Zoophobic? Might want to reconsider Vietnam as your expat destination

Aidan in HCMC · 2022-07-27T09:40:09+02:00

Though I don't consider myself to suffer from zoophobia, here are a few instances where I would have preferred to not have been exposed to some of VN's fauna. Motoring from D7 to D1 in Saigon one afternoon, I was about halfway through D4 when I noticed out of the corner of my eye another large-ish bike to my right. Not unusual. What I didn't expect was my acquiring a passenger. Suddenly there appeared, perched between my hands on the instrument cluster, a monkey! I'm talking one of those macaque monkeys, chattering nervously, head looking at me, then left, right, back to it's owner, and then....gone. It jumped back onto the bike alongside me. The owner was grinning and thought nothing of it. We were travelling at a good click (+60 kmh). I was a bit surprised, to say the least, but otherwise unscathed. I'm a very experienced rider, but I shudder to think how less experienced riders might have reacted. Rats. RATS. RATS! They are everywhere! Though I've grown used to seeing them, my first close encounter with one occured in Saigon. I was out for a walk one evening, when I saw a dead rat which had been hit by a vehicle's tire. I gingerly stepped over it, only to have a large rat run out from a pile of garbage at the curb, and run straight into the side of my boot! It hit with considerable force due to its size and rate of speed. Damn! Snakes. I abhor them. Thankfully, SWMBO has always been there to, ahem, dispatch them for me. My closest and scariest encounter occurred in T.P. Thai Nguyen. I had asked our landlord whether there were snakes in this area. He and his friend laughed. "Aidan wants to know if there are snakes around here, LOL. No, nothing to worry about", he said. No sooner had he left, while I was cleaning up some brush from the side of our driveway, when I noticed something moving just to my left. I instinctively drew my arm back, when there sailed past (where my arm had been) a rather large viper, fangs extended. Having missed its mark (my arm) it proceeded to slither away. My yelps alerted my protector (HER!), who dashed down from upstairs and slaughtered it for me. I was ready to hit it with a hammer I had next to me when she yelled, "Aidan no! It is longer than the hammer". Right, message received. She has shown me that to do the job safely, one needs a stick/club/bludgeon at lest as long as the snake itself. It was large, more than a meter long and according to the locals was known to be highly venomous. Since that episode, I have seen her kill at least a dozen snakes in and around properties we have occupied. I have found the freshly molted skins of cobras in areas of our properties that have taught me not to stick my hand somewhere I can't see in to. Spiders. Lots of them, and not small. Some bigger than a computer mousepad. Many of these are very similar to brown recluse spiders, but a few were much, much beefier, mottled coloured, and able to jump from wall to ceiling while I pursued them. But with spiders, size isn't everything. I was bitten on the right forearm 2 years ago by a small spider (2 cm). It was essentially painless, but within 24 hours the flesh had necrotized, growing progressively worse over the next week. The wound/poison ate a hole in my forearm almost all the way to the bone. The wound was open, and had I wanted to I could have easily sunken the filter of a cigarette, and more, into the hole. I now have a permanent scar on my arm, white as the driven snow, and perfectly round. Bats, and I mean big a*s bats. This wouldn't normally bother me, but when they're flapping around your head in your livingroom when you wake at 2:00 AM to get a glass of water it can be quite disconcerting. Again, SWMBO to the rescue, while I duck-and-weave to my safe space. I have no shame. Scorpions. Two kinds (as far as I can tell), and unlike spiders, the scorpions do not take flight when approached. They stand their ground, waiting for any encounter thrown at them. The most usual kind I've encountered are the smaller reddish kind, sans pincers. I'm told the sting from the smaller ones is much more painful (injurious?) than their larger black cousins (the ones with powerful foreclaws). Just two nights ago I noticed my cat, Harold (don't laugh, she picked the name because it sounded exotic) had focused on some prey he had laid claim to in the middle of the kitchen floor. I had no idea that those claws could close with such force as to make a clacking sound. Fortunately, its bravado was no match for my Doc Marten boot (backed up with my 80 kgs weight). They provide ample incentive for one to wear footwear (sandals, flip-flops etc) even while indoors. Ticks. Uggghhhh! One of the main reasons I no longer ride off-road through brush. I've not been bitten (burrowed in to?), but have picked many off of my motocross armour. Lyme disease is certainly nothing one should disregard. Toads. Lots of them. Though VN toads are not poisonous as far as I know, they have a detrimental effect on one's sleep patterns, especially when they jump on your head and/or try to crawl into bed with you. There's more, but so many instances of "Aidan vs. Mr/Mrs Monster" that I can't recall others right now. So, still want to expatriate to VN? I wouldn't swap living in VN for the world, and in spite of the above I love it here. Best of luck to any newcomers.

Last activity 28 October 2024 by Aidan in HCMC

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RTLisSBContributor04 December 2023 04:00:54

#121

177

Any idea what kind this is? Not as big as most that I've seen on here. Just interested in what it ?

Please disregard, photo didn't come though.

Aidan in HCMCVietnam Expert28 October 2024 08:56:08

#122

3364

DAMN!!

Got a nasty bite from a spider earlier today, back of neck behind ear/jawline.

Washed now, tetracycline antibiotic applied. I'm hoping it doesn't get as bad as the one I got on my forearm a couple of years back, up north in Thai Nguyen.

Monitoring closely, with fingers crossed.

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"Spiders. Lots of them, and not small....bitten on the right forearm 2 years ago...within 24 hours the flesh had necrotized...ate a hole in my forearm almost all the way to the bone...permanent scar on my arm, white as the driven snow..." (link to original post, "Spiders")

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Couple of earlier trophy pics from Saigon and Thai Nguyen, here

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