Darn Mosquitos Won

We woke up very early in the morning at our couchsurfing host's home and left the apartment when it was still dark. We walked about fifteen minutes to the LRT station. I got into a bit of an argument with the lady attendant over the fare we should pay and in the end we paid her fee and Tyson put in a complaint at the next station about her behavior. We ended up getting a free train ride later that day as a result.

That day was jam packed full of rushing from one attraction to another. Most were religious temples, mosques and museams. We started off trying to go to the mosque but it was closed to non muslims at the time. Fridays are very difficult because the Muslims have Friday prayers at certain points throughout the day.

Later on around 3pm we did get to visit the outside of the building because non-muslims are not allowed inside the halls. We had to wear long cloaks that look like grad gowns and I had to wear a head scarf.

So we head to another mosque which was also closed but we could walk around the outside of this one at anytime. It was a huge place and looked very grand with large domes and fountains. We then went to the Islamic Arts museam which I found quite boring. This is probably because it was all about the mosques, how they were built and their designs. I expected more about the actual religion and their customs. I faked being sick and we got out entrance fees back from them and carried on. We skipped the police museam because it was further up a hill and we were using the heel toe express.

We went to several Chinese temples throughout the day and they were all very similar. The Chinese at these site appear very religious. They give oranges and oil as sacrifices and pray by putting the palms of their hands thogether in front of their faces. Each person carries twenty to thirty inscence sticks and puts them into a basket. There are also very big torches that are lit and burning all the time. There is also a big fire burning in a furnace where the people can burn paper products such as cash. These temples were especially busy due to the new year. The buildings are very colourful and detailed. There are thousands of sculptures carved into the walls and the roof of the building is pointed and beautiful. My description is far from able to paint an accurate picture. I have to admit we could not stay for long in these buildings because our lungs could not quite tolerate the immense smoke.

We also went to several Hindu temples which are equally as detailed as the Chinese ones. They are very brightly decorated and there are hundreds of statues of different holy people and animal beings. The people pray by kneeling and also putting their palms together in prayer form. They paint their faces using reds and yellows that are available in front of the statues. The ceilings are painted with bright pictures and it is all quite beautiful. At one temple the staff offered us lunch which was sweet cocnut rice served on bamboo leaves and a simple yet delicious soup. We even forgave them for charging us 20 cents to hold our shoes (shoes are prohibitted inside the temples).

We also saw the old railway station and trains, we saw the KL museam and then stopped at the Malay museam where we learned about the different cultures of the Malay people. Malay people are not only from Malaysia but also from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and around that area. We read about and saw diagrams of weddings, births, deaths, funerals and other significant events. The first time a child's foot touches the ground is a significant event that calls for celebration and rituals. Another important time is circumcision (FEMALE and male), this time comes around five to eight years of age and holds a lot of importance as well.

We walked and walked and sweat and sweat. It was around 40 degrees without a hint of a breeze all day. We walked through little India where Indian pop is blaring through the speakers and you can smell rotis, thosais and tea through every shop. We walked through China town where we could smell noodles and sweet chicken being cooked. There were new years lights and decor everywhere and everyone was offering us menus.

We even stopped at HSBC to use their computors to check our email and drink free cokes. We then met back up with our host for dinner at a local Indian/Malay fusion restaurant where we had rotis and thosais with tea tarik. We chatted until his friend showed up who is also a couch surfing member. The four of us then went to the bar/club area where we had drinks. Tyson's virgin strawberry margarita cost over $10 CAD! Actually our host treated us which was very kind but when you can get a meal for 40 cents, a $10 drink is a big hit. The area was littered with "escorts" that accompanied old fat white men and tourists.

That night Tyson began feeling ill with an increasing fever and aches. We brushed it off a bit and head out for another meal after the drinks. Here we also had roti and more tea before we head back home and passed out quickly after a long day of heat, walking and sightseeing.

The next morning we woke up early again and head to the bus station downtown. We caught the 7:00am bus at 7:35am (somehow that makes sense around here) and left for Pulau Penang. After about three and a half hours we got off and caught a public ferry over to Georgetown. The ferry was filled with locals and uncomfortable chairs but it was only a fifteenen minute ride. We got off and walked the kilometer to Chinatown where one can always find the cheapest places to stay.

Everywhere was either full or pricey because of the holiday season (Chinese New Year). No one seemed to care for our business so when we found a reasonable room with two single beds and no window or bathroom, we did not complain.

We wandered the whole city that afternoon and evening. We went to the Penang museam, several huge mosques, several Chinese temples and clan houses and even a church. We saw the jetti and their pier. We also saw Fort Cornwallis which is a fort with cannons and statues about the founding of the place.

The weather was hot as usual and Tyson was beginning to feel unwell again so we decided to catch a bus up Penang Hill instead of doing the hike. We saw the biggest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia with a huge gold statue of the buddha atop the highest point of the hill. Even though we took a bus up, there was still a lot of walking to get around. The temple was quite impressive and we learned that it had taken twenty years to build. This was evident with all the details and the size of the buildings. There was still construction going on while we visited. There was thousands of people there and the line up of vehicles waiting for parking outside must have been over five km in length. I had never seen such a line up! There were hundreds of small souvenier shops that we had to walk through before we could actually get to the temple which took away from the experience although we are becomming quite accustomed to money-making religions. The breathtaking and hilarious part came when the sun went down. Hundreds of thousands of lights came on and the place lit up, making Vegas look dull. There were swastika symbols glittering with show lights and the statues came to life with movements and the whole building glowed in the most brilliant yet shocking way. We took a video of it that may perhaps communicate the event more clearly.

