Poisonous snake won’t let me into the room
N 20°39'14.6'' E 105°04'01.5''
Date:
02.09.2016 until 05.09.2016
Day: 434- 437
Country:
Vietnam
Province:
Hòa Bình
Location:
May Chau
Latitude N:
20°39’14.6”
Longitude E:
105°04’01.5”
Total kilometers:
18,346 km
Maximum height:
180 m
Total altitude meters:
54.661 m
Sunrise:
05:43 h – 05:44 h
Sunset:
6:15 p.m. – 6:12 p.m.
Temperature day max:
36°C
Temperature day min:
24°C
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
“Let’s go Ajaci. Last lap,” I shout, which is why he immediately jumps up and stands in front of the door wagging his tail. It is 22:00. I open the door and go out onto the balcony with my dog. Hot and humid tropical air immediately settles over us like a damp sheet. “Stay,” I order Ajaci. He sits obediently, but whimpering with joy, on the landing and waits impatiently until I have walked down the steps. “Okay! Come on!” Ajaci sprints down the steps like lightning and races into the garden to follow the latest scents. He is particularly fond of cats. “Don’t chase cats. Do you hear me?” I admonish him. “Do your Wissi. I’m tired,” I urge him not to dawdle around for so long. He dutifully lifts his right hind leg and stumbles onto the wet grass. “Great,” I praise him and make my way back upstairs. With my right knee, I brush past a bush that protrudes into the staircase. Immediately my pants are soaking wet because the rain has done everything it can to drown the land in the last few hours. “Come on,” I call to Ajaci as he lingers next to the bush to stick his nose deep into it. “Well, what is it? Come on now.” Finally Ajaci trots on. Is there something special going on? Curious, I go back down the steps and shine my headlamp on the spot where my dog has just been sniffing around so excitedly. “Wow!” I startle, jumping back a step. A poisonous green snake has coiled up on a step right next to the bush. Its red-green tail sticks up a little and moves back and forth. A warning sign. “Man oh man Ajaci, you’re lucky that critter didn’t bite you on the nose. He watches me from the balcony, whimpering. I quickly grab my camera to take a photo of the viper. When I come back, it’s still lying in wait on the stairs next to the dripping bush. “I wouldn’t go past there,” a voice startles me terribly. I turn around in a flash and look a woman straight in the dark eyes. “Uh, why?” I ask, recovering from my shock. “She looks like she’s about to bite.” “Do you think so?” “Absolutely. You can tell by her tail. When it moves back and forth like a cobra’s, it’s excited.” “And you’re familiar with snakes?” “Not really. I’m from the Philippines. I used to live in a village on the edge of the jungle. We had snakes like that there too.” “And how am I supposed to get to my room now?” I ask. “Hm, well, I would never walk that close to an excited snake. It’s very fast and could bite you on the foot,” she warns, pointing at my legs. “What a bummer.” Nervously, I look around for a stick that I might be able to poke her with. I find a long bamboo cane and am just about to poke the jungle dweller’s tail with it when the woman who lives directly below us says: “I’d rather leave that to the staff.” “Better not. They might just kill the snake,” I reply and get to work. As soon as I touch it with the pipe, it wriggles off the steps onto the banister. “Now make an exit,” I urge her, but the animal seems to like it on my stairs. “Look, I told you, you’d better get someone from the staff. Just watch out. She can strike quickly.” “Well, you really have a way of encouraging people,” I reply. “Ha, ha, ha, I’d like to have her courage first. I probably won’t be able to sleep a wink all night now.” “But why is that?” “Well, maybe the poisonous animal will come into my room and bite me?” “Never. Firstly, I’ll chase the snake away and secondly, they have a door.” “Who knows where it can squeeze through.” “It can’t open a door and you can barely fit a sheet of paper under the crack. You don’t need to be afraid.” “I don’t know. My cousin was once bitten by one of those. It took him a long time to recover despite the antivenom. Even though he eventually recovered, he has since developed a real phobia of snakes and doesn’t dare leave the house at night.” “You won’t get bitten,” I try to reassure the woman, who watches me incessantly as I try to drive the creeper away. “Oh dear, now she’s climbing the stairs to our room,” I curse after she has left the banister and is now climbing step by step. “You see. I warned her. Now she’s probably meandering into her room.” “The door is closed and I don’t think she wants to go into the room either.” I slowly follow the stubborn green thread. When I poke it again with my bamboo stick, it wraps itself around its outer end. “Ohhhh!” I shout in shock. “Look, I told you so. Better get someone who knows about it. Just make sure she doesn’t come shooting along the stick to bite your hands.” “Don’t make me so nervous,” I reply and swing my long stick into the nearby bushes. The viper leisurely leaves my bamboo and winds its way into the dense greenery. “Well, she was lucky,” says the Filipino, breathing a sigh of relief. “I wish you a pleasant night and a good night’s sleep,” I reply with a smile, now safely climbing the stairs to the room. “Where have you been for so long?” asks Tanja sleepily. “A really stubborn snake wouldn’t let me into the room,” I reply, yawning with tiredness…
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