Update from Thailand

13th April 2006

Well if theres one thing that can be said about Alison, is that she never does things easy.
After her visit to the Australian Embassy doctor, we thought all was well with her leg and that we only needed to wait a few extra days to let things settle down.

Well we were wrong !!
The crust of a scab that had formed on her leg was able to move around, due to the yellow puss that had formed underneath.
We decided to pay yet another visit to the Embassy for an updated prognosis, only to be told that there was a large infection and that we needed to get to Bangkok ASAP to get things under control.
It would seem that the infection was introduced by our attempts to clean the wound with local tap water, that was nothing more than Mekong river water untreated.

I have to say that having good insurance was a real plus.
We were picked up from our hotel and driven to the airport where we were already booked onto a flight.
On arrival at Bangkok, there was someone waiting for us who took us straight to A+E where Alison was seen within minutes of arrival.
It was quite a breath of fresh air, to see treatment being given by people who had the time to do their work whilst explaining the problem at the same time.
The other noticeable difference to NHS, was that the doctor was involved with the cleaning and dressing of the wound.

Seeing the opportunity for a few free nights accommodation, Alison was checked into hospital for 5 nights !!
Whilst she was restrained to her bed, I made full use of the free satellite movie chanells and excellent food being offered throughout the day.
This place was as good as a five star hotel, it even offered Mc Donalds, Star Bucks and a full food hall !!

Towards the end of her stay, things became more enjoyable, as I was able to push Alison around in a wheel chair.
I made full use of my observations from “The Office”, leaving her facing blank walls as we waited for lifts etc.
I was even able to run ahead of her whilst going down slopes shouting “No Hands”, which made for some rather bad language from Alison’s part.
The best part of the whole stay, was when I had to request dustbin liners and tape for Alison to take a shower.
She wouldn’t allow photos, but believe me it was one of the best moments of the whole trip for laugh factor.
The downside was Alison's flat refusal to have a bed bath by a Thai nurse !!, which left yours truely to deal with a one legged bag lady in the shower.
The thought of having to use such a small bar of soap will haunt me for years to come!!

We finally left the hospital five days later, although we managed to gain a couple of extra nights at a top hotel all thanks to the insurance.
It was a really nice change to stay somewhere with your own bathroom, TV and multiple swimming pools.
It was a shame for Alison that she had to stay out of the sun, but I made sure that she could hear how nice and cool the pool was.

Our plans have now changed again, as we had planned to get back to Laos ASAP.
We decided that it would be best to stay in Thailand until there was no further risk of infection.
I sat for ages on the internet before coming up with an ideal solution.
I arranged flights and a hotel at Khao Lak, which was one of the worst effected areas from the recent tsunami.
The idea was that if it still offered rooms, then it must be new.

We were again met at the airport by a hotel driver, who took us the one hour journey to Khao Lak.
We could have stayed at closer locations such as Phuket, but I had also read about the Similan Islands which are said to be some of the best dive sites in the world !!!
Our hotel was fantastic, offering all the trimmings for people on a normal 2 week holiday.
We have five + pools, a number of bars plus instant access to the beach..

See photos below for the idea






The weather here was just so hot, that it must have been murder for Alison as she couldn't make use of the water.


Alison trying to gain a one legged sun tan


I think she tried a little too hard with the sympathy act, putting her feet up at any opportunity


The following shows her little scrape.


As Alison was unable to sit in the sun or go swimming, it made perfect sence for me to go diving whilst she was able to relax with a good book.
The following photos were taken from the Similan Islands, which are located about 2 hours boat ride from Khao Lak.
If situations were different, then the diving here would have been better aboard a liverboard boat ( I didn’t want to push my luck too much) !!




































Our latest plan is to visit Vietnam again and travel through the north.
We are not that sure how far we will get, as we will need to sort out new dates to fly back if we are to see everything that we would like to in one trip.
I will keep you all informed.