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Roommates the Travel Brochures Don't Warn You About |
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| When my friend Pat and I started our backpacking journey through Europe and | ||
| South East Asia, we hoped to meet many interesting characters. We didn't | ||
| realize we would encounter some memorable roommates that were not of the two- | ||
| legged variety. | ||
| We met our first four-legged friend in Rawalphindi, Pakistan. After a long day | ||
| of traveling Pat and I had settled down in our room at Mrs. Davies Private Hotel. | ||
| I was reading and Pat was updating her journal when something scurried across | ||
| the floor. A little grey mouse darted around checking out these strange new | ||
| roommates that had disturbed his privacy. And probably wondering if they would | ||
| share any of their cracker crumbs. Neither Pat nor I were fond of mice, but after | ||
| a while we decided it was harmless and even braved getting off the beds. We | ||
| were at the hotel for only two nights, so our acquaintance was short lived. | ||
| It wasn't until we arrived in Bangkok that we had more permanent roommates. | ||
| Our first night at the Atlantic Hotel we met our first roommate--a little green | ||
| gecko that enjoyed teasing Pat by walking on the ceiling over her bed. Pat was | ||
| petrified of creepy crawlies. Lying in bed she constantly stared at the little lizard. | ||
| Eventually her eyelids would get heavy and start to close. If that gecko was not in | ||
| sight when she opened her eyes she would jump up, pull back the sheets and | ||
| frantically search to make sure it hadn't accidentally fallen on her bed. It took a | ||
| long time for her to get used to the presence of that friendly creature. Personally | ||
| I had no problem with geckos. It was our other roommates that bothered me. | ||
| March was the end of the rainy season in Thailand. It was hot and humid, so Pat | ||
| and I slept with only a sheet covering us. A few times that first night I felt some- | ||
| thing move across my sheet. Thinking it was the little lizard I wasn't concerned. | ||
| During the night I had to use the bathroom. The moonlight shining through the | ||
| window lit up my backpack leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door. | ||
| Something looked different, but I wasn't sure what it was. I reached in, turned on | ||
| the bathroom light and came face to face with another roommate--a huge cockroach | ||
| perched on top of my pack. It was at least 3 inches long with beady eyes and | ||
| humongous antennae. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I quickly | ||
| locked myself in the bathroom. It took a while to gather my courage and decide | ||
| what to do about this monster. I finally emerged from the bathroom with a | ||
| towel as my only weapon. I was ready for a good fight, but the cockroach was | ||
| gone. I ran back to the bed and wrapped the sheet tightly around me after I | ||
| had, of course, frantically searched my bed. | ||
| Occasionally we saw our ugly roommates when we turned on the light. One in | ||
| particular liked lounging on the handle of a mop that rested in the corner of the | ||
| bathroom. We never saw them in daylight. We were reminded of their presence | ||
| when they came out to party and flit across our beds at night. Cockroaches are | ||
| common in the tropics and, as with the gecko, we learned to live with our | ||
| multi-legged roommates. | ||
| After our Bangkok experience we spend some time on the Island of Phuket. | ||
| We stayed at a resort that was back-to-the-basics primitive. We lived in a | ||
| bamboo hut with no electricity or running water. In exchange we got the most | ||
| beautiful white sandy beaches and an ocean so clear you could see the bottom | ||
| and watch thousands of brilliantly colored fish swim by. It was paradise. | ||
| But once again we shared our hut with a roommate. Our bathroom was a little | ||
| stark and bare. In fact it was a hole in the floor with two slabs of stone on either | ||
| side to place your feet. You'd squad, aim and then flush with a scoop of water. | ||
| Our toilet was home to a big, ugly toad. Fat, round and warty, he would laze | ||
| around by the hole. Pat was terrified of him. She would not go into the bathroom | ||
| until I had checked it. If Charlie were in residence I had to chase him away. | ||
| With a little poking and prodding he usually hopped away, but he always came | ||
| back. I think he enjoyed all the attention. After a while I looked forward to | ||
| seeing Charlie. He was quiet and I suspect he kept the flies and mosquitoes | ||
| in check as well. | ||
| Other than the cockroaches partying at night, our animal roommates were better | ||
| behaved than most of the human variety. They didn't eat too much, or play loud | ||
| music, never left dirty clothes or dishes lying around and didn't hog the bathroom. | ||
| Except for Charlie toad, of course. Ah yes, I do miss Charlie. | ||
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Marion de Man |
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