Spiders and geckos and snakes, Oh, My!

I've been writing a lot about the dogs I've come across here in Mae Hong Son, but they're not the only creatures I've run into. There are probably more geckos than dogs here. They hang out on the walls, indoors and out. I've just come to accept them as part of the decor.

A few weeks ago on a Sunday morning, I walked into the bathroom and looked at the mirror. Apparently, I wasn't the only one having a look: there was a spider the size of a tarantula spread out on the mirror. I tried to apply the old cardboard-under-a-glass trick to move her outside. She would have none of it. She escaped my little temporary spider cage in a flash and took off for heaven-knows where. I haven't seen her since, and it's taken me this long not to enter the bathroom in abject fear.

Then there was the snake. It was long and had a very fat head, possibly from having just swallowed some lunch. It reared its fat, bright, multi-colored head as snakes are wont to do, and I let out a blood-curdling scream. Fortunately, there was a man nearby who lifted the snake onto a long stick and found him a new home, away from me.

I have a whole new respect for Albert Schweitzer.