UPDATE:
honestly, where they come from does not matter to us at all. they could be australian or american, for all i care. it is just a detail that i put in to justify the language barrier that occurred between us as hosts and them as guests, and i have no intention of stereotyping or generalising. my family and i are open-minded towards guests of all cultural backgrounds and religions.
however, it is really their overall behaviour that made them a little more harder to accommodate than our average guests: they were nice people, but they were very hard to please. of course this happens and i am not complaining, because we all are like this at some stage in our lives.
anyway, it went like this.
i had class then and my mum was dropping me off and had offered to pick them up ONLY because where they were was right next to my uni. (we do not pick up or drive guests for free unless where they were going was on the exact same route as us.) so my mum took them home and i rang her after my lecture and asked her how it went. she told me that they were asking to cancel their reservation because our location was way too far from the cbd. my mum called their previous host and told him about this and asked if he could take them back. he told her that when he helped them search for places on airbnb he had already advised them that our location was far away and nowhere near the city, which is where they want to visit on a daily basis, but they did not listen and "obstinately" (his word) made the booking anyway. the previous host also advised her NOT to give them a refund and if there should be any issues, have them take it to airbnb. so my mum helped them look for other places they could book on airbnb but they were not happy with the results since they were too expensive and out of their price range. the guest gave up and decided not to cancel but asked if he could give them a discount. my mum firmly refused. then he asked if we had a mirror. she said that there was a mirror in the bathroom. the guest said he needed a mirror in the room and if there was not, was it okay if he could change his clothes in front of her. (needless to say, that was out of the question).
he later asked to see the second floor - where we lived - because he wanted to inspect our kitchen. my mum told them that they already have the minibar all to themselves and there were supplies left for them, like bread and tea and stuff for them to help themselves with, and why on earth would he need to see the kitchen for. (we do not allow guests to enter our living area; exceptions are only for long-term guests that need to do their laundry in our washing machine) he replied that he wanted to use our eggs to cook his breakfast with and use the kitchen to make his tea/coffee. again, my mum said no. (kitchen is not included in our list of amenities)
he went out for the evening with his wife and asked if my mum could pick them up afterwards because they did not want to pay public transportation fare. my mum refused and explained that the first time was an exception because they were nearby to where she'd dropped me off earlier in the afternoon, and no sorry they will have to come home via public transport.
the next day, he told my mum that he was unhappy with the room because it was uncomfortably far away from the bathroom. (we have two rooms on the first floor listed on Airbnb. room 1 is simple and small, but because it does not face the staircase and is next to the bathroom it gives guests way more privacy compared to room 2, where they were staying, which was larger and of course less private). she told them that she had already given them the choice to choose between these two rooms upon their arrival and had suggested that if they wanted to be closer to the bathroom and have more privacy, it was ideal for them to take room 1. however, they had said it did not matter to them and said they would be happy with room 2.
on their last day (they stayed for three nights), the guest asked if they could have a late checkout at 6 PM. (our latest check-out is at 11 PM). my mum did not allow them to stay till that late but agreed they could leave their stuff at our house while they went out so long they depart as soon as they have retrieved their luggage. they came back late after 6 and asked if she could drop them off because they didnt have credit on their phone to book for a taxi or uber. my mum said she cannot drop them off but she will let them use her phone to call for an uber. however the uber was late because they'd entered the incorrect address and they kept asking her if it was okay for her to drop them off by offering to leave us 5 star reviews in return. when the uber was close to our location my mum suggested they should wait out for the driver outside and saw them off.
mind you, i do not feel annoyed or frustrated with these guests at all. i mean, guests are human. we all make mistakes and are completely clueless when it comes to living with people whose house rules are different to yours. it is true that there were some cultural barriers and their lack of english made it hard for us to communicate with them properly, but then, if we as english-speakers visit a foreign country where we have no command of the language or the culture, we too will need lots of help. this was exactly us when we visited norway a couple of months ago and the host left us a review highlighting our cluelessness.
also, monica. i told them myself that as part of our house rules, we would like the lights be turned off when they are not in use. it may be for security reasons for your listing, but as an energy-conscious household we want to keep our costs low.
i have no intention of leaving a negative feedback, like i said i am hesitant because i empathised with them and felt that there is no need to do so anyway. i just want to illustrate to future potential guests what it will be like hosting them, that's all. that they require extra attention and lots of help since they're first time airbnb-ers.
all in all, thanks to everyone who responded!