Chinese Cobra vs Mini Bus (Fear in the Modern City)

I am frightened of flying, riding in Hong Kong minibuses and, being bitten by cobras. The first two of these I have done a lot. The last one on the list is an unfulfilled fear ambition.

They say that flying is one of the safest forms of transport, but why then do my palms sweat so much just before take-off and I'm always so certain that a wing will fall off as we bank into the first turn after take-off? Take-offs and landings, by the way, are supposed to be equally the most dangerous times. By why do I feel a sense of impending doom as take-off approaches, but a sense of euphoria as the landing beckons? And yet, time and again I fly!

With minibuses, red-top or green-top, those in the know recommend sleeping, or at the very least closing your eyes and pretending you are on a beach, on a Polynesian island, next to the gently lapping sea. We need to ride in them, but wish they didn't exist. I don't have the same sense of doom boarding a minibus as I do a plane, but the feeling of euphoria at the end of the journey is almost on the same plane (pun intended, sorry).

Now we come to something that could really kill you. The COBRA. The other morning as I arrived back home from yum cha, I found a decent sized Chinese Cobra sunning itself outside my front door. I admit to a moment of horror, but once it decided it wanted some shade and started slithering away, I was sorry to see it go.