In Burma they have this one kind of dog. I was calling it the Generic Dog. They are medium sized, medium brown, short fur, and have a generally benevolent temper. This seemed to be true just about everywhere until we got to Taungok. Which is also called Taungup, Tonggot, Taungkok and who knows what else. The schizophrenia in name may have carried over to the dogs, too. No sooner had we left the guest house then we were confronted with our first mad dog. It barked and advanced on us while some people (the owners?) yelled at it and tried to keep it from attacking us. We managed to walk by unscathed. A block or two later, near the market, we were walking up a street when a commotion broke out ahead of us. Another dog lunged at two kids on a bicycle and in trying to avoid it, they ran into a piece of wood and fell off the bicycle. People all around started picking up rocks and throwing them at the dog, which then retreated. Seeing that this was an effective method for warding off Taungok Dog, I picked up a couple rocks, put one in my pocket and carried the other in my hand. Nonetheless we still decided to go around this particular block instead of down the street since the dog was right in the middle of the block. When we got back near the guesthouse, the first dog started barking at us again, and followed us down the street for a bit. I had a rock in each hand, but fortunately didn't need to use them. Dick said something about wishing he had gotten a rabies immunization. I was wishing I had one too, this being about the last place in the world you would want to have to seek medical treatment.

From Taungok we took a boat to Sittwe, a most horrible 3 day 2 night ride, and then another boat to Mrauk-U, which is an amazing town with centuries old pagodas set among the hills. From here we were not allowed to take the bus back to the interior of the country, apparently the road was particularly bad - a bus had tumbled off it recently killing 10 people, but also, there is apparently a problem with guerillas along this route. So we took a boat back to Sittwe, and then the faster, more expensive boat back to Taungok. Upon arrival in Taungok we headed straight for the bus station, not really wanting to spend another night in this town. As I was buying my bus ticket to Pyay (also known as Pye or Prome {but the dogs seem not as schizophrenic}), I heard a commotion nearby. I could see a small crowd rush into the the area behind me, and then I heard a loud thump. I was right at the point of exchanging money with the bus company people so I could barely look back to see what was happening. I heard Dick say "Oh my God they're killing that dog!" To which I could only respond, "It probably deserves it, I bet it bit somebody," remembering our previous experience in Taungok. Sure enough, a guy with a bloody leg limps up to inspect the now deathly still dog, the dog had bitten his calf muscle. All the other dogs in the area took off. I hope this guy was able to receive rabies shots, this didn't seem like the sort of area that would have had much in the way of medical services.

So, should you ever find yourself going to Burma, I'd recommend a rabies vacination before you go. And if you find while you are there that you are going to be spending any time whatsoever in Taungok, I'd suggest carrying a couple medium sized rocks.