Well this is back to the norm …
After a great deal of excitement over having a computer all of my own in my bedroom now, I have had a busy weekend and have had less time to make the most of it (by posting left, right and centre and playing more with learning various bits and bobs about blogs and the like) than I had hoped. A post on mine & Leanne’s fundraising blog with regard to the very rude lady at a homewares shop (called Home & Kitchen!!!) at “Norflanz” is a pressing task (because I really want to get it off my chest!), as is creating a FAQ page on the same blog for our upcoming trivia night. We are starting to learn that quite a few people are taking a look at the blog (well, we did put the address on the flyers!) and we need to make sure that they can find it helpful and informative.
So, here I sit – in my office at lunch time, surrounded by the decor that I had come to always associate with blogging … that of my LTU office. Tonight, maybe, I’ll get a chance to blog from my “new” blogging abode. I may even take a picture of my new desk* and make a very late addition to Daniel’s desk meme (joining in only a year overdue)!
I had the day off yesterday so that I could pay my neurologist my regular six-monthly visit (which he charges me near $100 for the priviledge of!) and ask him if he is happy for me to travel to Sri Lanka in November and ride 400kms around in the heat. He advised me to try to not get exhausted [“I will!”], and also said that I should be okay to get all the various vaccinations without trouble, as I am not immune suppressed, but just immune interfered. Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, Cholera … maybe Yellow Fever (at Dr G’s suggestion …?) Good thing I’m not afraid of needles!! And then there is the decision of whether to go with the once-per-week Malaria tablets that might make me a bit loopy when I’m on holiday, or the daily ones that will make my skin super-sun-sensitive …? Advice and experience from readers will be appreciated … (Especially the one who is currently sitting in Thailand whilst reading this post!)
* Due thanks must be publically made to Jim, who happened to wander past my bedroom at the exact same time as I began muttering expletives at the instructions and was at a loss as to where to start (couldn’t find the screws that it said I needed … they were still in the plastic wrapper, phew!). It turns out it was a mostly two-person-job anyway … And I just don’t have the hand strength required to screw in the screws far enough!
The Perseverant Pincushion 
Well, I can’t ignore that!
The main thing is to find a good travel doctor and listen to them. There’s debate on whether the cholera vaccine is effective. Have a look at the Oz government’s smart traveller website, and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the US.
For malaria – the main thing is stopping yourself getting bitten. Take a mosquito net if you’re not sure about the places you’re staying, long sleeved clothes and repellant (I like Bushman’s). (This will help prevent Dengue too…)
I’ve always taken doxycycline but you do have to be careful with the sun and some people get thrush (which i imagine would be even more of an issue on a bike trip!). i’ve never had mefloquine. this is mostly because i’m more likely to remember to take a tablet every day than every week – and it seems to surprise people how ineffective a drug is if you forget to take it.
and the most important thing… if you get a fever, DON’T ignore it, go to see a doctor and MAKE them test you for malaria (i’ve personally harassed the st vincent’s emergency dept). this disease can be very simple IF you get treatment, and for many people in the world it’s akin to having a cold. but if it’s not treated…
end of lecture. usual disclaimers about extent of advice etc.
as for sangkhla, all going well i’ll still be here. free accomodation and personal tour of the wooden bridge thrown in. only 7 hours from bangkok, but worth it! (not sure how long your stopover will be?)
Thanks Mel, you’re a gem! Your advice will be well heeded! I will get the required jabs and develop a permanent scent of bug spray whilst in SE Asia. Hoping to see you in Sangkhla …