Pike's visit... and a few nasty blisters
I haven't been posting for a while for a couple of reasons. First of all, I had an excellent mini-holiday with Pike who was visiting me from India. We went to Unawatuna where we were boozing with the hotel owner (aka practicising relationship management) and sitting on the beach, speaking three hours about reincarnation while others were partying. In Mirissa we were just enjoying the whole paradise beach on our own. There was just a handful of other tourists, and of course another hotel owner with whom we drank some beer and went for a late-night dip in the ocean. That was so amazing! I felt like being seven again. :)Then we both had to work for a few days in between. Next weekend we were supposed to go to Kandy but I got so sick that we ended up taking a bus back home from the Colombo bus station. Others went partying as I stayed in bed and slept for 13 hours. Next day I reckoned I cannot just be sick as it is the last weekend with Pike in Lanka. So we went to Kandy anyways (on my birthday). The bus ride took 5 hours instead of the normal 3+ hours because of some road construction works and shitty weather. Well, we had 1,5 beers each and dropped to bed dead-tired. A bit different birthday I'd say. :) Next day we umm... did nothing special... we just went to this Temple of tooth that was supposed to be the most amazing temple ever, but it was nothing spectacular. We did, however, go to see some Kandyan dances and firewalking afterwards and that was pretty neat! Again, early to bed just to wake up next morning at five o'clock. But that wake-up was something else! Dozens of monks were chanting somewhere near and Kandyan drummers were giving them the rhyme. All sorts of animals joined into the chant and soon the whole valley was like in over-arching natural harmony. Now, that's something you don't experience in every other country at five o'clock in the morning.
The reason why we woke up so early was that we wanted to go and see the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage before heading back to Colombo. On our way there we were quite sleepy and as I accidentally noticed that the bus stopped where we were supposed to get off Pike was still fast asleep. She was almost left in the bus as it took off in haste. Finally, we saw the elephants. I think for her it was a nice experience although it felt a bit like the people there were more interested about tourists' money than the elephants. For me personally it was a bit perplexing. I didn't feel anyhow special that there were dozens of elephants roaming free around me. Have I become too much accustomed to this country? Maybe, 'cos the same non-reaction happened when I saw Cesar (our 2-meter Comodo Varan) for the first time.
Anywho, it was ten days of great time with Pike. I'm so glad we are friends. Wouldn't change it for a thing.
Nonetheless, the life here has not been all that blissful when it comes to health. About 2,5 months ago my feet developed this itchy rash for whatever the reason. I scratched, of course, and it just went worse. I thought it would go away over time and ignored Paula's comments that I should get it checked because there are all kinds of germs here. Well, it didn't pass. It changed to a few really nasty-looking and painful blistering wounds.
Now I'm getting quite pissed off at having to worry about them every day. So, yesterday I visited a doctor... finally. That was a bit weird. It was a private hospital so I basically had to pay every time I wanted to talk to someone. But that was not the weirdest part. When I walzed into this doctor's room I said bluntly what was my issue and showed him my feet. He was glancing at them indifferently and said I should stop smoking (had had a fag just before coming in). I was like "Ok, has crossed my mind..." Then he took my blood pressure, said it was good, and suggested I still get my blood sugar checked. After this remark he asked me to take my shirt off and lie on the bed. "What does this have to do with my feet?" I pondered in perplexion but obeyed the orders. He pressed my tummy, sides and chest, listened to my lungs and said everything is fine. Then we finally got to the business of checking my feet and he wrote me a couple of prescriptions (not like the forms you're used to in western hospitals but just some scribblings on a piece of paper ripped from a notepad). Nah, don't get me wrong, he was a nice lad (and not at all as gay as he sounds like). Off I went with all these pieces of paper, got my hepathitis vaccination done, took the blood sugar test (which was normal), went to the pharmacy and bought the drugs he had prescribed me. I felt so happy that I got all these things finally done that I bought muffins for everyone on the way home.
And this is a splendid way to end a pretty random posting, isn't it? Muffins.
posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Monday, November 20, 2006
2 Comments:
Morjens Tomi, mitenkäs maailma makaa? Kun tanner riittävästi pölisee, niin uutiset kantautuvat Suomen kautta Brasiliaan saakka. Onko mitään kommentoitavaa: http://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/artikkeli/Sri+Lankan+sissijohtajalta+odotetaan+viesti%C3%A4+sodasta+tai+rauhasta/1135223264220?ref=rss
I will not agree on it. I assume nice post. Especially the designation attracted me to review the unscathed story.
Post a Comment
<< Home