In dire situations, people often struggle to even fend for themselves, let alone for others.
Yet, a homeless man in Thailand proved that this is more than possible.
A 65-year-old known as Uncle Samsen went viral after travelling to Korat Thailand on his motorcycle with his 11 rescued stray cats.
A Facebook page dedicated to cat content, Kingdom Of Tigers, shared the touching story of how he rescued the cats despite being in a tight financial situation.
Thai news outlet The Thaiger reported that Uncle Samsen took about five hours to travel the 300km distance from Bangkok to Korat.
While this is nothing particularly special, what differentiated him from other motorists was his sidecar which carried 11 cats.
Source: Kingdom Of Tigers on Facebook
Kingdom Of Tigers shared that he made sure to keep to a maximum speed of 40km/h for the safety of his pets.
A rescue team in Korat also apparently accompanied him until he reached his destination
The Thaiger revealed that Korat was Uncle Samsen’s hometown, and he wanted to bring the cats back for a visit.
Source: Kingdom Of Tigers on Facebook
Uncle Samsen was also apparently headed to the annual Ya Mo Market Fair in Korat to sell items. He purchased them from Sampeng Market in Bangkok to sell there.
In a separate post, Kingdom Of Tigers shared that Uncle Samsen is a homeless man who only has a few articles of clothing on him, such as old torn trousers and shoes.
He used to be a construction vendor who had his own shop and many workers under him. Unfortunately, he fell victim to bankruptcy due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
He got a job in another town but went back home after four months since he did not know anyone there. Back home, he was apparently insulted and teased for falling from being a “big vendor” to being jobless.
He thus left so no one could find and berate him any further.
Since leaving over 20 years ago, he slowly picked up the 11 stray cats, gave them names and took care of them.
Source: Kingdom Of Tigers on Facebook
In an interview quoted by The Thaiger, Uncle Samsen said he stayed in Bangkok and sold anything he could find so he could have enough money to buy food for himself and his cats.
He apparently now makes a living by selling amulets and other trinkets in Bangkok. He also sells recyclable materials to recycling companies.
Additionally, he earns from advertisements he puts up on his motorcycle, an initiative introduced by the Kingdom of Tigers admin.
In the same interview, the Thai man said the only thing that cheered him up were the cats who loved him unconditionally.
Source: Kingdom Of Tigers on Facebook
As such, he refused to sell the felines.
The Thaiger reported that someone once offered to buy one of the cats for 20,000 baht (S$779), but he refused the offer, fearing that the buyer would become bored of taking care of the creature and abandon him.
He said,
I want to take care of him until the day he dies.
Despite his circumstances, Uncle Samsen makes sure to dress each cat up in adorable clothing.
Source: Kingdom Of Tigers on Facebook
He also only accepts donations of cat food as he fears other items might add too much weight to his motorcycle.
Seeing Uncle Samsen’s unwavering love for his cats and the comfort they bring him is certainly endearing.
We hope his sale at the flea market will be successful, and that he and his cats will be able to get around safely, no matter where they eventually go.
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Featured image adapted from Kingdom Of Tigers on Facebook.
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