Paul goes to hospital
Trip Start
Apr 01, 2008
1
25
46
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Overbrooke Hospital
Chiang Rai, Thailand
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Each Saturday night Chiang Rai closes off some streets to traffic and lots of stalls are set up. It is only new (2nd or 3rd weekend it has happened) and I haven't seen it yet.
Also our next door neighbour needs to go into town to attend the Chiang Rai version of the King's sister's funeral.
Hard to find parking, but we find somewhere just before 7pm which means we were walking past the clock tower as it was changing colour. You'd have to see it to understand what happens. Supposedly only happens on Saturday nights - I am not sure which hours. Kanchana said it was only at 7pm, but as we were heading home at 8pm it was changing again. ???? This is new also.
Anyway, the markets were very good. Mainly locals mixed with occasional tourists. But very crowded, to the extent that we really didn't feel we could stop to buy anything in case we'd hold up the huge flow of people. Hopefully that'll be fixed by adding an extra street soon.
Lots of comments about Kitty as we were walking around - a typical one is that as people pass her they tell their friends she looks like a doll. ("Muan Dtukgadaa"). Not that they can talk - it is amazing how many women walking around look like super models; but pleasant, smiley, attractive versions. Anyway, Kitty seems to enjoy the attention.
Anyway, the point of mentioning all this is I ate some mixed sausage things at Walking Street.
-------------------------------------
Next day - no water for a shower again. This is pretty typical and getting annoying. I can't wait until we move into the new house which has a water tank. Leaves me feeling a bit dirty and not fully awake or happy for most of the morning as I wait for enough water pressure to be able to shower. I start to have some loose bowel movements too - that isn't that unusual either. Never mind.
But at some point that turns into diarrhoea and I start feeling crappier and crappier. Kanchana continuously asks if I want to go to the doctor. "No".
I end up spending all Sunday sleeping and getting up and going to the toilet. But I expect by Monday morning the problem will have gone, as these things usually do.
----------------------------------
Monday morning - the diarrhoea has eased a fair bit, but now I vomit and still feel crap. I haven't been able to eat or drink anything for over 24 hours now and I have lost lots of fluids. OK, lets go to the doctor as I want them to give me a intravenous drip to get some fluids into me.
We go to Overbrooke Hospital (a private hospital, and one of the 4 hospitals in Chiang Rai town)- all very smooth, efficient and quick. The doctor gives me a drip and put me in hospital for the night.
As my fluids increased I felt much better.
Blah blah.
Rest of the story doesn't get much more interesting, as it is just me sitting in hospital and feeling better as time passes.
----------------------------------------
Of interest - a private room cost us 800 Baht, and all up, including 3 drips, chest x-ray (that cleared me of TB), tests on urine, faeces, and phlegm, medicine, meals, nursing and doctor care - total cost was around 3800 Baht. That is expensive for us, but it was worth it. So OK.
Oh, and I think I just got some bad food poisoning. Mixed with a flu/cold type thing I've had for around a month and general exhaustion - I think it knocked me about more than it might have if I was 100% healthy.
Comments
Luck
Perhaps you're absorbing a bit of the old 'Wozluck' there mate? I've a had an outrageous cough/flu type thing for two and half weeks now. Just take it easy and don't give up eating sausages..