Today I met the jungle. Only a short walk from my host's dormicile. I stepped off the country road to investigate a stray trail. And oh! There it was! Tangled in clumsy flip-flops I began to regret my lack of forethought regarding my choice of foot wear.
But the Thai people wear flip-flops everywhere. Don't they? A memory from the foreigner orientation surfaced.
"Flip-flops, the Thai people think of as shower shoes"
Perhaps this would have been an advisable time to conform with the local fashion.
Pulling my way through vines and leafy branches I sought careful footing on the elusive jungle path. When I reached up to scratch an itch my fingers were assaulted by the globs of massive red ants that were burrowing through my hair. Panicked, I shook and slashed at the irritating insects, but the bugs bit my fingers and resumed their march up my arms.
It was at this point that I realized an important truth about The Jungle;
1. Everything in The Jungle is alive, and it will bite you.
The jungle is full of things that can and will hurt you if you are not 100% careful 100% of the time. This brings me to the second revelation:
2. Be on Jungle Alert. Always.
This means being careful and precise with every movement. There is no room to think about anything else when you're in The Jungle.
In retrospect, The Jungle could have done a lot worse. Ants are little more than a playful nip compared to the venomous snakes or poisonous plants not to mention the larger animals like tigers or water-monitors.
After our intimate yet unsolicited encounter I began a tentative re-acquaintance with the vast green beauty. I learned a few more things, but I lack the words (and the creative energy) to describe them. So I'll just let the picture do the talking.
The Jungle always wins
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