ยุง

ยุง (pronounced as yung)....That's what the Thai know it as..To us, it is the dreaded MOSQUITO! There are literally millions and millions of them at Mercy International in Phetchabun. We have been bitten many many times over (to the point that we hope that we will get lifelong immunity soon). We spend a lot of time killing them and an equal amount of time trying to prevent getting bitten. We even bought an insect repellant with the strongest possible DEET concentration and use several large cans of insecticide, but to no avail. These things are everywhere. We might end up killing ourselves first with the amount of DEET and insecticide we are using. The only success that we have against them is to close all our room windows, spray our room with insecticide, hide in our room after about 10-15 mins (enough time to kill every living thing in the room) and to never open the door again...We only do this during bedtime to ensure that we are not bitten alive and sucked dry at night. And we do have quite good sleeps. Now, it is not necessary a success against the mosquitoes, more like retreating to a safe zone (there are only the two of us against the millions of them - you do the math...) In the day and evening times, it is every man/woman/mosquito for himself/herself/itself. There is a saying in Thailand - ยุงร้ายกว่าเสือ, which translates to "The mosquito is more dangerous than the tiger"...