I have been doing some serious relaxation the past few days.
Breakfast, pool, maybe a little nap, dinner, sleep. That's about all, I really hope my lung is appreciating the time I am putting in to this healing!
I spoke on the phone today with International SOS.
The clinic is Cambodia was pretty bare bones - but I think the one here is legit. First of all they charge twice as much to see a doctor.... you get what you pay for, right? I hope so. Also they have agreed that I should come in earlier than the idiot doctor in Phnom Penh recommended.
So I have an appointment to go in on Monday morning. Hopefully at that time I will get a third set of x-rays that come back all clear.
I can't believe that this illness is sucking so much of my precious travel time! I will have to make a decision on where to go next...no way I can fit in everything I hoped to and fly out of Bali on March 28th. And how did it become March already?!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
rags to riches
Today I made the move from Cambodia to Vietnam. The flight was awesome, just about 30 minutes. I wanted to share some pics of my accommodations in Phnom Penh (including the pillow with my name all over it) for comparison to my new digs in Ho Chi Minh City. Also threw in a pic of a moto plus pigs in a basket that I saw on the way to the airport. Poor piggies!
I have to give a shot out to my personal hero(s) Willy-Bob who found this new hotel for me. I love you guys thanks for taking care of me from so far away!
Just reunited with Jesse and it felt so goooood. She is off to meet some friends on the town...I am in for the night being mellow. I told her my dad grounded me at the Hotel Magestic and I was not upset one bit. Happy to be here and have a fresh place to stay for my recovery.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
pneumonia in cambodia?
DISCLAIMER: This is a ridiculously long story. Do not feel the need to read it - but I figured that is what blogs are for right? I can't keep telling the same story over and over... so if you are interested read on. If not, no big whoop.
It all started when I stepped off the bus in Phnom Penh...I went to grab my bag from the bus and it was covered in fishy smelling water. I mean like soaked through the whole left shoulder strap plus side of bag. Gross. Got into a tuk tuk and felt something inside my skirt - went to grab it and discovered some sort of large insect or spider...and I squeezed it and it was juicy and I dropped it onto the street. Double gross. On the way to the guesthouse our driver took a corner and my bag flew into the filthy street - with fish liquid soaked in to help absorb it all. Now I was cranky. And beginning to feel a little feverish.
Suffered through lunch of what had to be Toombstone pizza while dipping my bandanna in my water glass and pressing it against my forehead. Made it through the day with help of ibuprofen - even somehow managed to walk around the killing fields for an hour. Once we returned to the hostel it was all over for me. Full blown fever. Bed-ridden for the night, promising to go to the International SOS clinic in the morning.
Into the clinic I went, pathetic and freezing on a hot and humid day. They took some blood and let me lie in a bed while they ran the tests. The nurse had to turn off the AC in the observation room which had 3 beds separated by curtains. Results!? All negative. Which was nice because it ruled out malaria, but also sucked because it gave me no answers. The recommendation: take 2 tylenol every 4 hours and come back on Monday. Thanks!
Saturday was another day of pain. Mostly bedridden, sweating yet freezing. But there were moments when I was feeling well enough to go in public and get a bottle of water. By this point my cough was starting up.
Sunday I was feeling pretty good when I woke up! Alright! Even made it to observe a traditional dance class at the Cambodian Living Arts school. Amazing. Then went out and attempted to eat lunch and even bought a ticket to Vietnam for Monday! Thought things were moving in the right direction. We attended a play that night "Break the Silence" which was an intense collection of true post Khmer Rouge survivor stories...I was having serious coughing fits during the show. Seriously almost had to remove myself from the audience. But toughed it out and then went right to bed.
Monday Jesse jumped on the bus at 8am - see you in Vietnam! I had to check in at the clinic one last time to get another blood test and make sure I was all clear from scary sicknesses. Then they also threw the chest x-ray at me. Which showed a problem, the center 1/3 of my right lung was white while the rest healthy lungs looked black. That meant infection, which meant pneumonia. I thought pneumonia was something that old people get, or at least people get in the winter time. But apparently I am capable of contracting it in South East Asia. Sweet. Treatment started with the most painful IV insertion I have ever experienced. Have you ever had an IV put on the inside of your wrist? This lady did not know what she was doing and it still feels odd two days later (and yes I am touching it as I write this to confirm).
