How Quickly....

Heaven can turn into hell!

We had left Koh Phi-Phi and it's crystalline waters full of coral and rainbow colored fish--it's expensive everything and surly people behind...arriving on the unbelievably relaxed Koh Lanta. All the locals we met were full of smiles and sweet words and we had found a brand new thatched bungalow for less than ten dollars with a bathroom and a porch, complete with hammock and an incredibly long white beach across the street. It was so sleepy and laidback here, we couldn't believe it-- and the beach was virtually deserted.

As night fell, the full moon rose huge in the sky and we dined on the beach under the stars, lounging on cushions while soft music played and children scampered about. It was idyllic...we thought we'd landed in paradise.

After dinner that first night, we layed on the hammock together, listening to K's MP3 player. But soon enough I was tired and told K to meet me inside.

As I opened the door to our room, I immediately heard a very loud scratching noise coming from the oh-so-thin roof. It went on and on, as though some animal were trying to claw it's way into the room. I thought it sounded like it could be a squirrel, only there were no squirrels on Koh Lanta...K said it must be a big lizard or something. And so we went to bed. But the noise got louder and louder, witht he sound of breaking wood and whatever it was pitter-pattering back and forth, back and forth.

After an hour, we decided to go tell the front desk, hoping they could move our room as it seemed unlikely we'd be able to sleep. But reception was closed, and the only people around were the waiters and bartenders, all a little drunk. We told them something was on our roof and one of the guys came back to our room with us to check it out. On the way there, he said it was probably a cat or a rat. A rat!!?! What!?! Up until then, I hadn't been too perturbed, but as he sat on our bed listening, he said, "Yes, it's a rat. I can't do anything now, tell reception in the morning." As the roof led straight into our bathroom and there was a giant gap under the door, we got a little concerned that the rat might get into the room. "Oh, they never do, "he assured us.

How quickly things change. I thought, as I layed there that night in my own private hell. The rat had begun his work at 10, only taking a short break from 1:30-2:30. Other than that, he scratched and ran around up there like a madman until 6:30 in the morning, when the sun began to rise. Often, he sounded like he was bowling, rolling rocks this way and that. At other times, it seemed he was dragging a huge stick back and forth.

For most of the night, the rat hung out right above my head, gnawing away on the roof--giving me horrible visions of him crashing through and landing on my face with a thump!

P.S. He didn't--and since we switched rooms the next morning, we were rat-free and very happy!