Falling in love again in Thailand

I think I fell in love with her at first sight. And in all modesty, I think she felt the same way about me. However, as you can see in frames 4, 5 and 6, she had a companion who was keen to remind her that she had a prior love-attachment. So there wasn't much variety in last week's pictures on my Pic of the Day site, but something more like a budding obsession. And now that we are far apart, I find myself thinking about her a lot.

I had never before thought of buffaloes as beautiful creatures, but this one certainly was. Let me count the ways. Her eyes were large, dark, gentle, so lacking in guile, not looking for any advantage. She only had eyes for me, in fact. How often does that happen? She loved to be stroked (don't we all, you may ask) and was not backward in coming forward, as you see in frames 2 and 3. She was perfectly groomed, not a speck of mud anywhere, her body hair coarse, and yet silky shiny and inviting to the touch.

You can see her in all her glory by clicking on the photos to enlarge them.

        

        

 And yet I know that she was not perfect. I'm not too keen on wet noses, as a matter of fact.

Unsurprisingly, William Shakespeare put it better than I can, and amazingly every word is relevant to my thinking of her:
   

SONNET 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare. 
 

(I think I can fairly confidently claim that this is the first Thai blog to include a complete work by William Shakespeare -- as well as a passing reference to a sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.)
 

Comments

[Mike]

Lawrence waxing lyrical and great photos too-what more could a fellow Englishman want?

Cool weather and rain perhaps?

Well it is raining this morning for the first time in 2 months!!

[Michael Hare]

Buffaloes are indeed beautiful creatures. Lovely photos. I'm off to Suranaree University in Korat tomorrow to be the external examiner for a PhD defense of a thesis entitled "Study on protein requirements of growing male thai swamp buffaloes". Your photos were most appropriate to get me into the mood of an examiner.

[Boonsong]

Indeed she is beautiful, but not reall my type.
And you've titled this entry "Falling in love again in Thailand" - the first part of that would make a great song title.....

[Lawrence]

Hello to the three of you:

Mike, I'm getting more than I wanted of cool weather and rain, thank you. But you must be glad of the rainy season arriving at last. Maybe.

Michael, I'm pleased to have inspired you. Hope the trip and the task go well.

Boonsong, I'm glad she's not your type, I'd get jealous else. But hey, a song from my title is a good idea. Maybe I could get Marlene Dietrich to sing it, or Christina Aguilera, even.

Thanks to you all for visiting. I apprecate your comments.

[Martyn]

Lawrence I didn't think a buffalo could look as nice as that, even the flies would think twice about having the cheek to settle on him. How much did his lovely silver bell cost?

William Shakespeare would have come up with a few more classics if he had been lucky enough to have spent time in Isaan.

[Lawrence]

Martyn, thanks for your visit. Yes, there are no flies on HER, I'm sure. Her bell shows that SHE is held in high regard, doesn't it? What are you trying to suggest by repeatedly referring to her as if she was male? Should I be offended? No, but probably SHE should. Incidentally, her good-friend (yes, just good friends) next door is also female.

[malcolm]

Lawrence, I'm a huge buffalo fan myself , Ciejay's Mom and Dad had one before the tractors came to Wat Sing (just outside of Chaniet) they were farmers and rice planters, and she has some of the funniest stories to tell about their buffalo, I wish I could get her to write a childrens book and she is great at drawing little pictures , with which she could illustrate, maybe this post will just be the thing to get her excited enough to start , loved the pictures and she really is a beauty. Malcolm

[Boonsong]

Marlene Dietrich - never 'eard of 'im.

But I have heard of William Shakespeare. Didn't he write those immortal lines,
"A buffalo, a buffalo,
My kingdom for a buffalo...."

All the best, Boonsong