Being in an unfamiliar place is exciting. Everything is new and different: the culture, the food, the architecture, and… wildlife. I’ve encountered wildlife here that can only be seen at a zoo back home in America. When I say encounter, I mean it was a CLOSE encounter. The story I am about to recall was scary in the moment, but upon reflecting it’s quite amusing. So why am I sharing it? One, readers- you will definitely get a kick out of it. Two, there’s also certainly a valuable lesson that can be learned.
Let me cut to the chase, no pun intended. I made the mistake of looking a wild monkey in its eyes- not once, but twice. The first time I made it out unscathed. The second time though, not so much. Let me preface this by saying, no the damage was not done directly by the monkey, but rather it was a result of my clumsiness. Anyways, let’s take it from the start.
It was Day 1 of my trip the first time I saw a monkey in Hong Kong. This time it was from the safety of my room, separated by a window. I would continue to see monkeys from a distance through my room window a few times. Each time, I sought to get a better video. I wanted to share with my friends and family back home the mesmerizing wild life I had the luxury of seeing from my very own bedroom. It felt like my own personal zoo.
About 2 weeks ago I had my first face to face run-in with a monkey. Being overcome with excitement, the tourist in me whipped out my phone and quickly approached it; I had completely forgotten that I was no longer in the safe confines of my own personal zoo. As soon as the monkey turned its head and stared into my soul through my phone camera, I quickly realized my mistake. It lunged towards me and I ran- simple. This time it was an easy escape.
You would think that I would have learned my lesson from this experience. Well, about a week ago, I was headed to the library when I see a family of monkeys cross the street far ahead of me. I kept in mind their potential heightened aggressiveness due to the baby monkeys. I stopped and waited a few minutes until I thought the coast was clear. I thought a road width’s length was a safe enough distance. Wrong. I have never ran faster in my life.
All I heard was the monkey’s grunting getting louder and louder behind me. (For context, Hong Kong is super hilly and rainy, even hillier and rainier than Pittsburgh). So, at this point I was running full speed down a wet steep hill. Eventually, I was moving faster than my legs could keep up, and the next thing I know I am falling elbow-first onto the pavement. As I picked myself backup, I finally gathered the courage to look behind me. Luckily the monkey decided to spare me.
So what can be learned from my cautionary tale? Don’t let your curiosity and excitement get the best of you! Be alert of your surroundings, especially in a foreign place, and don’t let your common sense guard down just to get a cool video. Do your research- a quick google search would have alerted me of the risks of monkey attacks and how to avoid them. Most importantly, never look a wild monkey in its eyes!