You may never have thought about it, but did you know that it matters where we sleep, whether in a healthy environment and bed or not? It strikes you first when travelling and your customary routine and sleeping place are not possible. The first time I slept in an Indian hut in the jungle I looked around in vain for a mat or some other soft surface to lie on. In the end I had to sleep on the bare bamboo floor like the Indians themselves, but at least I had my jacket, which I rolled up and used as a pillow. The only luxury I found was a mosquito net to keep out the malaria-carrying insects. If it had not been for the screeching sounds of monkeys and parrots or the cries of wild animals that kept rousing me, I would have slept comparatively well, because lying on a hard base is actually healthy. But when one is not accustomed to sleeping on a hard surface the old bones do rather object! Nonetheless, I did sleep better in that hut than the time I used a farmer’s bed that was too soft and gave me the feeling of being smothered under a mountain of downy feathers.
*1215/28/1*
