Ubiquitous Bangkok bacteria

Typical! 36 hours without sleep; nearly 24 of those travelling upright door-to-door from Chez David to Chez Michael, and here I am at 2 in the morning local time, finally horizontal in a warm bed, staring at the ceiling completely unable to even nod off! Doh! Stupid body clock! Can’t complain about the trip, though. We flew Etihad again: slightly more expensive that the Indian (Kingfisher/Jet) and the other Arab airlines (Qatar/Oman) but a damn sight cheaper than Eva, Singapore or BA flights. Punctual service and transfer at Abu Dhabi, reasonable leg room (even if I did get the predictable a******s in front who pushed their seats back on both legs of the journey), quite passable airline grub, and state of the art movie/music/games systems to pass the time. It was entirely my fault if I picked four mindless films to watch (Predators, Airbender, Megamind and Expendables, if you’re interested).

Our hosts, Mike and Carolyn, say hello to the outside world. I’d like to say they are both well but, as Mike drove us from the airport . . .well, after having surgery on his destroyed knee cartilages, having a plate installed and walking around on crutches for a month his knee got infected with the ubiquitous Bangkokian bacteria so has been on antibiotics for 6 weeks. On top of that, his gout has flared up so he can’t walk very far (let alone pub crawl!). So, on top of the antibiotics, the anti-cholesterol tablets, the Dicoflec for the gout, the doctors have told him he can’t drink for a month. Picture this: two old farts in the front of the car driving into Bangkok complaining about their aches and pains, comparing knee and feet pains, and discussing the values of various medicines and the stupidity of doctors, while Linda sits in the back with her head in her hands. Carolyn, on the other hand, is a picture of health, what with her daily visits to the gym, her kickboxing training, and jogging up 21 flights of stairs to the apartment. At least, that’s what she claims. I’m in no position to follow her. It’s my knees you know . . .

Actually, the ubiquitous bacteria comment is no joke. After last year’s misadventures barefoot in a Cambodian swamp I spent the first half of 2010 digging funny coloured blood out of a poisoned foot. And if wasn’t cautionary enough, M&C are telling us about one of Mike’s colleagues (who we met last Christmas) who has found herself completely paralysed in a Thai hospital running up huge medical bills. It turns out she’s contracted Guillain Barre Syndrome (see link if you’ve never heard of it: I hadn’t), possibly contracted via food poisoning, possibly from swimming in the local lakes. It’s a real horror story but happy to report she is making the expected recovery now. Just goes to show how vulnerable pale, virgin, English flesh is in these here foreign parts. You can be sure I’m keeping my vulnerable bits covered this trip.