It is now about halfway between New Year as we know it and Chinese New Year which is celebrated fairly massively here (and soon will thankfully begin the Year of the Horse). It is the rainy season for sure and we have had rain most days, some days all day. Now rain in the tropics is typically not like the drizzle you get in Blighty, it often speedily delivers massive raindrops that make such a huge racket you have to stop what you are doing and raise your eyebrows in awe at Mother Nature. So far we haven't been flooded inside the house but we did have sandbags out as a precaution. Upon moving theirs one neighbour found a frog, 2 snakes and a centipede underneath. The wet weather raises the water table across the whole of the coastal plain and when combined with high tides, this means the water can't drain away - hence wildlife becomes stranded. On a beach walk the other day we saw two banded kraits and a cobra! As some of you may know, I am not the biggest fan of snakes. So to give you some perspective regarding my trepidation: a banded krait is about as venomous as you would ever want a snake to be.
This link lists all the nasties found in the venom in case you want to know how it has rendered you unconscious, paralysed or most likely just plain old dead. In fairness if the thick black and yellow stripes hadn't given you an indication that it is not a cuddly beast then you weren't really paying attention to the warning signs were you?!
