Koh Tao Confidential Vol. 4 - Occupational Hazards
Greetings once again from Paradise Island!
When we think of jobs with "occupational hazards" we usually think of window washers dangling from the outside of tall buildings or police officers and soldiers risking their lives everyday in the line of duty. Back home, the stress of the daily grind (commutes, the 24 hour e-tether of work emails and smartphones) is enough to be considered an "occupational hazard" in and of itself. Here on K.Tao things tend to be a bit less "hazardous" at least by N.American standards. My barefoot commute on the beach to work and the "daily grind" of sitting in my office in the sun chatting with tourists and divers doesn't carry much risk of a stress related nervous breakdown and I think the most physically dangerous thing I do boils down to plugging the laptop into the precariously wired Thai electrical outlets. But, it isn't all easy breezy here on the isle of beach walks to work and sparking outlets...there is one inescapable occupational hazard which strikes fear in the heart of everyone who spends their days gainfully employed on Turtle Island... The loathsome and feared....mosquito.
Koh Tao bloodsuckers are of a breed all unto themselves. As big as a flying kitten, mother nature's little gift to exposed skin is known to wreak some serious havoc here on the island, and we're not just talking a few itches and a night time buzz in the the ear. Unfortunately, Koh Tao and Dengue fever are well acquainted and in addition to buzzing and biting, mosquitoes here also spread all 4 strains of everyone's favorite tropical disease. Although I've been lucky enough to have never danced with the dengue virus, I know quite a few people who have and it ain't pretty...that is unless you consider bleeding out of your eyes a new cutting edge fashion trend.
But don't fear friends and family, I have been saved by the Koh Tao fumigators! ...or have I?
As things go here in Thailand, the word "safe" is a relative term and I sometimes wonder if the measures taken to make things "more safe" are actually more dangerous than the initial problem. As I watch men dangle from ladders leaned up against electrical wires and welders "fixing" things without even a pair of sunglasses, I'm forced to wonder if fixing the problem in the end is more dangerous that the problem itself. Which brings us to our little dengue issue. A few days ago, without much notice at all (10 minute give or take a few seconds) we were notified that the shop and the restaurant area was going to be fumigated. But no need to fret, we were reassured by the fumigators that "smoke no poison for human, no worry, no worry". We were told that we didn't even really need to clear people out of the restaurant since the smoke was totally "safe" and would dissipate quickly. Luckily for us (and everyone within 20 meters) we decided to take this Thai assurance of safety with a large grain of salt and decided to shut things down for at least and hour. Me and Sofia were told to go down to the beach in front of the resort and let people who were looking to come in that we would be closed for an hour or so until the fumigation was finished.
As you can see from the photos below, there wasn't much need to tell anyone that we were fumigating, it was pretty apparent.
Which brings me to my second observation about this very "safe" practice. As me and Sofia buried our faces in our shirts to block out the somewhat suffocating fumes, the guy who was working the smoke machine wasn't wearing any type of protection whatsoever. No mask, no goggles, hell, he wasn't even wearing any shoes. Don't forget "no poison for humans"... who needs a mask when the smoke is harmless right? In fact it's so harmless that 10 minutes after it cleared every living insect within a 5 meter radius of the resort crawled out of it's little hole, flipped onto its back and died. It was literally raining cockroaches, centipedies and beetles. They were falling out of the ceiling slots, crawling out of the floorboards and slithering out from under every leaf, twig and stone.Considering cockroaches can survive the nuclear apocalypse, I question how something that can kill them in a matter of minutes is going to leave the poor Thai fumigation man unscathed. Luckily for me and Sofia we stayed well out of the toxic cloud.
I can't, however, say as much for the poor group who was enjoying a lovely sunset dinner at a restaurant up the street. Apparently the management there took the "no worry, no hurt humans" advice to heart and failed to let the dozens of customers eating there know that their dinner might be interrupted by a little "non-toxic" smoke. Next thing they know, they are running from the restaurant, mouths covered as their dinners get a healthy dose of DEET.
For my part, in order to avoid the Dengue I have made very good friends with OFF Deep Woods and am now so saturated with DEET that I'm more likely to grow a third eye than get Dengue fever. Here's to choosing one poison over another.
