Monday, April 19, 2010

Not a celebrity but get me outta here


During the first evening in Phu Chaisai I thought someone was using some sort of power tool – a chainsaw or a bandsaw or something – perhaps somewhere in the valley. It was deafening but it eventually dawned on me that it was an insect. The woman in the spa said it was a black grasshopper but we never spotted it.

Have a listen here: it’s only a few seconds long and it does demonstrate there’s no peace in the countryside.


The wildlife definitely caused me some anxiety but they are also fascinating – when they are a safe distance away.

On the last full day I spotted this chappie:


I went and got Husband who waved his arms about until he looked like this:


The next day we were flying home.  After being woken throughout each night by our gecko roommate I was pretty relieved to be honest. Every morning I’d open my eyes carefully, wondering if there’d be something really nasty on the mosquito net. I’d turn lights on and pause for a few seconds to give the creepy things a chance to scarper and I’d check the floor before making contact with it. It wasn’t necessarily a relaxing way to live but it was infinitely better than the Red Shirts and the resort is absolutely lovely.

After everyone had packed, I took all the keys to do a final check in the rooms. I got outside Daughter’s hut and there was lots of shaking in the foliage; I froze. Something had fallen out of the tree to my right. No more noise. I peered down to the ground. I shouldn’t have done that. The only thing of interest was a long silvery thing that could have been a piece of tube. I continued to peer and watched in horror as it moved, then slithered away into the undergrowth.

Eeeeerrrrghw. Get me outta here.

12 comments:

Queenie said...

Mmmm, reptiles, lovely!

Jenny Beattie said...

Oh dear; not a fan? Sorry.

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

I don't mind reptiles and have held a cameleon, but the sound of that flippin grasshopper would drive me nuts.

Sue Guiney said...

And that is why I'm a city girl :-)

Carol said...

Just popped over to let you know that there is an award for you over at mine :-)

C x

Ps. At least it wasn't a spider!!

Chris Stovell said...

Berlimey there's no escape is there (still laughing to self about so-called copulating insects)? Thank goodness the noises outside my window are generally cows, sheep and tractors!

Angie said...

I wouldn't mind the geckos so much, but snakes...eurgh! Amazing how loud those grasshoppers were. Hope you had a nice trip, despite the noise and the critters.

Fran Hill said...

There's a beautiful ambiguity in the fact that after you say 'I went and got Husband who waved his arms about until he looked like this' there's another picture of a gecko. Just for one nano-second, I thought, 'What? Just waving his arms about turned your husband into THAT?'

HelenMWalters said...

I love the blue gecko. Amazing that it could change so quickly though.

Jenny Beattie said...

Debs, they're awful, aren't they? I went to pick up daughter from school on Monday and heard them there too!

Sue, *grinning* me too, mostly.

Carol, thank you!

Chris, cows, sheep and tractors are much safer!

Angie, we did, thanks. Once I'd stopped checking for news of Bangkok!

Fran, do you know, I knew it read like that... and I was too bone idle to do anything about it! That'll learn me.

Helen, it's beautiful, isn't it? Chameleon? Or Iguana I think, but not gecko and he changed very slowly!

Kat W said...

That insect(s)sound is something like the soundtrack from a horror movie. My daughter asked me to switch it off. LOL.

Susie Vereker said...

Amazing noise! Lovely pics too.