Kolkata, India

Sorry for the total lack of posting in the last 2 weeks, or so, but this is just a quick update to let you know that we are, inded, still alive... just barely.

Our last two days in Nepal (17th and 18th of Nov.) were spent in Bodnath (also called Boudha), a town about 5 miles north-east of Kathmandu and known as a place for Tibetan refugees. There's a giant stupa (huge Buddhist mound/monument that usually houses a relic of the Buddha or other saint... this one is said to house a bone of the Buddha) there about 100 feet high and a few dozen monestaries (called gompas) that also act as universities. In fact, we met a few Americans who were doing 1 to 3 year study abroad programs there in philosophy or Buddhism. A strange thing was happening to me, however, which is that at night I'd get a nasty fever and severe aches in my legs... it was debilitating and I'd usually turn in to the hotel and watch Animal Planet after losing my appetite and only eating half of myt dinner.

On the plane ride over to Kolkata on the 19th of Nov., I sat next to a Nepali pediatrician, who I told about my symptoms. She said, "oh... you have Malaria. Go to the doctor and get some drugs when you get to Kolkata."

Since we arrived at night, we stayed in our hotel (a sketchy place near the Howrah train station with people sleeping on the floor of the lobby and no hot water) that night and then moved to the YWCA downtown the next morning. After that, we went off to find a western-style clinic so I could have my blood tested. After a few hours of intense pain and fever (I was now sick all the time, not just at night), I found out that I tested negative for Malaria, which they don't have much of in Nepal, anyway, certainly not at this time of year. After begging to see a doctor, he suggested I get admitted to the hospital to be observed and so more tests could be performed (like checking for Dengue, Chicken Gunya, etc.). By the time my dinner came, Justine was running a fever and vomiting, so the doctor admitted her, too!

Fast forward 6 days, when we were discharged from the hospital... diagnosis: "Viral Fever". Every day since then we've been a bit better and done a bit more. One day we went to the Indian Museum, which was huge and ancient and silly (they had an exhibit on "How a Volcano Works," which consisted of a paper-mache volcano in a glass case with a red lightbulb that flashed on and off... no joke!). We've also toured much of the city on foot, seen Casino Royal, and bought our train tickets to Varanasi for later this week.

So that's my update. I'm not sure if we ever mentioned this on the blog, but it turns our neither of us had giardia back in October. Our near-death experience of river rafting (the story of which will be posted as soon as Mrs. Blogbum finishes writing it!) was quite enough for that month, and now our viral infections.... what's next? Stay tuned to bedardhearntravel to find out what India will throw at us, and a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We had tomato soup and sandwiches on Thursday... what did you eat?

-Mike.