Day 20/21 - shocking

20./21.05.19

The reason why the two days are combined is not because we are lazy, but because they are so similar that it would be absurd and boring to tell two identical daily routines separately.

Tomorrow: we sleep in very late and then sit on our terrace to have breakfast. Jonna reads, I edit some photos and videos.
Noon: we relax in the pool for a good half an hour, then continue our lazy day at the bungalow.
Evening: we go to our trusted restaurant (by the way named Life Style) and try some new dishes, all very tasty and around 1.50€.
After our stomachs are full, we follow the advice of our camp 'dads' and go to a beach bar (Sunset Beach Walk) for drinks. Cocktails for 2.80€, not very big but extremely tasty. The bar is very modern and the ambiance is nearly perfect. We sit on bean bags on the beach, in front of us just a row of palm trees, which are illuminated by fairy lights and spotlights. The service is excellent and the music is very atmospheric.

1. Addition to the 21st:
In contrast to the first evening at the bar, we order a third cocktail on the second evening. Unfortunately, we have miscounted our money beforehand, so we have 60 baht too little in our wallets. This wouldn't be a problem, if the waiter didn't immediately come to the table to collect payment after each order, so he is waiting next to us. Fortunately, a German couple at the next table lends us the missing 60 baht and even waives the reimbursement of the loan through a later PayPal transfer.

2. Addition to the 22nd:
While the previous evening (21st) proceeds absolutely normally, this evening is a bit different. We arrive at our bungalow with the desire to take a shower before tomorrow's departure. I enter the bathroom and discover a small lizard on the wall - 'No big deal', I think, by now we have become quite fond of these little creatures. But we haven't become so fond of the cockroach, which cowers in a corner. Pretty disgusting, but it's not for nothing that it's called 'Jungle Homestay' here. However, I realize that, in terms of visits from creatures with 6 or 8 legs, we have apparently been quite lucky so far, when I catch sight of very long thin legs behind the cistern. No lizard, no cockroach.
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I react 'sensitively', let's say, to eight-legged creatures. The fact that the creature behind the cistern seems to be the size of a beer coaster and as fast as a racing mouse triggers some very 'interesting' effects for me. In addition to the inability to move quickly, curled up toes and occasional shivers, there is also cold sweat and an unusually high pulse for me.
I let the door fall gently against the wall, which prompts the spider, let's call it 'Aragok', to quickly dart first into the corner of the cockroach and then across the entire wall into the upper right corner of the bathroom. I look at the lizard, which is sitting calmly in the opposite left corner, seeking help: 'DO SOMETHING!!!'. Jonna tries to drive Aragok out through one of the thumb-thick 'ventilation slots' with the shower hose, which in turn sets the cockroach in motion. It then tries to run against the water jet (for whatever reason?!) and into the living area. In the meantime, I have armed myself with one of my Birkenstocks, just in case the pests manage to get over the threshold. At the last moment, it turns around and flees into the front right corner, directly behind the door (I should draw a battle plan for better location, but I'm too lazy).

We decide to leave the bathroom to the lizard, the cockroach, and Aragok (let them sort it out among themselves), close it and seal the gap between the door and the floor with a towel (I know it may sound ridiculous, but we thought it was absolutely appropriate at that moment).
Now we can calmly start packing our things, after all we have to get up at 06:30 tomorrow, so we better do it now. Jonna puts one of the backpacks upright and signals the start of another cockroach sprinting out of the shadow of the backpack towards the refrigerator.
After another small panic attack ('small' because I didn't cry and stayed in the bungalow), I continue packing my backpack - about 5 minutes - only to see another cockroach escape from the folds of the rain cover of my backpack, which I have been kneading the whole time, running under the side table. I have never understood the phrase 'nerves are on edge' so well. The fact that Aragok is very shy and not poisonous and that cockroaches are actually nothing more than big woodlice doesn't matter to me at all in this moment. From now on, all bags are checked, all clothes are shaken out and then placed on the couch. After what feels like an eternity, I have packed mostly everything, so we can go to bed, which will be thoroughly searched despite the installed mosquito net. I try to ignore the paranoia, but I expect to get very little sleep.

- Alex