Lumphini Park
About a year ago, I did a massive sweep through my closet and donated clothes, shoes and other things I didn’t need. It was an attempt to minimalize our space that ended with me holding on even tighter to my cheerleading uniform and pompoms than I ever thought possible.
In the midst of bagging clothes and the revelation that my prom dress was a hideous shade of periwinkle, I picked up a small box and found a lizard. He was alive. How he got there, I will never know. He looked up at me wondering the same thing and was probably pissed off that I disturbed his temporary home.
I’m a sucker for cute animals, but I won’t lie that I was taken aback by this new roommate. I had to find a way to get him back outdoors where he belonged without him losing his tail (true story, I’ll immediately throw up if I see this anatomical feat).
Several makeshift rescue attempts later, the little guy was freed outside where he belonged and with a sigh of relief, I whispered: “oh thank you baby jesus you weren’t any bigger.”
Then came Lumphini Park in Bangkok. Allow me to explain.
Paddle Boats in Lumphini Park
The mister and I visited some very beautiful and peaceful parks during our visit to Thailand. Our favorite was Lumphini Park, a park dedicated in the 1920s by King Rama VI to Thai citizens. The park is a scenic plot of open-air land right in the middle of bustling Bangkok. It has everything a person could want: trails to walk, ponds to paddleboat in, benches and tables for picnics and the monitor lizard.
We were sitting at the park when a huge, komodo dragon-esque lizard slowly waddled his way out of the pond. Like a dramatic slow motion sequence, I turned to the mister and said: “oh em eff gee, what the fuck is that?!”
The dragon, now clearly a giant five-foot-long lizard, propped himself in the shade not five feet away from us and occassionally looked in our direction, perhaps for his own safety, but most likely because he was intrigued by the yelling white girl.
“It’s a lizard,” the mister said. “Isn’t this place awesome! You would never have animals like this in parks in the US.”
Hey, you, big guy! A monitor lizard
He’s right. As we watched a monitor lizard mimic a squirrel scampering up a tree, I couldn’t help but think: you wouldn’t find an animal with the power to kill just listing lazily at your neighborhood park.
Most of us city-dwellers aren’t raised with survivalist instincts and the most we know how to do is run like hell and dial 911. So, imagine if monitor lizards were the new duck at parks and how many of them would be helplessly terminated for the sake of safety.
Animals, it seems, are not meant to coexist with humans in the US. Take for instance, recent news about Southern California cougars finding their ways into hillside-jutted backyards (I mean the actual mountain lion, not cougars from Newport Beach). They’re immediately seized and put down by local authorities in an attempt to keep humans safe (maybe I am talking about Newport Beach cougars). Or, how about a pit bull with an inexperienced bully breed owner who ends up being put down due to violent behavior.
Even relatively calm park animals have been known to attack humans, but only as a threat response. Take, for example, a goose. I will never understand why a person would choose to get in the face of a goose and her flock, but I have seen this happen. That person is asking for trouble. Similarly, if I went up to a monitor lizard and got in their face, it may just whack me with its tail and I would probably have that coming. The same goes for our dog, Rupert, or the feral cat on our balcony. If I taunt Rupert or Pussy McKittymeow, they may just retaliate.
The point is, there seems to be a divide of animal versus human, where humans are considered stronger, better and smarter. With the power to reason, I suppose we are smarter. But, we can coexist peacefully with a mutual respect for all animals naturally inclined to the region. This doesn’t mean that the next time we camp at Yellowstone, I will gladly let a bear attack us for our food. But, I would take precautions to keep bears away so that we can all enjoy nature in such a beautiful park.
If there is one thing we love about Thailand, it was their genuine and mutual respect for all things living. It shows, not just through hospitality, but within all aspects of life, including those lovely lizards of Lumphini Park.
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