Cold in Cambodia

Flower Market

There has been an aura of unreality to leaving for Asia. Both of us feel it, neither of us understand it.  

                                                       

Is it that we’ve planned too far in advance? Is it because only the first 2 weeks of 5 are planned and the rest of our time is up in the air? Is it the ever-present specter of MamaDrama? Is it because I was too involved with the new business begun and training?

It begun with MamaDrama. West Coast Mama’s caretaker gave us 2 weeks’ notice the day before we left the country. Oy. We will be back in 5 weeks. Plans were made, emails and text’s flying thru the interweb between family members. We felt ok to leave, nonetheless.

Bangkok - the Venice of Asia

We boarded All Nippon Air, flight DF2348 to Narita, Toyko airport at 130pm on Tuesday. I had the sniffles. By the time we had landed in Japan, 11 hours later, the sniffles had turned my nose into a raging river of snot. 7 hours later, finally landing in Bangkok, my head was in a vise squeezing any grey matter out of my head thru my nose or eyes. The pas de resistance was developing concurrent “cough and pee.” Welcome to Thailand.

 www.mariyahotel.com

 

Super Nurse that I am, I had a sheet of pseudoephedrine with me. I went thru that like a junky with an 8 ball. Flying out early the next morning, Weds., to Cambodia, my symptoms became more pronounced. For those who have not traveled to certain parts of the world, travelers are met in immigration with heat sensors. Giant thermometers looking for sickies in the crowd. I have witnessed several people detained for fevers and illness. I think the “Andromeda Strain” has been seen in every language and country. You no welcome here, sick girl.

Another Shrine

The icing on the cake? It is illegal to have pseudoephedrine in Thailand. Great.

Thank goodness, the flight to Cambodia from Bangkok was only an hour. However, during that flight my right eye finally just popped out of my head. Not really, but it felt like it did. I think I scared the Young German man in the seat beside me. Taking my last 2 Pseudoephedrine, I skinnied thru immigration.

Even the beautiful, rose petal strewn room at the Ankor Holiday Hotel, http://www.angkorholidayhotel.com/

could console me or my sinus’. I sent Hershel onward to our dinner date with friends without me, with a mandate to find a pharmacy and get me some drugs. Pronto!

Naga on the Chao Priya RIver

Tomorrow is a 3-hour taxi drive to Battambang, unless things get better, I will end up filling the taxi with tissues, blinding the driver and crashing us all into the Buddha of head colds.