Dengue

So we didnt come out of Asia completely unscathed and the end of our trip hasn't exactly gone as planned. Jorie sadly was the unfortunate one who took the blow of bad luck for the two of us. For the past 8 days Jorie has been a victim to the tropical mosquito transmitted Dengue Fever which causes a myriad of symptoms (high fever, massive headache, fatigue, aching, nausea, etc). As someone who has witnesses Dengue fever in action, let's just say you never want to get it. Jorie has been extremely brave and a trooper through the waves of discomfort.

Over the past 4 days we have been back and forth to the visit "Doctor Brian" (a curmudgeon man from Canada but a tropical disease specialist). We have also spent more time than we could have ever imagine in our $22 windowless ant-infested hotel room (at least it was cheap). We rented a DVD player and bought tons of pirated DVD's. I have learned a lot about Jorie on this trip, and have discovered that she tends to have random narcoleptic moments. These moments of narcolepsy were only exacerbated by Dengue. While Jorie was narcoleptic I wandered the city of Hanoi observing more of the Asian culture. Walking into oncoming traffic doesn't seem to give me an heart attack anymore, the guilt I once felt for turning away street vendors who hackle us has disappeared, and I now think meals should be under $5; these are all signs we have been in Vietnam for a while.

This morning Dr. Brian gave Jorie the clear to fly back to the States. We were ecstatic to be able to leave the confines of our hotel and go back to the comforts of the US. We are leaving the land where there are countless motor bikes, where PJ's are acceptable any time of day, where the national sport is badminton, where chickens run around the city streets, and where the sounds of honking horns is constant. We are now heading back to San Francisco earlier than expected but thankful for the past 12 weeks of an epic adventure.