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The Besakih Temple in Bali, Indonesia, is no place to bring your pet white mouse, or your fear of our slithering friends. The snakes are not religiously integral to the temple, but the man who sells ophidiphobia is rumored to turn such a good trade in fear that he has remained there for years. Of course, boas are non-poisonous, but I could feel their muscles flexing as they wrapped around me, trying to secure themselves. They had more than enough strength to crush me at their will.
The problem with traveling through Indonesian jungles, Namibian deserts, Utah's canyonlands, or just about anywhere other than Antarctica, is that there are snakes. Some are deadly poisonous, others don't mind slowly squeezing the life out of you. The cold-blooded, scaly body and flickering, protruding tongue also probably contribute to our phobias. From Adam and Eve to Indiana Jones, snakes have scared the hell out of us. Might as well get to know them if you plan to travel. Just ask to be introduced by the Besikah Temple man.
Fear of Pancakes
Think that hostel room in Sarawak was small? Or your train compartment for the forty-odd hours from Athens to Paris? That's nothing compared to the claustrophobia experienced in Moaning Cavern, in the Sierra Nevadas of California.
While you might have read that the main chamber is large enough to hold the Statue of Liberty, that's little consolation in the beginning as you step through the hot-tub sized opening in the ground and rappel straight down 165 feet as the blackness closes in. True claustrophobia kicks in when exploring the deep chambers and tight passages that wind outward from the main chamber. You explore the passageways by crawling, slithering, and squeezing through the tunnels. It's so tight at one point in the passage, known as The Pancake, that you must lay on your back with your arms stretched over your head, grip a ledge on the ceiling of the rock, and breathe out while pulling through the gap. Now take into account that Moaning Cavern got its name from the sound created by drops of water that fell into a bottle-like rock formation. The drumming sound that resulted echoed throughout the cavern, and, to early explorers, sounded like someone moaning in the distance. Stuck in The Pancake, moaning, in the darkness like a black hole. This is where you can truly face your fears.
No experience is necessary. Gloves, hard hat with light, coveralls, and rappelling gear are provided by guide services. Moaning Cavern is open all year long, every day, and prices are on the inexpensive side of reasonable. Winter hours are10:00 am - 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. Call 209-736-2708 to make a reservation.
Fear of Laundry
Spiders. Just the word sends shivers up the spines of millions who suffer from arachnophobia. The daddy long legs, the little dark ones, the fat hairy ones, those fiendish tan colored ones we find weaving their webs in our back yards - we hate them all.
When I moved to Sydney, Australia a few years back, I had heard vaguely of the various native species, but never worried. After all, I was in a large city, not out in the bush. Wrong. I soon found out that Sydney was home to the world's most dangerous spider: the Sydney funnel web. It's the only spider on the planet whose bite calls for the same first aid measures as snake bites (see above for related phobia). According to Dr. Nick Jones in his book, The Rough Guide to Travel Health, "The funnel web can be very aggressive and may inflict successive bites. There is usually intense pain at the bite site after which the venom attacks the central nervous system, causing tingling and rapid-onset breathing difficulties, a quickened, weak pulse, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, mental confusion, loss of consciousness, and death."
And they can be found just about anywhere. In the laundry room one night I reached for a dropped dress sock behind the dryer. I extended my hand and my brown fuzzy sock jumped forward! My sock had eight legs and fangs that "inflict successive bites". I leaped back, ran upstairs, checked myself a hundred times over for anything even resembling a spider, took a shower and never went back into that laundry room again. Ever.
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