An Arachnophobe travels in Southeast Asia | Part 2

If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you should know that this series works best when read in order. You will then understand why there are no pictures of the massive evil creatures, and my reason for writing an entire series of spider encounters during my travels in Southeast Asia. You can find that post here: https://tracietravels.com/2014/06/arachnophobe-travels-in-southeast-asia-part1/

2. Encounter in Pai –

When trying to save myself from my own spidery thoughts, I often turn to statistics. Since I had met no one else who had had such a spider run in, I considered the encounter to be a rare one. In my mind, the backpacker-friendly town of Pai was not likely to be crawling with giant spiders like the forests of Thailand. With these thoughts, I tried to play it cool with my new companions, Julia and Matias, while we settled on our newest sleeping accommodations. Besides, what were the chances that another humongous spider would be crawling around in our cabin?

Setting the scene: the location of encounter #2

Apparently, the chances are higher for me. Soon after setting down our bags and about to head out for a meal, I see another giant brown spider, the same size as the last one. It was perched there on one of the few solid, wooden walls, quietly contemplating it’s next move (which was probably to attack me the moment I took my eyes away). The spider being about 10 feet away from the door was way too close for me, so I opted for standing on the bed rather than making any sudden movements towards the door. Knowing of my fear, and surprisingly having no fear themselves of this 7 inch creature, my dear friends managed to squash the thing with a flip-flop. Don’t ask me how this is possible. I considered asking to see proof on the flip-flop, but the consequence of asking was that there would be no proof. If there was no proof, then I couldn’t trust them to kill more spiders (this trick has been played on me before!) and I would know that it was still out there. So I decided to put my faith in the flip-flop and my friends. After leaving for a few hours, the thought of this spider and others like it, never left my mind. The fear of sleeping there overwhelmed me to the point where I left a dance party to move my accommodation. This was no easy task, peddling a bicycle, wearing a huge backpack, in the pitch dark. But I was determined! I eventually found a more expensive place (about $3) that had no exposed cracks or crevices that I could find, so stayed there for the rest of my time in Pai. And I have to say, I have fond memories of exploring much of what Pai has to offer, despite it’s gigantic spiders.

Oh yeah, I saw elephants wandering around in Pai too. :) PS: If you go looking for elephant activities in Thailand, be sure to check out the rehabilitation centers first as they are more likely to be treated humanely (something I wasn’t aware of during my time there).