping beside it arose to pelt the animal with rocks which enraged the dog, however, it did cease its attack. In the future I will remember that rocks are the spiritual anti-thesis to zombie dogs much like garlic is to vampires and silver bullets are to werewolves.

The next morning we awoke and went out for breakfast with no mishaps to report. The sun was high and the shadows had receded including the darkness of the dogs. We saw many of the same dogs that morning which had pursued us the night before, and yet, they were not the same dogs. They were sleeping, lolling about, eating garbage, and being their usual pathetic selves with no gumption in their bellies much less fire of the spirit. They were ordinary soi dogs complete with hopelessness. We joked that they were resting only to conserve their strength for the next full moon but joking is often a mask for discomfort which is what we were left with after the night of the zombie dogs.