Sick, Again - But I'm OK!

Oh God fucking damn it. Krouzman is sick again.

At least that's what his gut and his thermometer say (100.2).

Also the doctor he saw tonight says so.

Vietnamese Doctor: "Yes, you have a GI bacterial infection."

Me: "Wow, how do you know that without running blood tests?"

Him: "Well, from the exam I just gave you (open mouth, breathe, allow me to touch your abdomen gently), and because everyone who comes back from where you just came back from (Halong Bay) gets a GI bacterial infection. [Deadpan] Sorry I didn't tell you before you went."

Me: (That would have been pretty incredible since we just met 6 minutes ago) Yeah.

And I knew this. I KNEW this. EVERY lunch and dinner they served us for 3 days included the same shitty prawns and the same crappy squid and the same oddly colored beef. But what the fuck was I going to do, not eat - on a boat?

So fuck. My spirits are good and I'm fine right now and I bet I'll be fine. I may be feeling OK about it because of the Vietnamese nurses I met tonight, who smile and giggle just as sweetly and coyishly as Thai nurses.

Also I'm a pro by now. Got my own private little pharmacy going, and I can even read blood tests! WBC count, Neutrophils. You know, all that shit.

It's funny when you first say you are going to Asia, no one says, "You know I got deathly ill there when I went. Be careful!"

They say, "Awesome. I LOVE Lao! or "Ooh, you'll LOVE Thailand!"

It's only when you call them from the hospital that they say, "Yeah, I got deathly ill there when I went there. I even threw up blood!"

So I'm back at my guesthouse in Hanoi, which is about as good a place to relax and recoup as Times Square. But I did find a sticky rice lady around the corner who peddles the meals I'm apt to eat for the next few days for 28 cents. That should offset the blood test fees.

Tomorrow I will tell you more about Halong Bay, which, as the tour guides say, is indeed "very beautiful." I'll give you a little status update too.

One thing I will say is I'm looking forward to the day soon when:
* I don't carry around an emergency kit with me everywhere I go
* I can eat food and drink water and not worry they could kill me (go figure)
* I go back to pooping once a day, one medium-large log, one medium-small log. Right now it's like thrice daily, 6 mis-shapen pellets at a time. I feel like a fucking deer.

Alright peeps, I'm gonna head up to my fifth floor walk up soon, pop some tylenol, and get some sleep.

Love,
Roni