Funny travel story about How I Meet a Mighty Snake

Yes, I know! Funny travel story about peacocks, monkeys, mongooses, and a bunch of lovely stray dogs next to breathtakingly beautiful jungle flora I wrote about in one of my previous blog posts sound so idyllic that the next thing you want to do is apply for the course, pack your bags, and fly out to this paradise island first thing tomorrow morning. I can feel you, my dear friend, I can feel you. But I would say – hold your horses.

Let me test your willingness with my next few lines.

The Indoor edition

There was also another kind of kingdom alive and very much visible. The indoor kingdom. My dear roommates, so to speak. Honestly, we got to know each other a lot more intimately than was necessary. Nevertheless, we shared common spaces for these 10 or 11 days, so let me introduce them to you.

with one of the volunteers in Dhamma Anuradha

A few minutes after I entered my room, I noticed a tiny dwarf frog. It was not much bigger than three brown M&Ms together. It was sitting in the sink corner and not moving.

Maybe it was observing me or pretending not to exist in the hope that I would not notice it. What can I say, bad luck, you tinny little frog. Busted.

As soon as my scanner-sharp eyes noticed it, my inner alarm went on. I immediately left the room. My legs carried me straight to the dining hall, where volunteers were gathering and preparing for the registration, which was about to start in one hour.

The lady in -charge was in deep conversation with another volunteer, but as soon as she saw me, she fell silent, turned her head towards me, and with gestures and a warm smile invited me to spill the tea.

Ma’am, I have a tiny frog in my room. Are they toxic?

I shot the question straight at her and waited for the response. After watching many sensational animal documentaries, which I adore to watch, I knew such things as toxic frogs exist. I don’t know exactly where else to find them, but in my wild mind, I knew one was sitting on the sink in my room.

To be honest, the frog was neither neon green or yellow, nor shinny red. Its skin was very pale, dark green with brownish spots all over its suurface. A very casual-looking tiny frog. But, hey, who knows? It might be in disguise and that is its superpower…

There is a saying in our country:

Poison often comes in small bottles.

And I did not want to risk it.

The lady smiled and gently assured me that there was no danger at all. Frogs here around are not toxic. Apart from snakes, which might or might not come, no animals are dangerous. Aaa? Did I hear snakes? She didn’t need to mention snakes, but what could I do at this point? Her answer kind of calmed me down, frog is not poisonous so as a result I mentally made peace with my new roommate. We can co-exist for a while, can we?

By the time I came back to the room, the tinny frog was gone, but I encountered it almost every day. It was either climbing the wall or just hanging there somwhere from the ceiling. I also saw it in different places in the bathroom, but I didn’t mind.

It’s not toxic, it’s not a problem.

The Pink Mosquito Net: A Lifesaver in this funny travel story

My lifesaver – the pink protection shield and a fan on a full speed

Everyday visitors! Eating mosquitos so they were warmly welcomed!

The pink mosquito net that came with the room was a lifesaver as mosquitos were everywhere. After I washed the net and figured out how to use it, it was ready to deploy. The net was not floor-length, so I needed to develop a tactic to come in and out without letting them in. But once the tactic was intact, The Pinky became a pure blessing and my favorite place to be in the room (as if there was any other option ;)).

Inside my bed-bunker or standing in the middle of the room under the full-speed fan, I felt fully in my powers.

I felt like an unbeatable superheroine with 100% protection. I could beat mosquitoes without a fight – with my innocent aura only. They surrendered before they even came close to me…

When these two sacred shields were gone, though, my superheroine aura suddenly disappeared.

I figured out that if I kept moving, they couldn’t land on me. My advanced tactic was to shake my limbs while moving. So basically – I just needed to dance. I slowly developed a working choreography. But most of the time, I was engaged in freestyle moves.

When I saw or felt a mosquito landing on my arm, I shook the arm. The mosquito did not give up. Neither did I. I shook again. Another one attacked from behind. I felt it but could not see it. Oftentimes it was too late.

Defeated in a battle, I started to scratch, but at the same time, I needed to keep my attention high because another one of these never-full small creatures was buzzing around. This time it came after my leg, from the floor up. I was shaking my leg, shaking my arm, and twisting my body, all while stepping forward, backward, to the left, or the right.

Girl, I was dancing, moving, and shaking my body like a pro.

The Shower Showdown

Taking a shower there was on another level. These insects intuitively knew that I was the most vulnerable there. Not protected by a super fan, pinky net, or airy clothes. I was as vulnerable as it gets and as such the perfect target. They were waiting for me every single time and attacked from all directions.

I did not mind and I kept on dancing. Additionally, a new technique was deployed. Spraying them with water. Just enough to make their wings wet, which they didn’t like. But it helped.

Now I am quite confident to say that I mastered this art of mosquito dance. So much so that I can even teach it. If you want to learn – write me in the comments below 😉

I can assure you, my friend, that mosquitoes are a fact in this tropical area, and one can use only so much anti-mosquito cream or spray for protection. Yes, I was using that as well, but I could not be covered in a thick layer of cream 24/7. Neither would I kill them. I try to live by five precepts.

with fellow co-meditators in Dhamma Anuradha

Anyway, there was another roommate and angel helper in my fight against mosquitoes. A small, transparent-looking wall lizard. I was not particularly fond of it, but as time went by, I started to appreciate its presence. Why? It occurred to me that it would eat mosquitoes for lunch or dinner as well as would my other roommate, the dwarf frog Nelly as I eventually named it.

The Unwanted, Yet Anticipated Encounter

I was cleaning my room every other day. A bit of sweeping, cleaning, and washing. Next to the door, I left a small white cloth on the floor. I used it only to wipe some parts of the floor if I needed to; otherwise, I did not touch it. So this cloth had stayed untouched for two or three days.

Once I moved this piece of fabric with a broom and the whole giant cockroach family came out. Mummy, daddy, and a baby cockroach went into a panic mode as I discovered their secret spot. Each of them ran into a different corner of the room. They left a tiny black narrow thing behind. It was the size of a small pencil and it looked like frozen. When I touched it with a broom it started to wriggle like it was a matter of life or death. I recognized these moves on the spot!

The big, scary encounter with a dangerous snake finally happened, my dearest reader.

Never in my dreams would I imagine that this highly unwanted, yet anticipated encounter would end up with me in a messy bun, totally unimpressed, sweeping this little fella out of the room, over the terrace to the nearby garden area.

And that was the end of this funny travel story. I have never seen this thing again, which I can not say for the cockroach family. I kept gently sweeping them out, and they kept coming in. This was our little game that did not stop until I left the premises of the center…

What about you, my dearest loyal friend? Did you enjoy this funny travel story? Do you have a funny travel story to share with us? How do you feel about encounters with small indoor creatures? Write down in the comments below.

With all the love 🫶

T.