Since I intended to fly to Vietnam I literally had my bags with me at the clinic. AND had forgotten about my nice tuk tuk driver, January, who was waiting outside for over 5 hours! Luckily he was still there and still smiling and helped me get back to check in once again to the Okay Guesthouse. He sealed the deal as my personal tuk tuk man.
Tuesday went back for my second IV treatment at SOS. Way better nurse this time, top of the hand and I don't even have a bruise from it. Did not see any doctors on this visit. January took me home to the Okay House and I stayed horizontal watching movie upon movie in the privacy of my own special room. Did I mention the pillows have my name written all over them? Literally - they say ROBIN ROBIN ROBIN all over them. How weird is that?
Wednesday = today! I went to get my follow up x-ray & final IV treatment. Feeling much better on the fever side but cough still pretty strong. I felt optimistic though. Wrong! There was not much improvement in the x-ray. I was crushed. The the doctor told me that I will either have to stay in Phnom Penh for another WEEK or get "evacuated" to Bangkok for a week where they have better resources to deal with my illness. I could think about it and return to the clinic in the afternoon to make final plans. Both options sucked but (after a little freak out) I reasoned with myself and decided on Bangkok. Just trying to focus on my health here.
I returned to the clinic around 2pm to meet with Dr Nelson and figure out the plan of attack. He had to go check with some colleagues to figure out insurance etc while I made my list titled: Evacuation to Bangkok. He returned and sat down across from me and tried to sound official. Officially? He is an idiot. The other doctors all agreed that I CAN go on to Vietnam. I just need to check in at another SOS clinic (in Saigon or Hanoi) on March 4th for another x-ray. At this point I became pissed off. Then he told me that I should leave and come back again at 5:30 to pick up my reports. I told him I would wait and literally made him show me his schedule for the afternoon to see where he could fit this "report" in - which, incidentally, is maybe two paragraphs long. So in the end he was apologizing in front of the whole waiting room while handing me my x-rays and I was telling him he is an idiot and should always double check with other physicians before recommending an evacuation.
So! I am really really leaving Cambodia tomorrow and heading to Vietnam. So excited for a change. Traveling with a backpack and a do-not-bend folder of x-rays should be interesting. But I am very happy to do it.
Thanks to everyone who has been concerned for my well being! I am seriously fine and just taking it easy this week so I can get the all clear on my next x-ray.
It all started when I stepped off the bus in Phnom Penh...I went to grab my bag from the bus and it was covered in fishy smelling water. I mean like soaked through the whole left shoulder strap plus side of bag. Gross. Got into a tuk tuk and felt something inside my skirt - went to grab it and discovered some sort of large insect or spider...and I squeezed it and it was juicy and I dropped it onto the street. Double gross. On the way to the guesthouse our driver took a corner and my bag flew into the filthy street - with fish liquid soaked in to help absorb it all. Now I was cranky. And beginning to feel a little feverish.
Suffered through lunch of what had to be Toombstone pizza while dipping my bandanna in my water glass and pressing it against my forehead. Made it through the day with help of ibuprofen - even somehow managed to walk around the killing fields for an hour. Once we returned to the hostel it was all over for me. Full blown fever. Bed-ridden for the night, promising to go to the International SOS clinic in the morning.
Into the clinic I went, pathetic and freezing on a hot and humid day. They took some blood and let me lie in a bed while they ran the tests. The nurse had to turn off the AC in the observation room which had 3 beds separated by curtains. Results!? All negative. Which was nice because it ruled out malaria, but also sucked because it gave me no answers. The recommendation: take 2 tylenol every 4 hours and come back on Monday. Thanks!
Saturday was another day of pain. Mostly bedridden, sweating yet freezing. But there were moments when I was feeling well enough to go in public and get a bottle of water. By this point my cough was starting up.