While waiting for the bus that evening we met a Canadian student studying in Singapore. He was an interesting character who travelled with us back to our hotel and we made plans to eat with him later on. Unfortunately Tyson was still feeling sluggish so we had to cancel.

Every night in Penang we ate at a burger street stand right outside of our hotel. We ordered "plain" burgers (two each) every night and they were anything but plain. They had at least six different sauces including butter, hot sauce, something tangy, ketchup and mustard with salad and other ingredients that I cannot name. The burgers were delicious and I am sure we will be craving for them long after our trip here is over. We also tried their fries and hot dogs but the burgers were the main hit.

The next morning we had planned on waking up early and catching a bus to the Cameron Highlands. Instead we slept in late and went to the hospital. Tyson was still not feeling better. It was strange going into the emergency department in another country but the system was great in Penang. We hardly waited at all, they triaged him quickly and we waited about fifteen minutes to see the doctor. She was very courteous and sent us for blood work immediately. I had to do all of the portering of the blood and results which is completely different from Canada but it seemed to work well. The results of the blood work were off and they transfused one unit of fluids. The doctor then suggested that we come back the next day to repeat the blood work. Since we had planned to leave for the Cameron highlands, she wrote us a referral to their hospital facility.

We walked home from the hospital stopping for Indian food on the way. When we got home to the hotel we bought our usual burgers and streamed TV shows until bed time.

We missed one ferry the next morning to catch one only minutes later. We bought bus tickets to
Cameron Highlands from a lady that Tyson connected with over Herbalife talk. She even saved us a dollar on our tickets. Unfortunately minutes later she ran up to us appologetically saying there is no bus to the Cameron Highlands today. So we got stuck taking a bus part way to Ipoh and waiting there for a while before taking a clunker shuttle van to Tannah Lot in C.H. We searched for places to stay but again everywhere was full due to the New Year that seems to be a month long holiday. We finally found a lovely place called ESM Hotel where the staff were very kind. We dropped off our stuff and walked one and a half km to the hospital.

Emergency sent us to outpatient because they were busy with a sick trauma baby. The blood work came back abnormal again and they asked Tyson to come back the next day. I was a bit frustrated at this point because both doctors had mentioned the possibility of dengue fever as a diagnosis but no test for this had been done. They were just doing general blood work. So they promised that they would do the proper blood work the next morning and we would not have to pay again nor wait in line. We promised to be there at 8am the next morning.

That night we ate noodle soup and passed out at 9pm. The next morning at 7am we snoozed the alarm. We snoozed again at 7:30 and every half an hour from then until 11:30am. At this point we got out of bed and Tyson left for the hospital while I organized our life a bit. I followed him to the hospital a little later and we waited for the results of the tests until 2pm. The doctor showed up at 3pm and admitted the poor dear for dengue fever. I ran off to gather our things and buy some food.

When I got back to the hospital Tyson was dressed in green scrubs 85 sizes too big and covered with a mosquito net that looked like a princess canopy. I couldn't help but laugh. We ate all of his favorite foods and read all evening. This is where we were told to expect to spend the next 2-14 days.
As we learned, Dengue is a disease passed from an infected mosquito to a human through a bite.

Ironically, Tyson very rarely gets bitten while I am known to be walking around with several itchy swollen bites at all times. Unfortunately however, the wrong one bit and here we are. Tyson was placed on the "male ward" and I was allowed to spend the nights in a chair next to him. The nurses were quite kind and spoke English for the most part. The first day was ok and Tyson was not feeling sick at all but apparently he was still in the danger zone according to the blood work as well as the number of days ago he had the fever. He was told to drink water and he obeyed, drinking nearly eight liters a day and running to the urinal every other minute.

The fist night we made the mistake of sleeping late because the staff woke us up at 6:30 am for vitals, blood work, breakfast and washing up. Tyson especialy had not slept well because he was feeling itchy on his hands which may have been a reaction to the antibiotics they had started him on so they stopped those.

The health inspector came by to see Tyson and wanted a detailed play by play of our activities in the last couple of weeks so that they could try to track where the mosquito made its attack. He said they would fumigate the areas we had been in an attempt to control the disease.

One of the many doctors who came to see him had very poor bedside manners and did not introduce himself nor look at us during the whole "assessment". Other than that though we have been very well looked after although a bit worried about missing our flight to Bangkok in a few days.

The meals started off as fish for every meal in a smelly sauce with plain almost-cooked rice and broiled vegetables in the same sauce. We told the nurse that he was allergic to fish so they switched to chicken and it was much more tolerable. On the second day, Tyson was the only patient on the ward with half a dozen nurses so it was not too bad. We spent the day reading, doing sudokos, napping and strolling the bare hospital halls. It is not exactly how we planned to spend our time in Cameron Highlands but it could have been worse and we were thankful that we were proactive in coming to the hospital because this is a potentially fatal disease and many locals have been known to succomb to the illness.
On the third day I was sent out to buy all of Tyson's favorite snacks and most importantly let our family know that he is OK! He saw the doctor this morning and he has confirmed that since Tyson has been without fever or symptoms for six days, he should be released tomorrow! So seven days and we are home free! Other than itchy palms he is quite stable and ready to leave the hospital! I'll keep ya'll posted:)

"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"