Day 136 – Bangkok, Thailand – 5:14 PM

I contemplated this post over the recent days and pondered how to draft it. I could follow the usual cookie cutter format that most posts fall into:

I arrived in (city X), ____ number of days ago, after departing (city Y). Since I arrived, I have eaten (A), (B) and (C) and explored (X), (Y), and (Z).

However, since I landed in Bangkok last Sunday, I have not eaten anything interesting nor explored a single attraction in the capital city of Thailand. In fact, before yesterday, six days after arriving, I had not strayed from Surawong Road, a main thoroughfare that runs through Bangkok. Aside from a few hours spent in Bangkok Christian Hospital continuing my rabies inoculations, I spent the majority of the time inside my room on the 5^th floor of the Fuji Hotel on Surawong Road. To be honest, I enjoyed doing nothing. It felt good to remain sedentary the previous six days.

I believe two major factors led to my acceptance of an idle week in Bangkok. In my opinion, the first factor led to the second, so I will begin with the former: My Desire to Explore as many Cities as Possible over the Recent Months. Over four months ago, I departed New England on an once-in-a-lifetime journey around the world. When I stepped onto my American Airlines flight that brisk, Wednesday morning, I had no idea what the future would send my way. I had completed previous research into New Zealand, Australia and Vietnam, my first three international destinations. I knew when I was going to arrive, when I was scheduled to depart and what cities and towns I wished to visit within each country.

Thus began a four-month period in which I moved to a new destination every three or four days. While leaving aside all unforeseen hurdles, each new destination brought a rote set of challenges: find an accommodation, locate places to eat, learn to order in the local language if English is not spoken, track down an ATM that will allow me to withdraw money, research things to do in that particular area, and start to think about how I was going to travel to my next destination. As you can see, especially from that last obstacle (find transportation to my next destination), the wheels in my head constantly turned as I tried to take full advantage of my current location while already thinking about the next. I hope it does not appear as though I am complaining; that is not my intention. I am not looking for sympathy. I chose to travel this way. I simply want to give subscribers to Perpetual Footsteps a glimpse into what it is like to travel long-term. There will undoubtedly come a point when you need to stop moving, even if for only a week or so.

The unending pattern of unpacking, repacking and transiting to my next destination brought about a serious head cold. About four weeks ago, it started as a cough. Eventually my cough worsened and my nose became congested. I began the usual litany of remedies I employ back home to combat an illness: Orange Juice, Pseudofed, and as much sleep as possible. However, I still wanted to make the most of my time in Laos, so I continued to stay up late and wake up before most. My symptoms grew worse as my do-it-yourself remedies failed to provide me the results I hoped. I have suffered from sinus infections in the past and I could feel another taking hold as I traveled from Pakse to Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. I attempted another batch of Pseudofed with no results. I remained hopeful that one morning I would open my eyes able to breath clearly through both nostrils. Wishful thinking. I remained in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang close to two weeks, and the majority of those days were spent in my accommodation battling headaches, blowing my nose to no avail and catching up on lost sleep. I dragged myself out of bed at times to see at least one attraction in order to declare those cities a success. This period of inactivity can be seen in the lack of posts over the recent weeks.

Then came last Friday morning and my infamous dog bite. I have no one to blame but myself for that lapse in judgment. Now, my immune system had to fight the rabies inoculations along with the aforementioned symptoms. When it rains, it pours. I went to bed early last Friday hoping to rise before the sun to witness the alms giving ceremony that occurs each morning at dawn in Luang Prabang. That prospect quickly faded. All night, I ran from my bed to the bathroom and dealt with the symptoms of food poisoning. Anyone who has battled food poisoning knows what symptoms I’m referring to. I’ll avoid describing them any further at this time. The hours ticked by as I shuttled from bed to bathroom, back to bed, back to bathroom. I tossed and turned wondering if my street stall dinner or the rabies vaccination caused this episode. In total, I slept for close to two hours the entire night. I spent Saturday napping off and on and prepared for my flight to Thailand.

I arrived in Thailand last Sunday and booked a room at the inexpensive Fuji Hotel. I did not want to book a bed in a hostel dormitory until after I received my second rabies inoculation and made sure the dinner in Luang Prabang, and not the shot itself, caused my restless night. The symptoms of a sinus infection continued and nothing helped. Until yesterday, I passed the majority of my time napping and completing nuisance to-do list items from my hotel room. Some may find this unsuccessful or a wasteful stay in a foreign city. But, I believe it is the downtime my body needed after being in motion over the previous months. I returned to Bangkok Christian Hospital this morning to receive shot 3 of 5. I then walked to a nearby building and took the elevator to the 13^th Floor, the Ear-Nose-Throat Unit. After a short discussion with the doctor, he confirmed my suspicions. I have a sinus infection. I was prescribed additional Pseudofed tablets, hopefully stronger than those I purchased in Luang Prabang, in addition to two other medications. Hopefully a clean bill of health is right around the corner and I can start to explore this beautiful country I have heard so much about.

I have done a fair amount of ranting during this post. Yes, my active travel schedule has led me to this point. But, I do not regret a single second of it. I have met so many fantastic and like-minded people over the course of my travels. So many of them I now consider friends. We have driven, hiked, biked, snorkeled, drank, eaten and made memories together. I learned a great deal from my fellow vagabonds and I hope to have instilled something in each of them as well.

My original intention was to traverse the globe for a complete year. However, I have made the decision to return to the States in July, just in time for the scorching New England summer. There are striped bass to be caught in Cape Cod Bay, Billy Joel to be heard serenading a sold-out Fenway Park, and family and friends to catch-up with. I will certainly feel a sense of anxiety stepping aboard that final flight home. It will undoubtedly take some time to reacclimatize to the way of life I left last November. But, I hope to take what I learned during my time away and live a much more rewarding life.