One of the things that has fascinated me about Thailand since I moved here is the prevalence of zebras at Thai temples and spirit houses.
Now, if you know anything about Thailand, you know a real zebra has probably never set foot in the country, not unless it came with a circus or is the resident of a Thai zoo. That is why it is so odd to see herds of zebras at many Thai temples and spirit houses.
Now obviously there is some significance to the zebras but, of the more than 100 Thais I’ve asked about them, not one of them could tell me what it was.
Then I read in a local newspaper the zebras at Thai temples and spirit houses came about as a result of zebra crossings.
Figuring a zebra crossing was a place of safety (well, not in Thailand but that is another story), Thais decided to put statues of zebras at spirit houses and temples to offer the same level of safety to those who prayed at them.
Like everything else in Thailand, this could or could not be true but it is an interesting story and the zebras themselves are actually quite lovely and endlessly fascinating.
Particularly when every day at the spirit house at the end of my street, Thais from all walks of life come to leave them, and the spirit that lives there, food and bottles of fizzy pop.
