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Well there I was in the communications centre scanning www.everestnews.com and eating rumballs (my new passion!), while discussing the state and prognosis of my leg for around the 50th time today when the guy next to me turned and said, "I was on the summit 5 days ago". I nearly fell off my chair ( for the second time this trip), as I expected any mere mortal who had performed this feat to at least be lying down being massaged , probably with various extremities missing and still attached to an oxygen bottle for effect! I studied him and yes, he did look a little weather beaten, with a few cuts on cracked skin on his face, and he smelled like he hadn't showered for about 3 months, but apart from that no tell-tale signs and looking fit as a fiddle! It was really weird because I've been checking in daily to see how my climbers are doing ( they havent summited yet but 2 of the group have), and hence know most of the names on the site, and this guy was then sitting there telling me about how he had been climbing the mountain with them. I was in
absolute awe, and in fact am gonna chase him down later to find out more about climbing in the 'death zone' . I reckon they will start straggling in over the next few days as the last few days have seen numerous summits. So perhaps sitting here in plaster ain't so bad.........
Backtracking now about 6 weeks, I never finished my tale-telling about Bangkok. The last few days were a bit hassley as not only did I lose my bank card, but also a stray dog licked an open wound ( 1 in 10 stray dogs in Bangkok have rabies), necessitating post-exposure rabies treatment, and this all tied in with New Year , when the banks shut, taxi drivers are drunk, and people drown you with heavy duty water pistols wherever you go ( called "songkram - it's basically 3 days of an ongoing massive water fight). There was absolutely no way to exit my hotel without being drowned (on more than one occasion I had a bucket of water tipped over my head) , and I had the dilemma of trying to carry enough cash around ( as I no longer had cards) without my stash getting ruined
. On top of this, I had had a reaction to my anti-malarials and was trying to change them but found out that anti-malarials potentially deactivated the rabies jabs. Then I found you couldn't get safe alternatives in Asia due to counterfeit drugs. I also found out that once rabies symptoms start ( from 5 days after exposure), there is zero chance of survival so you've gotta do the right thing. However, on top of this my 2nd rabies jab was scheduled for the day I was flying to China, although the hospital misinformed me of the schedule and I only found out through my own internet research. I thus spent hours on the phone to the UK trying to sort a logistical way through the problems.
We eventually decided I should have my 2nd rabies jab half a day early, but unfortunately this coincided with the start of Songkram. I kept begging not to be soaked but to no avail, and when I got into the taxi I was still soaking wet. I spent the next 4 hours freezing, as both the taxi and hospital were airconditioned; it's not much fun sitting there in soggy underwear!! I arrived
Dave and Katya on their return...
Somehow I think I came off worse! at the hospital, having paid a triple taxi fare and with only limited funds left, to be told I couldnt be seen as I wasn't an emergency. Cue the girlie tears! 10 minutes later I was up on the ward,shivering, with towels wrapped round me and still crying my eyes out. All the polite Bangkokians were averting their eyes but I felt like the mad foreigner creating a scene- it was like something out of a disaster movie!!( recurrent them on this blog!)
Having begged for, and finally got, my jab, there were then no taxis available, as everybody was getting drunk. After half an hour I found one but the driver was like a madman and kept swerving towards other cars. Cue close your eyes and pray......... Actually, I decided bribery was the way forward, and I promised the driver double if he drove slowly and we arrived without an accident. This seemed to have some effect and he stopped driving directly at anything that might feasibly kill us and just ignored the lanes instead. Some might call it progress!
Fast forward, having finally dried out when I reached home again, I met up with Karen O's brother ( David) and his girlfriend. They suggested we go out and celebrate Songkram, so I then spent the next 2 hours soaking again! This time though I got my revenge on everybody who had soaked me earlier PLUS a few more............
I spent my flight to Beijing the next day trying to dry my trousers and underwear ( seriously!) in the back pocket of the seat in front of me. Seems like I am just destined to be the drama queen!!!!!( will just pre-empt Shukes comments!)
Will upload photos when I finally escape from my plaster!
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