Sunday I was feeling pretty good when I woke up! Alright! Even made it to observe a traditional dance class at the Cambodian Living Arts school. Amazing. Then went out and attempted to eat lunch and even bought a ticket to Vietnam for Monday! Thought things were moving in the right direction. We attended a play that night "Break the Silence" which was an intense collection of true post Khmer Rouge survivor stories...I was having serious coughing fits during the show. Seriously almost had to remove myself from the audience. But toughed it out and then went right to bed.
Monday Jesse jumped on the bus at 8am - see you in Vietnam! I had to check in at the clinic one last time to get another blood test and make sure I was all clear from scary sicknesses. Then they also threw the chest x-ray at me. Which showed a problem, the center 1/3 of my right lung was white while the rest healthy lungs looked black. That meant infection, which meant pneumonia. I thought pneumonia was something that old people get, or at least people get in the winter time. But apparently I am capable of contracting it in South East Asia. Sweet. Treatment started with the most painful IV insertion I have ever experienced. Have you ever had an IV put on the inside of your wrist? This lady did not know what she was doing and it still feels odd two days later (and yes I am touching it as I write this to confirm).
Since I intended to fly to Vietnam I literally had my bags with me at the clinic. AND had forgotten about my nice tuk tuk driver, January, who was waiting outside for over 5 hours! Luckily he was still there and still smiling and helped me get back to check in once again to the Okay Guesthouse. He sealed the deal as my personal tuk tuk man.
Tuesday went back for my second IV treatment at SOS. Way better nurse this time, top of the hand and I don't even have a bruise from it. Did not see any doctors on this visit. January took me home to the Okay House and I stayed horizontal watching movie upon movie in the privacy of my own special room. Did I mention the pillows have my name written all over them? Literally - they say ROBIN ROBIN ROBIN all over them. How weird is that?
Wednesday = today! I went to get my follow up x-ray & final IV treatment. Feeling much better on the fever side but cough still pretty strong. I felt optimistic though. Wrong! There was not much improvement in the x-ray. I was crushed. The the doctor told me that I will either have to stay in Phnom Penh for another WEEK or get "evacuated" to Bangkok for a week where they have better resources to deal with my illness. I could think about it and return to the clinic in the afternoon to make final plans. Both options sucked but (after a little freak out) I reasoned with myself and decided on Bangkok. Just trying to focus on my health here.
I returned to the clinic around 2pm to meet with Dr Nelson and figure out the plan of attack. He had to go check with some colleagues to figure out insurance etc while I made my list titled: Evacuation to Bangkok. He returned and sat down across from me and tried to sound official. Officially? He is an idiot. The other doctors all agreed that I CAN go on to Vietnam. I just need to check in at another SOS clinic (in Saigon or Hanoi) on March 4th for another x-ray. At this point I became pissed off. Then he told me that I should leave and come back again at 5:30 to pick up my reports. I told him I would wait and literally made him show me his schedule for the afternoon to see where he could fit this "report" in - which, incidentally, is maybe two paragraphs long. So in the end he was apologizing in front of the whole waiting room while handing me my x-rays and I was telling him he is an idiot and should always double check with other physicians before recommending an evacuation.
So! I am really really leaving Cambodia tomorrow and heading to Vietnam. So excited for a change. Traveling with a backpack and a do-not-bend folder of x-rays should be interesting. But I am very happy to do it.
Thanks to everyone who has been concerned for my well being! I am seriously fine and just taking it easy this week so I can get the all clear on my next x-ray.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Cambodia - Angkor Wat, Seam National Park
A few pics from Cambodia.
The people here are great - so friendly and easy to laugh. Which is amazing considering the recent history. Everyone rides a bike - you will even see 2-3 children on 1 bike in their school uniforms. So cute! And motorbike mania as well... with the whole family on board.
Jesse and I took the "scam bus" across the boarder from Bangkok - madness! We paid for a bus all the way to Siem Reap but ended up taking a $10 cab from the boarder...questionable operation they have going there.
We met Dana Gestal at the hotel in Siem Reap - worked out perfectly, we arrived 10 minutes before she did. Nice.
Angkor Wat was amazing! Such a huge & impressive project - massive. We visited a bunch of different temples - Ta Prohm was one of the coolest (I guess Toomb Raider was filmed there but I have not seen it)
The modern monk was there in full robes + cell phone.
