Trip of a Lifetime

The Bubonic Plague

Hi all, Greetings from Vang Vieng, Laos! Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who's writtien me, or posted on the site, it's so good to hear from back home, and to hear about people enjoying my website! Keep em coming ;) Secondly I'd like to tell you all about the not-so-wonderful part of Asia, known as travellers diarrhea... but first some good news! Kuang Si Falls. Wow. I've got some pictures and they're quite selfexplanatory - There's one of me in front of the falls (I'm not tanned yet, you might want to throw some sunglasses on?) http://www.geocities.com/spiker4397/P1010006.JPG One of Kailyn in front of the falls (a little hazy but pretty cool nonetheless) http://www.geocities.com/spiker4397/P1010007.JPG And one of us two and the three random French guys we rented the Tuk-Tuk (Taxi) with to get up to the falls http://www.geocities.com/spiker4397/P1010008.JPG Cool trio of fellows, we enjoyed their company and a chance to practice our French, inferior as it was. My French was, however, better than their English :D This morning we got up at 6:30 and took the VIP bus to Vang Vieng, where I find myself now! Now I might further explain the concept of a VIP bus. I North America, VIP means Very Important Person, as far as I know. Here it seems to mean something closer to ... Very Intensely Packed. And so, we took the Very Intensely Packed bus, which took 7 hours to travel a mere 170 Kilometers - that's an average of 24 kph kids... I can, literally, run faster than that. Hell our bus would've been passed in a school zone. The main reason was the roads - imagine an x-ray of someone's intestines, add potholes, chickens, cows and running children, and put our bus on one end. Speaking of intestines... And now, what you've all been waiting for...? Travellers Diarrhea. Two words that mean so much. After witnessing Kailyn's battle, and fearing the worst for myself, I contracted Travellers Diarrhea two nights ago. If I could pinpoint a starting time, it would be about 8 pm. That's when I experienced the first of 4 distinct stages that I could identify. I should offer a disclaimer: The squeamish may not enjoy the next section of this post and may want to skip it to avoid contorted faces/terrible visuals/losing the will to travel. :) #1 - The Happy Runs. Hey, you're peeing out your bum, but everything else is fine! You can still eat and drink, and go about your daily activities with little more than frequent trips to the can. The main problem with this fist stage is the ominous cloud of questions over your head - what is this exactly? Whats it from? Will it stay like this? Maybe I'll get a tummyache? Can I still drink beer? #2 The Angry Runs. Okay, so... you're still peeing out of your bum, more frequently now, and you feel weak and uneasy. Your stomach is doing some turns but its not too bad, and you're thinking "Hey, this sucks, but honestly it's not that bad... I've been sicker at home. Hope it'll be done soon so I can keep on travelling". But in the back of your mind you're still fearing the worst - does it get nastier?... #3 The Bubonic Plague. Your bum is now a faucet, which seems to now be directly linked to your stomach. Water (which is the only thing you can force down now) goes straight from your mouth out the other end, seemingly bypassing all internal organs. Your stomach feels like an absolute mess, and rejects any solid food from whence it came. Cold sweats, fever, and hot sweats seem to rotate so that you never quite get used to one of them before the next arrives. You try to think of better places, but the only place that comes to mind is the bathroom... #4 The After Runs. The Bubonic Plague left even more quickly than it came, and you feel semi human now, although your stomach is still feeling the effects of the exodus it just endured. And, of course, you're still peeing readily out your bum. This seems to last about a day after you feel better, which is where I am now! The entire thing lasts almost EXACTLY 24 hours, to the minute. Amazing how long 24 hours can feel, especially when you don't sleep a wink :) At any rate, let's hope this is the last I experience of this nastiness! With restored health and a new understanding of Asia's wonders (sorta), I look forward to kayaking to Vientienne, and soon after, visiting the first of 2 ancient temples that promise to be absolutely breathtaking; Phnom Rung, in Thailand, which is only rivalled by the second; Angkor Wat of Cambodia. Mind you, they were built by the same people :) And so, I hope this post wasn't too graphic, I just had to share with you the intricacies of my adventure! Looking forward to reading the many colourful replies I'm sure to recieve after this one. Chris

posted by Spiker @ 4:43 am