Houses and hotels

Many of the places I have stayed have had a 1.5m grey wall around a compound, often with some form of storm water drainage in a trough outside. Inside the metal gate, people sit under trees, with manicured, if dusty gardens. Often you can see older people with hand held scythes cutting the grass.  

Yellow Marigolds can be up to 1m tall, and there are pink and red flowers on bushes next to deep purple flowers. Another common plant looks like vibernium, but is about 40 cm tall, with pink flowers.

Each hotel seems to be run by an extended family, and during then day an assortment sits under the trees or under a thatched roof open enclosure.  Our Tiger Residency Hotel is a collection of 5 double single storey units,with an eating hall with kitchen and three double units for staff. The central are has trees and an open shed for sitting. Whitewashed inside, the windows are in 30cm sections, each 2.2 m high. As the breezes change, they open different windows. Our rooms have AC but I prefer the overhead fan. Overhead fans are more effective than AC and I despair that more "modern hotels" will lose some of this.  Our beds are hard, and I have seen people in villages airing or sun drying the contents of flock filled mattresses. The bathroom is adequate. The shower is hot, if you time it carefully and everything works. Soap is rare. Toilet paper is available, but there is also a tap by the toilet.