3 nights in Siem Reap & then we ventured to the beaches (2 bus rides where they play ridiculous movies & music videos). Sad to see so much trash on the beaches, we did not even go in the water near our guesthouse. We did take a day trip to Ream National Park which was nice, but still trash washed up on the beach.
Went to the killing fields which was horrible, intense and eye opening. Crazy how recently the genocide took place and there are still bones and clothes in the mass graves.
Dana Gestal left us to head back to Hong Kong - great to have her for a week!
Loading pics is a bit painful here - seems to be the case across the board.
Bangkok pics
A few more pics from Bangkok - Grand Place & hanging with Alex Jonas for a few days before we headed out to Cambodia.
I LOVED the Grand Palace (despite the heat & mandatory full clothing). So much mirror details = disco ball temple. The Emerald Buddha was so beautiful I was overwhelmed!
We also spend an afternoon in Chinatown - which puts San Francisco's Chinatown to shame! So much to see and hectic bustling everywhere. Strange foods I have never seen before and bags upon bags of dried shrimps. Also - they have every color of plastic bag under the sun, not just pink. Jesse needed to take a few deep breaths at one point, haha!
Also - my favorite thing about Bangkok might have to be the billboards & photos of the King everywhere - and he always has his camera around his neck.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Bangkok
Made it to Bangkok!
It's hot and sticky here - lots of smog too.
Yesterday was Buddha's birthday...but we did not know it! Tried to go to the Grand Palace first thing in the morning and got shut out b/c there was a special celebration there. We did visit the Big Buddha - massive! There were so many people out and about which meant lots of traffic.
Have already have seen lots of cool stuff. Went to the floating market today and rose gardens.
Tonight on the way home from dinner we ran into an elephant walking down the street!! I fed him some type of mystery fruit -he seemed to like it!
Heading to Cambodia in a few days and looking forward to it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Auckland
We made it to Auckland with our rental car @ 4pm today - almost got involved in a 3 car pile up at the Hertz drop off! Disaster avoided, phew. Was funny to drive on the wrong side of the road and getting used to the driver's seat on the right side.
Staying with a friend of a friend tonight & then fly to Bangkok tomorrow! It is going to be such a new environment - I am mentally preparing for the serious culture shock. Very excited about the move though, and talking to other travelers who have been to SE Asia adds to the excitement.
LOVED New Zealand so much. Sad to leave but already hoping/planning to come back here some day...
Staying with a friend of a friend tonight & then fly to Bangkok tomorrow! It is going to be such a new environment - I am mentally preparing for the serious culture shock. Very excited about the move though, and talking to other travelers who have been to SE Asia adds to the excitement.
LOVED New Zealand so much. Sad to leave but already hoping/planning to come back here some day...
Raglan Dinners
We had some nice dinners at the backpackers in Raglan- one friend Joseph caught a bunch of clams one night & steamed them in wine/cream sauce. yummy!
Last night we had amazing cheeseburgers - special recipe from Dawson & Laura.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
surfing safari
In Raglan right now - chill surf town on the west coast of the north island.
The waves are perfect for me, small right now but consistent. The beach here was made famous in Endless Summer, largest left break in the world maybe? Definitely beautiful and surfer's paradise.
We are staying at a backpackers in town that is so great we decided to add another night.
Tomorrow we head to Auckland. Then to Bangkok the next day = crazy!
It will be sad to leave New Zealand. But I am looking forward to another adventure in SE Asia.
I promise to post some pictures while in Auckland.
Monday, February 2, 2009
North Island
we took the ferry from Picton to Wellington on the 31st. Two nights in Wellington - fun night on the town - we rocked down to "Electric Avenue" and did some dancing. Then met up w/new friends for an impromptu haircut - well done Jesse!
Now we are @ Lake Taupo. Finally got to go skydiving!!
Jesse and I both jumped from 15,000 feet - O.M.G.
Scary but awesome - hard to breathe up there! Have a dvd and pics from the outfitters so maybe there will be some more pics soon.
On the North Island of New Zealand now...only 5 more days. The time has passed too quickly and I already want to come back to NZ. This traveling thing is addictive!
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