17 MACHANGThe evening before, everybody in the cousins’ houses had been suitably terrified by the encounter with the fearsome Jong Aan and impressed with the way they had overcome it. The women trembled at the video that Young had taken, which he was able to replay on their widescreen television set. The children screamed as the snake uncoiled and came towards the camera. With the exception of the tiger, the King Cobra was the most feared creature in the local jungle, despite the fact that fatalities from encounters with them were rare.
Such was their awesome reputation.
They were also able to show photos of several local birds such as hornbills, woodpeckers and pittas. Young also played back jungle sounds which the family was able to identify. There were the calls of gibbons, monkeys an
