Just had my vaccinations this afternoon which was a bit of an effort. Thought I would just walk in and get the jabs but, had to talk to the doctor and say exactly where I'll be going as only certain parts of SE Asia are malaria infected areas. As I leave everything to the last minute, I have absolutely no idea if I'll be in those infected areas so said I probably would. Then it was where I'll be going in Thailand and where I'll be going in Vietnam if I go there at all.
So, I've got some antibiotic tablets which fight infections and malaria and only have to take them 2 days before I move to an infected area. Side effects are extra sensitivity to the sun so sun factor 30+ is a must and sunglasses. Great, so I won't be able to see either!
Received Hepatitus A and Typhoid injection and asked for Tetanus as haven't had one of those for 15 years. Stupid nurse giving me the jabs said 'Oops, I'm always doing that' forgetting to get the air out of the needle first but that air going into muscle is OK, you only die if it goes into a vain. Charming! Anyway, the former 2 take 7 days to start working so I'll have to take it easy the first couple of days. Doh! Cost me bloody $250 which was mainly for the 2 main
jabs and a consultation fee. Malaria tablets and tetanus cost next to nothing.
Almost forgot to collect my ticket to Singapore and then booked ticket out of Asia panicking a bit as they don't issue the ticket straight away. Luckily, once I get to Melbourne airport, customer services will take an hour trying to find it but I'll have about 10 hours to spare. Heather has sorted out accomodation in Singapore and a train out of there which is highly appreciated.
Managed to find a map shop here so got a nice big Australia map. No idea how it's going to stay neatly rolled. Just have to buy a few souvenirs and get a few more pairs off flip flops ('thongs') from Woolies ($1.50 a pair) before I go. They have been an essential item of footwear over here. Just wished I kept a record of of how many pairs I have been through.
Went out for a meal with Kameron last night and talked about dogs and cats and breeding miniature horses. Didn't fancy any Asian food as that's what I'll probably be eating when in Asia (strange that!) so opted for a lush lamb roast and real wine which makes a change from the 'goon'.
Hopefully go to a couple of bars tonight which I like here and then the Kava Hutt for a final relaxing few drinks. Hope it doesn't have odd effects against the injections. Went there on Saturday night and it had a really bizarre effect on me and I got quite hyper and talkative. One of the guys, who had never tried it before, downed 3 of the strongest ones in 5 minutes and couldn't even talk. He had to point to things he wanted. Went again on Sunday but it was closed.
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