Report From the Field 4
Current Location: Vientiane, Laos
Traveling is not for the faint of heart - or feet, or stomach, or any blood type that mosquitos love. Besides the daily battle with the mosquitos and the incident with the leeches the other day, my intrepid traveling buddies and I have encountered a number of other obstacles.
#1 - Rashes. Comes in all forms and can be caused by anything. Heat rash is common, and are not new to me anymore. Amongst the 3 of us, Kim has it the worst. Rows of little blood rashes have infested her legs and the underside of her arm.
#2 - Blisters. I have it fairly good this time because I invested in a good pair of Berkies back in KL. But I have learned, once again thanks to Kim, never to purchase Old Navy flip flops.
#3 - Stomach Aches. Can be caused by anything, from noodle soup that wasn't made in the most sanitary of environments, to drinking beer. For some reason, I haven't taken well to drinking beer in hot and humid conditions.
#4 - Infections. Yours truely have fallen victim to infections. I think the cause was a combination between old contacts (I forgot to bring new ones with me. Smart), and dirt in Kuang Si waterfalls water. The result is a very lovely pink eye that's slightly smaller than the other non infected eye. Pretty! But I should not complain. Of the three of us, Kim had it the worst. As of present, her right ankle is swollen to half the normal size. As well, there's a really big soar on her right ankle that started oozing puss. We think it might be a fungus infection, contracted during the 3 hour hike in the jungle (she had open soars then due to too much scratching of mosquito bites). We're probably heading to the international clinic soon...
So you see, traveling isn't all fun and games all the time. However, despite all these minor technicalities, I am loving every minute of it! All the risks and annoyances of traveling can be remedied by nights like last night - watching the sunset over the Mekong River and then eating traditional Lao BBQ over a big cold glass of Lemon Juice!
Traveling is not for the faint of heart - or feet, or stomach, or any blood type that mosquitos love. Besides the daily battle with the mosquitos and the incident with the leeches the other day, my intrepid traveling buddies and I have encountered a number of other obstacles.
#1 - Rashes. Comes in all forms and can be caused by anything. Heat rash is common, and are not new to me anymore. Amongst the 3 of us, Kim has it the worst. Rows of little blood rashes have infested her legs and the underside of her arm.
#2 - Blisters. I have it fairly good this time because I invested in a good pair of Berkies back in KL. But I have learned, once again thanks to Kim, never to purchase Old Navy flip flops.
#3 - Stomach Aches. Can be caused by anything, from noodle soup that wasn't made in the most sanitary of environments, to drinking beer. For some reason, I haven't taken well to drinking beer in hot and humid conditions.
#4 - Infections. Yours truely have fallen victim to infections. I think the cause was a combination between old contacts (I forgot to bring new ones with me. Smart), and dirt in Kuang Si waterfalls water. The result is a very lovely pink eye that's slightly smaller than the other non infected eye. Pretty! But I should not complain. Of the three of us, Kim had it the worst. As of present, her right ankle is swollen to half the normal size. As well, there's a really big soar on her right ankle that started oozing puss. We think it might be a fungus infection, contracted during the 3 hour hike in the jungle (she had open soars then due to too much scratching of mosquito bites). We're probably heading to the international clinic soon...
So you see, traveling isn't all fun and games all the time. However, despite all these minor technicalities, I am loving every minute of it! All the risks and annoyances of traveling can be remedied by nights like last night - watching the sunset over the Mekong River and then eating traditional Lao BBQ over a big cold glass of Lemon Juice!
5 Comments:
For some reason, I haven't taken well to drinking beer in hot and humid conditions.
And you call yourself a Hoosier. Lightweight wus!
Hey, I haven't had 12 months of prep and adjusting to drinking beer in hot and humid weather! Wine though, is another story... :)
Wow Sheila, that is quite an experience!
I wrote you an email earlier but can't resist dropping a comment here. Hope the infections go down! Stay safe!
fascinating. keep the tales coming, porfa!
An adventure wouldn't be an adventure without rashes and infections!
Sidenote: Don't try to pick up any guys with the line...'Do you want see my rash?'
:p
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