Just for Chelsea

Creature alert.

I woke up comfy, snuggly and rested and was honestly thrilled to find it raining, to be in a place that doesn't have a long sight-seeing check-list, and have nothing more pressing to do than make my way to breakfast to leisurely plan my day's round of wat visits. Working clockwise in my room, I opened the windows, then the wooden shutters, re-closed the windows. One, two, three. Fourth window (the one in the picture, closest to my bed): I opened the glass and saw movement--FAST movement. I must be pretty fast myself (a lifetime of creature-phobia training), because I managed to re-close the window before the creature (a gecko of some other sort of reptile) leapt from window frame into my room. In my panic-stricken mind's eye, it was at LEAST 6 inches long--a MONSTER, Chelsea! My fear now is that the housekeeper will open that last window while I'm at breakfast and the creature will now be somewhere in my room without my knowing it (under my pillow? in my clothes? scuttling across the wall or ceiling just as I'm ready to fall off to sleep?). Of course, it'll turn up when I am least prepared and maybe amped up on coffee. Not that I need caffeine for a full-blown creature-triggered, blood-curdling scream, as my family well knows. :O

Oh, and Chels, the mystery rash on my calf faded on it's own, as did the suspicious-looking bump on my stomach that I was sure was a parasite portal. My intestinal distress did not, after all, require me to be medivacced to Bangkok, and DEET seems to be repelling the dengue and malaria-carrying mosquitos.

Note: Have just secured a protective escort back to my room to cope with the leaping lizard. Wish me luck.

Off to explore Luang Prabang! :)