When walking home from the Internet cafe I crossed a klong (canal) and saw something was going on.
A group of children sat on a pier, huddled together. Some men and older boys were on shore. They were poking into bushes with bamboo sticks.
I stopped on a bridge where I had a good view of the scene. A shirtless man spotted me and said something to his son. The son was not shirtless, I regret to report. But when the son turned to look at me I recognised his face. He was one of the regulars from the Internet cafe.
The boy came over to me. He carried a bamboo stick and I pointed to it and asked what he was doing.
- Hunting, said the boy.
This was all the conversation the boy had time for. He ran back to where the action was.
My Thai was not good enough to ask him what he was hunting. But I could guess. The crowd had respect for this invisible creature. None of the kids or adults were in the water. They cautiously approached the area where the beast was, poking grass and tree branches with their long sticks.
A Bangkok crocodile? A dangerous snake? I hope not. More likely it was one of the lizards that live in the klongs in Bangkok. I have seen them in Lumpini Park when they come out of the water to enjoy the afternoon sun. (What did you think I go to Lumpini Park for? I watch the wildlife.)
The lizards look like Godzilla and they are the size of dogs. They have sharp teeth and they are no playthings.
Next time I see the boy I will ask him how the hunt went. I wonder what they would do if they caught this animal. Eat it?
February 24th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
If it had been a novel and not a story from real life, I would have wondered how do we know the thai man were the father, why did the father point you out to his son, what did he say to his son and why did the son come to you. Could it be the fat white lady who were trying to set you up….?
February 24th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
If this was a setup by the Fat White Cow she got it wrong. Then the teenage boy should have been shirtless, not the so-so father.
I only guess that he was the father. They looked father-and-sonish. Unlike Hollywood movie familes real families often look as if they are closely related.
The father said (I guess again) “Look, there is a farang”. Thais say that a lot when I appear.
Why did the boy come over? I don’t know. Up to him.
February 24th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I watched one of those Lumpini lizards approach a man sleeping on a grassy knoll. I braced myself for the expected carnage. The man’s bare foot was exposed. The monster flicking his forked tongue on the foot, evaluating it for a meal. The man must have felt something ticking his toes and moved his foot, the monster quickly went back in the water. They might be vegetarians?
February 24th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Maybe that sleeping guy was saved by a bad case of feet BO?
February 25th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I just looked up the words limpini and lizard in google to see what you folks might be talking about. It looks like none other that the “water monitor” lizard. I double checked in Wikipedia, and sure enough i was right
You can buy these creatures here in Canada as pets. These, as well as iguanas, anoles, basilisks and all other lizards are very popular right now. We have an anole lizard, a veiled chamelon, and sand fish (a variety of skink that lines under the sand mostly). All were bred in captivity.
This is what wikipedia had to say about Water Monitor Lizards with respect to Thailand culture:
In Thailand, the word water monitor or actually local word ‘เหี้ย’ is used as an insulting word for bad and evil things including a bad person. Its name is also considered a word bringing a bad luck, so some people prefer to call them ‘ตัวเงินตัวทอง’ which means ’silver and gold’ in Thai to avoid the jinx.
-Whystler