DH and I had a dinner meeting with two Korean guys last night at Sheraton Subang’s Miyako (Japanese restaurant). For the purposes of this blog post, let’s just call them Mr. Lee and Mr. Kim.
As we savoured the wonderful food in such a cozy ambiance, the conversation invariably went from a purely business discussion to a more casual one.
DH shared with us a story about a young Korean guy who was posted for the first time in Jakarta. On his first night there, the Korean chap was said to have not slept a wink… all because of a lizard — a.k.a. the common house gecko — which was on the wall. He said, if there are baby crocodiles that could climb walls in Jakarta, there could very well be a much bigger mother crocodile lurking around!
Everyone had a good laugh but I was incredulous, thinking it was just a joke. But Mr. Kim, a seasoned world traveller, assured me that he had a similar experience related to lizards, too. He recounted how he had trouble sleeping on the first night of his first visit to Jakarta. So he turned on the bedside table lamp to do some reading. Just then, after taking one look at the ceiling, he quickly jumped off the bed and called the front desk for assistance. (He was staying at the Hilton Jakarta, mind you.) One of the hotel’s staff rushed to his room, glanced at the creature on the ceiling, then very calmly assured the frightened Mr. Kim not to be afraid for it’s only a lizard and that it is, in fact, scared of humans, and that its presence is beneficial as it would devour any small insects in the vicinity.
Apparently, there are no lizards in Korea, a country whose four-season climate is worlds apart from the hot and humid Southeast Asian tropical climate!
Haha! That’s funny!
My sister used to knock on anything wood if she hears the lizard make a sound. It’s for goodluck daw :)
Hey Mimi! Those little tiny lizards make me freak out, so if I saw a gecko, I would have an asthma attack, I swear. They were the stuff of tales when I was growing up. Di ba they said if one jumped on you, it would latch on to your skin and wouldn’t come off unless “patuwaran sang Ati.” Ahahaha. Hilarious! (Hi Mimiiii! Happy new year!!!)
Oh, no lizards in Korea? I learned something today.
Lizards are cold-blooded, so it won’t survive in winter.
I once heard a story about “dried” gecko, grounded and mixed with tea to be good for asthma. The only side effect is you’ll have this urge to kiss the ground during Angelus. : )
Mimi, I had a good laugh on these Korean tales. For J. “tuko” is what you are referring to. they are much much bigger tan these house lizards. But if there’s one thing don’t like crawling in my skin, it’s them!
i couldn’t believe it at first myself. but what blogusvox said (the cold-blooded part) makes sense.
michel my husband is french who , first time visiting us in our home in Antipolo.
He saw the beast and ran out of the room, shocked!
he asked me: IS IT NORMAL HE IS THERE???? lurking at ME?
Ang tawa ko!
hahaha! don’t you just wish you had a video camera right at that moment? ;)
Lizards are abundant in Korea. The students at the school I work at catch them easily. Today three students had lizards in the school. There are a number of species.
Yes there are lizards in Korea. A simple Google search turns up a good number