Cheers from the toxic haze
J
When we think of jobs with "occupational hazards" we usually think of window washers dangling from the outside of tall buildings or police officers and soldiers risking their lives everyday in the line of duty. Back home, the stress of the daily grind (commutes, the 24 hour e-tether of work emails and smartphones) is enough to be considered an "occupational hazard" in and of itself. Here on K.Tao things tend to be a bit less "hazardous" at least by N.American standards. My barefoot commute on the beach to work and the "daily grind" of sitting in my office in the sun chatting with tourists and divers doesn't carry much risk of a stress related nervous breakdown and I think the most physically dangerous thing I do boils down to plugging the laptop into the precariously wired Thai electrical outlets. But, it isn't all easy breezy here on the isle of beach walks to work and sparking outlets...there is one inescapable occupational hazard which strikes fear in the heart of everyone who spends their days gainfully employed on Turtle Island... The loathsome and feared....mosquito.
Koh Tao bloodsuckers are of a breed all unto themselves. As big as a flying kitten, mother nature's little gift to exposed skin is known to wreak some serious havoc here on the island, and we're not just talking a few itches and a night time buzz in the the ear. Unfortunately, Koh Tao and Dengue fever are well acquainted and in addition to buzzing and biting, mosquitoes here also spread all 4 strains of everyone's favorite tropical disease. Although I've been lucky enough to have never danced with the dengue virus, I know quite a few people who have and it ain't pretty...that is unless you consider bleeding out of your eyes a new cutting edge fashion trend.
But don't fear friends and family, I have been saved by the Koh Tao fumigators! ...or have I?
As things go here in Thailand, the word "safe" is a relative term and I sometimes wonder if the measures taken to make things "more safe" are actually more dangerous than the initial problem. As I watch men dangle from ladders leaned up against electrical wires and welders "fixing" things without even a pair of sunglasses, I'm forced to wonder if fixing the problem in the end is more dangerous that the problem itself. Which brings us to our little dengue issue. A few days ago, without much notice at all (10 minute give or take a few seconds) we were notified that the shop and the restaurant area was going to be fumigated. But no need to fret, we were reassured by the fumigators that "smoke no poison for human, no worry, no worry". We were told that we didn't even really need to clear people out of the restaurant since the smoke was totally "safe" and would dissipate quickly. Luckily for us (and everyone within 20 meters) we decided to take this Thai assurance of safety with a large grain of salt and decided to shut things down for at least and hour. Me and Sofia were told to go down to the beach in front of the resort and let people who were looking to come in that we would be closed for an hour or so until the fumigation was finished.As you can see from the photos below, there wasn't much need to tell anyone that we were fumigating, it was pretty apparent.
Which brings me to my second observation about this very "safe" practice. As me and Sofia buried our faces in our shirts to block out the somewhat suffocating fumes, the guy who was working the smoke machine wasn't wearing any type of protection whatsoever. No mask, no goggles, hell, he wasn't even wearing any shoes. Don't forget "no poison for humans"... who needs a mask when the smoke is harmless right? In fact it's so harmless that 10 minutes after it cleared every living insect within a 5 meter radius of the resort crawled out of it's little hole, flipped onto its back and died. It was literally raining cockroaches, centipedies and beetles. They were falling out of the ceiling slots, crawling out of the floorboards and slithering out from under every leaf, twig and stone.Considering cockroaches can survive the nuclear apocalypse, I question how something that can kill them in a matter of minutes is going to leave the poor Thai fumigation man unscathed. Luckily for me and Sofia we stayed well out of the toxic cloud. I can't, however, say as much for the poor group who was enjoying a lovely sunset dinner at a restaurant up the street. Apparently the management there took the "no worry, no hurt humans" advice to heart and failed to let the dozens of customers eating there know that their dinner might be interrupted by a little "non-toxic" smoke. Next thing they know, they are running from the restaurant, mouths covered as their dinners get a healthy dose of DEET.
"No worry!! No hurt human! Enjoy your dinner!!"
For my part, in order to avoid the Dengue I have made very good friends with OFF Deep Woods and am now so saturated with DEET that I'm more likely to grow a third eye than get Dengue fever. Here's to choosing one poison over another.
Cheers from the toxic haze
J
1 Comments:
I saw a mosquito in my yard once!!And I think they carry cabin fever,I'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!!
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