I fall ill (again) in Luang Prabang
3 februari 2010 - Luang Prabang, Laos
In Luang Prabang (after the two day boat ride there) I hang out with people from the Gibbon Experience and from the boat and have a ton of fun. The second day we head out to a beautiful collection of small and large waterfalls (see pictures). At some point we climb up this cliff, overcoming about 73498242946 steps to find absolutely nothing worth admiring up there. Some of the steps were built over a waterfall however (!). It was the way, not the goal.... That night I feel a little ill, still decide to go out and it's another fun outing, but on the way way back I know, unmistakebly, that I have contracted.... the flu. Sore muscles, nausea, diarrhea, headache, weird nightmares, incoherent thought and concentration and an extreme sense of lazyness all follow suit soon after. I decide not to go on the 5 hour bus ride to Vang Vieng the next day, which I had already paid for (I've had enough hellish trips in various forms of transport by now). Valerie (my roommate), takes good care of me, but she has to leave to catch the bus. I stay in the room for four days and wait for the illness to subside, which it doesn't for 2 days, but then my body starts to win the battle. Now (4 days later) I feel all but healed up. Due to my condition I really didn't want to go outside (I seriously disliked the idea of going to the toilet every time), so I didn't eat for 3 days. So I seem to have lost quite some muscle and fat and I was already looking a little skinny. I just ate a whole bottle of pringles though :) Oh and the fan they have in my tiny guesthouse room here was probably meant for an industrial plant or something, because when I set it to it's lowest setting, it's like there's a Huey taking off in my room! There's literally paper flying etc :P.
