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Published: December 11th 2007
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Years ago when I was studying in the North East of Thailand, I came across a magical place in a temple garden that I nicknamed the “singing forest”. I wrote a story about it and used the story numerous times in the past to illustrate my travels to Thailand. The singing forest (of which there are many I have discovered in subsequent travels…though none as powerful as in Essan) is a naturally forested setting inhabited by millions of cicadas. These particularly large insects (anywhere from one centimeter to four inches long) inhabit forested areas and in the early morning and especially the early evening they let loose a vibrating cry that sounds like a locomotive screaming through your brain. With millions of these creatures “singing” together, the air is visually disturbed…much like a comic book sound wave. The point of this is that until a few days ago, I had never actually laid eyes on these creatures. I knew they were large, black and brown and were of the cicada family…but hadn’t seen one.
Of course, given time, Miles will find every species of bug known to man…
So, thanks to Miles, I know what they look like. Miles,
Malie and I were sitting on the stoop of my friend “Loung Marc’s” wife’s shop in Khao Lak last evening, when the most angry screeching buzzing sound started. I looked up to see Marc, who was perched in a stool fixing on of the displays, jumping around like a jack in the box. He hit the ground with a torrent of swear words I didn’t know they had in British English….
Out of nowhere a cicada had come flying at him and in his attempt to ward it off; he had knocked it into the ground. Apparently these creatures don’t like to be touched, caged, moved or stared at too closely. Marrin freaked right out and ran shrieking into the shop to hide behind the clothes. Miles wanted to make it scream…a lot. So he picked up the broom and kept pushing it around. The visitors at the nearby restaurant were all watching with fascination….ewww.
Marc came over and picked it up by its wings which sent the thing into a tizzy….At four inches long it was pretty big and loud…Miles had to poke at it some more while Marc tried to explain something scientific about it…life cycle
or some such thing I think. Marrin peeked out of the shop just as Marc let the thing go…it flew madly upward then came crashing down at Marrin’s feet…which sent her shrieking again…
Miles picked it up and it attached itself to his shirt collar. I thought he would lose it but he calmly said, “Uh, mom, can you get this thing OFF me!”
I did and he put it into a plastic cup. It’s an ugly creature really…looks very much the dinosaur it is, unchanged for eons as the saying goes. It’s eyes are literally on the sides of its head, with wings sticking out under a scaly, black back. It’s gross and its spiny legs grasp onto whatever is nearby…..creepy.
I wish I had my camera. The thing flew off eventually, or rather Marc threw it into the sky and it took off. The next morning when I got on the motocyc, I flipped right our when I heard the same screaming buzz by my lower leg…Marrin didn’t even hesitate with her screeching and slammed the bungalow door behind her as she fled back inside. I had apparently dislodged one of the insects that had
overnighted on my bike tire and then run it over. I still have the eebie jeebies!
I have to share one more creepy bug story of the hundreds I have from my visits here. I won’t share the palm sized white spider nest bathroom story with you from the Golden Triangle because I can’t actually write it down it was so freaky.
But one spider story is just odd. First off, people keep weird pets here. Weird for me coming from the west, but I suppose it’s normal here. Bugs and Monkeys are favorites, but chinchillas, squirrels and other furry things abound as well. I can’t get over the tarantula idea though.
I was traveling to Burma the other day and as we passed a guy on a motocyc, I noticed him frantically scratching at something on his back. He was driving erratically with only one hand on the bike and the other reaching to his back. I noticed a blob on his back and as we passed closely he grabbed the thing and relocated it to his other shoulder….His pet Tarantula was riding shotgun. I hate spiders.
I have compiled an odd assortment of pictures
of some of the bugs in this country. Some of the pics are Brittany’s that she took in September.
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Mom & Grandma D
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I'm not arachnophobic! Cool stories, the photos are amazing. They grow the bugs really big over there.