Changes in latitude, changes in attitude

 Sunday morning, up with the lark,

I think I’ll take a walk in the park,

hey, hey,hey, it’s a beautiful day ……

Ok, hands up, who else remembers Daniel Boone ? it’s okay, you can admit to it too

 I was awake very early Sunday morning for some reason so I decided to make the most of it and went down to Lumphini park for an early morning stroll while it was (relatively) cool. I’ve never seen so many Thais exercising at the one time, there were hundreds pounding the pavement around the park at various speeds ranging from sprint to shuffle as well as using the exercise equipment and doing various forms of tai chi ….to say nothing of ballroom dancing lessons in the park at 8am.

At 8am everything stops momentarily as people stand for the flag raising and national anthem which is played over the loudspeakers, and then it is business as usual.

 By 9am the sun has risen over the trees and is starting to bite,  most of the runners have gone home except for the “crazy farangs”, and only the keenest of tai chi-ers are still twirling their swords and fans while most are enjoying a ritual communal breakfast in the shade.

Tyrannosaurus scavengerus

Of course humans+food=scraps, which brings out the scavengers like this fellow, one of the parks resident lizards slurping up some noodles. I figure I’ve done enough exercise by now as well so I sit under a tree by the side of the lake, and soon enough several of the lizards have the same idea and sit on the bank within a 10 metres of me, including one that must have been at least 2 metres long. They are certainly not scared of humans !

 The big one did n’t need to scavenge for food as I saw it catch a couple of fish while I was sitting there, it just lumbered into the water and came back a few minutes later with breakfast flopping around in it’s jaws. Bash the fish on the ground a couple of times, juggle around in it’s mouth, and then gulp ! no chewing needed …

By 10 o’clock I am strolling back to the skytrain and then home to veg out for the rest of the day.I think that I’ve done enough exercise this morning to indulge in a few beers guilt-free tonight …

Some more pics :

Tyrannosaurus lumphini, aka monitor lizard

tyrannosaurus lumphini junior

Pump iron or sit and relax ?