crazy white girl with a kitchen

As my mom says, it’s not a family vacation until someone gets sick. This trip has been no different.

Within two days of arriving here in Phuket, my dad had gone to the emergency room at one of the local hospitals to receive treatment for his ear and sinus infection, in hopes of being able to take a SCUBA course. He was put on a course of antibiotics and has successfully beaten his illness. Within two days of that clearing up, my right eyelid started to swell up. By the end of the day, it had pretty much swollen shut and jokes about being a pirate ran rampant. In the morning, we decided to return to the town to visit another hospital. This time, the Phuket Bangkok International hospital, which is a private hospital. Check in was much like checking into a hotel, except they took my picture with a webcam. The time it took from the moment I walked in through the expensive frosted glass sliding doors into the soothing temperature controlled air of the hospital (now without that Sterile Smell(tm)!) until I got my bill and prescription was about 20 minutes. The total cost was just under $60 Canadian and most of that was my little shopping bag full of eye drops, eye salves and antibiotics. It was pretty amazing.

Anyhow, it was just a complicated eyelid infection, and it has since calmed down and ‘depuffed’. That is a relief since there was talk of having to return to have it lanced. While I am no fan of hospitals (who is?) I can honestly say I would not mind having to return there. There was a lovely coffee shop, automatic escalators that turned on as you approached them, beautifully decorated waiting areas with cushy suede couches (which would be prime for sleeping on as you waited for someone to come out of surgery or the like, which is kind of lost on the people visiting as your wait time does not seem to be very long) and 20 plus specialized departments.

Things have come a long way since the days of the dirt floored hospital my brother had to visit in Songkhla, Thailand over 15 years ago. In a land that has seen the slow introduction of western conveniences over the past decade, modern hospitals are probably the most welcome one.

Finally here in Thailand, and finally remembered to blog. I’ve been here for just a bit over a week, but it feels like forever. We are in one of the condos we have rented and it’s fabulous. It’s called the Aspasia (http://aspasiaphuket.com/2bedroomgrandsuite.htm for a preview of our room) and it’s ridiculously beautiful. Mostly I laze about, eating fruit and reading books. We’re due to start scuba courses, fishing and other activities soon, but truth be told I’m fine drinking iced coffees and lying about. More to come!

The day I arrived home from Montreal two weeks ago, I got a cold. With the help of ColdFX and a lot of rest, I pushed through and seemed fine. 

Until last night. This mother effer is back with a vengence, and I am on a plane for a REALLY long time on Sunday; I NEED COLD REMEDIES, STAT! I’m willing to try anything and everything, so get posting.

I have two memories of Toronto and Montreal. At one point, I was about 13 years old, and my aunt drove my brother and I through downtown Toronto. All I remember is the Skydome, which at the time, was a big deal. Even further back in my memory bank, I remember my family getting lost in Montreal, and no one speaking English. Not surprisingly, this happened almost a decade later in Paris.

Anyhow, Michael and I are off out east. We will be in Toronto, then taking the train to get to Montreal. I’m thrilled! There will be cobbled streets, cheese at markets, cheval tartare, poutine, the Insectarium, bagels, maybe the Six Flags Roller Coaster Park, and assorted other fall fun.

Three weeks following that, I’m off to Asia. Summer has begun.