All I wanted to do was reach into the kitchen cabinet and get hold of the soya sauce to flavor my dinner. I didn’t suspect anything at first, but when I was holding the bottle in my hand, I saw this staring right at me:

Ok maybe it wasn’t as wild a lizard as I’ve portrayed here. But it sure as hell freaked me out. It was staring at me and before I knew it, it jumped ONTO MY T-SHIRT! I dropped the bottle and began to scream as I jumped up and down in the kitchen. When I realized that the lizard might cling on to my shirt, I started running to the living room – all whilst jumping and screaming incoherent blabberish. My family, who were calmly watching TV in the living room, probably thought I was possessed.

I got paranoid while jumping (how I was even able to reach the conclusion of paranoia, I don’t know), and made a dash for my sisters’ room, where I immediately stripped myself of my t-shirt while hopping around the room, making sure that I’m totally rid of the lizard.

This is why I always tell people one of the pros of mountaineering is that you’ll never meet any creepy crawlies, at least not after you hit snow line. While trekking in, you might encounter a couple of marmots burrowing here and there. They can be vicious creatures apt at surviving under sub-zero climate, but they’re generally cool if you don’t go looking for trouble with them.

I know animal lovers might find me ridiculous or cruel, but seriously, lizards aren’t my idea of a lovely household companion. That goes for roaches, moths, grasshoppers… I’m a wuss and I think I’m happy staying that for a long time to come.