Without claiming to be exhaustive, here are some interesting things I have experienced during the three days I have spent here so far. Just as they come to mind.
- Roosters and hens live around the house. The roosters crow from about 2 am to 5 am.
- A mini gecko lives in the kitchen.
- Mini ants occasionally dance on the kitchen counter. They are so tiny that they are almost transparent.
- Every evening, when I walk towards the pool, I come across a group of dogs. Yes, they really live freely here. (The rabies vaccination was no coincidence!) If I go towards them, they don’t pay attention to me, if I pass between them, they bark. So I only did this stunt once. I prefer to avoid them.
- There are no mosquitoes. I haven’t seen any, and even today, only the bites I brought from home are itchy.
- I have already brushed my teeth, eaten fruit, and today I even rinsed my pasta with tap water. I drink the soup from the bagged tap water that I have boiled. So far, there is no sign of diarrhea. Tap water is classified as undrinkable.
- On the first day, while walking between the houses where I live, I came across a lizard about 50 centimeters long. It was a pretty big specimen, 2 meters from me. It was scared, but I wasn’t. It hid in the trees.
- Yes, three people can really fit on a scooter here.
- Yesterday – Monday – I went by a local school. I thought there was a concert because someone was talking into a microphone so loudly. But it must have been just a regular lesson.
- So far, everyone I’ve spoken to has spoken English. Except for one French neighbor, because he only spoke a few words, and we couldn’t understand each other.
- I haven’t seen anyone smoking cigarettes on the streets.
- You can buy soup from the bagged tap for 70 forints.
- You can eat really delicious pad thai for 1,600 forints. In Hungary, it’s about 4,000 HUF.
- Traffic doesn’t seem unregulated at all. Apart from the fact that they drive on the “other” side, it’s orderly.
- People really just smile at each other, seemingly for no reason.
- There are a lot of scooters here, I think they grow in the bush.
- There are a lot of houses in the neighborhood, but I’ve only seen a few living people. They definitely live here.
- I’ve swum in the community pool several times, but I haven’t met anyone there yet.
- It’s damn hot, but I can’t stand it at all.
- Most of the people providing services (masseurs, hairdressers, tattoo artists) sit on the street and greet people passing by. They don’t take it offensively.