The Wildlife Within

It’s been almost a year since we moved into the ‘school house’ so named by me since there are no street addresses here and it is on a lane directly opposite the main entrance to the secondary school in Kep. It’s also been just over a month since we returned from our trip down-under and time to reflect upon life in our little slice of paradise. 

We arrived home after a few extra days in the capital, painlessly solving our visa renewals. Whoo Hoo, we are officially retirees with visas to prove it and totally thrilled to be so. Upon opening the front door of our little bungalow, we discovered every floor surface covered in trillions of small and mostly dead ants. Luckily not the fire ants, which are very nasty and bite. Before unpacking anything, we swept, and mopped the whole place, whilst simultaneously smugly congratulating ourselves for having left a homemade meal in the freezer for our return. 

We were expecting a big clean up. It’s unrealistic to leave a house locked up for over a month and not come home to some massive cleaning. However, it seemed like every insect on the property had taken refuge in our house as the monsoon rains had flooded the backyard and encroached just a little into the kitchen and backroom! 

The leaking through the not very well sealed kitchen windows was no news and we had taken precautions against anything being damaged there, but well, 17 continuous days of rain in our absence had not been an expectation. Neither was the rain continuing on a daily basis in varying degrees of density for the next FIVE weeks! 

Yep. That smugly satisfied feeling of sitting down to a hot meal and rice in a clean house with all the unpacking and sorting of new possessions complete, evaporated pretty fast. Sweeping up dead insects was a routine to be repeated three or four times a day for the next four days before it miraculously began to return to something less than a total insect invasion. 

Re-establishing a volunteering schedule and avoiding the constant but unpredictable rain showers became a daily obsession over the next month. Finally, we just had to accept that the roads were in no condition to allow us to cycle to either Kep Gardens or the ‘Pagoda’ for the monks' classes. It took a couple of totally drenched riding in the rain mud splattered and bicycle bogged experiences before our stubbornness gave way to practicality and we engaged Tuk Tuks for these journeys.  

Sun protection is still essential, although it has been a little cooler and a lot more overcast. Do not assume that all this rain means it is not hot or possible to be sunburnt. It is certainly not the case. 

On one very memorable occasion before we came to the logical conclusion that riding was no longer a possibility, Ian was removing his Khramer, from the hat rack which stands by the front door, when he accidentally touched something. I looked up when I heard a loud thud and a large snake thumped to the ground and accompanied by a loud scream from me, luckily chose to slither out the front door and away across the yard into a neighbouring property. I do not exaggerate; this thing was about two metres long! We were glad to mount our trusty bikes and scurry off, carefully watching the driveway as we exited, despite the near impossible ride to the pagoda, that day. Escape was all that was on our minds. We were much more hesitant to re-enter and I still carefully examine the offending hat rack before touching it or removing anything from it, to this day! No more snake sightings but we are almost sure it was inside to escape the rising water levels in the yard and possibly climbing the hat rack as it is a tree dwelling variety and maybe wanted to shed its skin.

The spiders, snails, small and large frogs and centipedes can usually be encouraged to leave of their own volition, with the assistance of a broom. Many frogs, however take off in enormous leaps in the wrong direction and I have simply lost interest in hunting them down. I do feel disheartened sweeping up dehydrated tiny frog carcases in the morning though and wonder why they feel the need to take shelter indoors when it is raining but I still have no answer to that perplexing question.

We continue to live with any number of small geckos and Ian has artfully removed several of the larger Tokay Geckos that do love to come indoors and hang upside down behind the fridge – presumably for the warmth of the motor. I loathe them and especially the sound they make. It is from this sound that their name is derived. We have taken a great number of precautions to prevent them entering, but enter they do. Determined and persistent, they certainly are. At this point I should also possibly mention that our neighbour told us, the Khmer believe it is lucky for these Tokay Geckos to come indoors and they do not discourage them. We therefore feel totally justified in encouraging them to vacate our home and take up residency next door. 

Last night to add to our alarm we were woken by loud scratching, clawing and perhaps chewing in in the middle of the night. It didn’t take long to realise it was coming from the ceiling directly above our bed! It is not the first time we have heard these sounds but it is usually faintly and in the living room.  I instantly assume that that therefore means these new ‘monsters’ are about to fall on top of us. Not true, but still a possibility. It-they could be rats, snakes, birds or more large lizards and geckos. Since it is nocturnal, I’m trying to rule out rats and birds. Since it is noisy, I don’t believe it is snakes. That leaves me with the ever persistent and resourceful geckos. Not life threatening but can they really make that much noise and wake two adults in the middle of the night? 

So, in our one year in this little house, we are still happy to call home, we have come to realise that it is impossible to escape the “indoor / outdoor” living that we first experienced in the Bamboo House. It is in fact the Cambodian norm. This house is more watertight but not without entry points and it is better to accept it than fight it. 

To end on a positive note, we are also surrounded by and treated to sightings of a huge range of birds in both our yard and the much-frequented route to the pagoda, past the mangroves. These include many species as yet unidentified by us, as well as Asian Koels, Coucals, Kingfishers, Egrets, Stilts and yesterday a magnificent pair of Sea Eagles riding the updrafts and hunting directing above our house.