Taking a little of Phnom Penh with me

Thursday, May 13
Yes, I will be taking a little of Phnom Penh with me. I thought it would be the memory of my last day at the Montessori school receiving a big handmade card from the students and eating local sweets to celebrate.

Instead, I am taking with me a mysterious intestinal bug. It was just a matter of time, I suppose, and the timing was actually not all too bad, but it still scared me. Luckily, I am staying in a guesthouse in my own room with its own en suite bathroom and I do not fly out until Saturday morning. I don't even want to think about how I would have coped in the volunteer house I was staying in previously or how horrible my seemingly endless trips to the toilet would have been for my housemates.

I am still convinced that my 'bug' coincided too close to the beginning of my taking Malarone malaria tablets yesterday, but the doctor I went to see today insists that I caught an intestinal bug somewhere. She also told me to switch to a different malaria pill too, though...hedging her bets, I guess. I was so dehydrated that she offered to put me on a drip, but I am opting to drink a hydration drink. We'll see. I am pretty bad at keeping those down. It is down to my texture issues again so I may end up going back tomorrow for a drip if I don't feel hydrated enough.

For the next few days, I can only eat plain toast or plain white rice. Yum! Looking forward to that. I am glad I had a slice of toast with peanut butter on it before I went to the doctor :)

Today
Thankfully, my medicine kicked in at about 5pm last night. I was able to join my friends for a going away dinner at a French restaurant just down the street from my guesthouse that I have been meaning to try. The food looked great. I was relegated to white rice, but my friends all really enjoyed their food.

I went back this morning to get a baguette on my way to Gloria Jean's for my doctor prescribed black tea. I felt quite Parisian walking down the streets nibbling on my baguette. The tuk tuk drivers shouting, "Tuk Tuk, lady!" snapped me out of that, though.

Fortunately, I have also been able to keep down the hydration powder. I am taking Royal D. I highly recommend it. I usually hate powdered drinks, all things orange flavored, and most Gatorade-like hydration drinks, but I am able to drink this one quite easily. I won't say I enjoy it, but I probably would if it weren't orange flavored.

I fly out tomorrow morning to meet up with my husband and head to Malaysian Borneo...not a moment too soon!