For Every Paradise, There's a Parasite

Thursday morning we headed out from Hanoi for an overnight trip to the nearby Ha Long Bay, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Counting Hue, that makes FIVE UNESCO World Heritage Sites -- ahh, ahh, ahh, aaaaahhhhh.)

We booked an overnight stay on the boat "Jewel of the Bay" and were off. By some stroke of luck, we ended up being the only passengers on our boat. So, Marcella, Barb, and I had a staff of probably seven or eight waiting on us. It was cool. Also, this meant that the really annoying blow-hard American ex-pat on the van to Ha Long Bay was not on our boat, thus preventing one of us from committing murder.

The bay is beautiful, with small green mountains periodically rising out of the water. There are caves in the mountains for you to explore, too. The only downside is that there are dozens of other boats out on the bay with you, seeing the sites at exactly the same time. (I think the government licenses the boats only to go to certain sites in a particular route.) When we put down anchor for the night, I counted over three dozen other boats surrounding ours. Also, there were people in rowboats going from boat to boat trying to sell water and Ritz crackers and what not. Though I love a Ritz cracker -- who doesn't? -- I think the presence of all the other boats takes away a little bit from the peaceful idyll that the bay could otherwise be.

Unfortunately, I probably should have bought some Ritz crackers. Something I ate on the boat or elsewhere did me wrong, and I got sick yesterday morning. (We shall call it Ho Chi Minh's Revenge.) I was pretty much miserable and in bed from yesterday afternoon -- when we returned to Hanoi -- until this morning. I'm 33 years old and have traveled half way around the world, and all I wanted was my mom to be sitting next to me, with a cold washcloth and some red jello.

I'm all dosed up on antibiotics now, thanks to the prescience of the docs in my pre-trip travel clinic, who thought to give me a prescription to bring with me to Asia. Of course, I laughed when I saw that the side effects of the drug they gave me to treat Ho Chi Minh's Revenge are nausea and diarrhea, the very same symptoms the drug is supposed to alleviate. But, in any case, I'm definitely feeling better and am able to get out of bed.

Today's my last day in Vietnam, and it's pouring like a mutha. Tomorrow I head to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, where among other things, I plan to lounge in a fancy hotel, ride an elephant, and get a massage. I'm super excited.