‘All that glitters is not gold.’ – William Shakespeare
Never judge a book by its cover. The book cover in front of me temporarily convinced me otherwise. I was in a beach hut and it was my birthday, why not? Instagram here I come. My winning accommodation for all to see: free birthday pina colada in view, sun shining, the beach a stone’s throw away. Looks pretty appealing right? My friends thought so. But as the likes went up that evening, the reality began to come crashing down on me.
Rats.
I had chosen to sleep upstairs, and had left my bag on the luggage rack downstairs as advised. No food was left in my bag after promising myself that bar snacks and cocktails would replace protein bars and water after Kilimanjaro.
So at first, the scuttle could be mistaken for something else. I mean the beach hut just had sand flooring, so where was the scuttling coming from? They surely could not get in. It was nothing. Not the second time I woke up. An almighty bang, dripping (blood?!?) and audible squeals suggested otherwise.
I spent the next few hours huddled upstairs unable to face whatever was happening below, cursing the sand flooring that must have allowed the ninja rats to dig their way in. Every so often I shone my head torch down to catch them in the act and to find out what on earth they were scuttling on. I failed miserably, but the noises continued.
In the morning I braved walking down the wooden ladder (could they climb this too?!). They had left their mark. Unfortunately it was not a dream as I hoped. They had chewed through my water bottle (the source of the dripping), along with some clothes I had hung on the luggage rack.
I should have taken the cocktail-only rule more seriously.
That morning I laughed sheepishly reading friends’ comments on the photo such as ‘what a nice deserved rest’. Unbeknown to them I now had to face holed underwear, and rat-proofing my luggage for an hour. Not forgetting the prospect of holding off entering a potentially rat-infested beach nightmare that evening, with only my head torch for company as the beautiful sunset dimmed and darkness descended.
This is not so desirable to add to the caption, so I refrained from posting an update. I have since wondered if I should, not only because the story made all my friends laugh. After all, we see ideal pictures online all the time, but who knows when between the lines there is a silent tagline of ‘rat bitten belongings’, ‘current explosive stomach bug’, and all the other messy travel moments which are inevitably part of the experience?
All was fine that evening and I embraced the experience. My rat proofing (shoving my bag on the downstairs bed with mosquito net, then spraying manically with bug repellent), meant they chose to invade another hut.
I am now thankful. It is one of the humbling reminders travelling gives: to experience first, go online later (or not at all). And of course never judge a book by its cover, or an online post for that matter. Always take them with a pinch of salt. No matter how perfect it looks two dimensionally, that third dimension is full of all what makes the wonderful reality of travelling: rats and all.
read more about my trip to zanzibar here
*rats are inevitably a problem, especially at the beach. i have previously stayed in similar accommodation without issue.
I recommend the experience. just lock everything away at night. also be prepared for the potential realities of staying in similar rustic beach accommodation, and THE REALITIES OF travel in general!*
19 Comments
I love this! Everything is never as perfect as the picture. it’s hard to strike a balance between being real and oversharing for me!
Thank you for the comment I am glad to hear it! So true, it is interesting balance to strike, learning that you cannot really win with everyone!
So sorry to hear that your experience was not that nice in your room and on the beach. It does look like a really lovely place to stay and the photo is gorgeous. But indeed, you don’t always know the true story behind the photo. It’s good food for thought.
Yes exactly, it was wonderful but it was one of those moments that brought me back to earth!
Eeeeek, what a nightmare. I once had a sleepless night in Myanmar when I found a rat in my room and chased it until it was gone. Only to come back at night and mess up the bathroom 😉
Oh no!! You were brave chasing it! Haha it is always one of those experiences where you can laugh about it afterwards.
THANK you for sharing the truth. It’s so so important. Even though this sounds like a nightmare!
Thank you for commenting Helene! I am pleased you enjoyed- a nightmare but like you say, important to share.
I wish more travel bloggers to share the reality of travel. Thanks for sharing what was behind the beautiful photos on Instagram.
Thank you for commenting, I agree. I always love finding out about the reality of it, often with a funny story or two included!
Oh my goodness, rats! They’re actually my worst fear. Love the way you’ve packaged up this post as the reality behind a seemingly beautiful picture.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
“Experience first, go online later.” I love this in several contexts!
Thank you so much for commenting!
Can not agree more with you…Instagram makes the life look beautiful from a distance.
I know right, so much so we can become a little lost on the platform and forget the realities of travel. Thanks for commenting.
Wow, rats! I am terrified of them, and god knows I can never sleep peacefully knowing they’re beneath my bed. And waking up to find out the luggage all eaten up is a nightmare. Still, the Instagram posts tell it differently, that’s a travel reality and I am glad you put down your experience!
Thank you for commenting, haha yeah I do not blame you I am the same.
Let truth be told. As we always say, any of these disasters makes for good content! Rats are ghastly but at least they only caused a few holes in your clothing (trying to be positive here, LOL) I’m a great one for adding the truth about a situation, without necessarily going over the top. It’s the reality and I believe as an influencer people should be made aware. Glad you wrote this piece.