Rickettsia in Vietnam

Hello Vietnam!
I entered Vietnam from Cambodia on November 21st via the Mekong Delta area. The Mekong Delta is a large area of paddy fields, orchards, and streams/canals. The water is everywhere, it almost looks like flooding, but it's like that year round. Most of the people live on the water and the water is used for transportation and to make a living. Our first stop after crossing the border was the small city of Chau Doc. I took a motorbike trip up Nui Sam or Sam Mountain to watch the sunset over the Mekong Delta.

After leaving the Delta, we arrived in the city of Saigon or re-named Ho Chi Minh City. It's a very big and busy city! One of the first places we visited was the Ben Thanh Market. This market is insane! The shopkeepers will literally grab you and pull you into their shop. I only lasted about 10 minutes in there, a bit too aggressive for my liking. While in Ho Chi Minh City, I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Reunification Palace (originally the presidential palace before the war, re-named and re-built when Ho Chi Minh's army took over the building/city during the war), and Notre Dame Cathedral (gothic style church built by the French). The Cu Chi Tunnels are an underground tunnel network built by the Viet Cong during the war. The tunnel system stretches over 250kms and is several storeys deep. We got to go down inside one of the tunnels, but most of us only lasted 50m or less because it is so compact and you have to walk completely bent over or crawl. It was actually a little bit scary, I can't imagine spending much time down there!

Our next stop in Vietnam was Nha Trang, a coastline city. We got one of the nicest days of the season at the beach. From Nha Trang, we went by sleeper train to Hoi An. Hoi An is a very pretty port town, made up of many markets, tailors and the old town. Unfortunately, I was only able to enjoy a day in Hoi An before beginning to feel extremely ill. I hadn't been feeling 100% in quite a while (I had already seen two doctors, who had prescribed me antibiotics), but my fever became so high that I was admitted into the hospital in Danang (the closest hospital to Hoi An).

I spent three long days in the Danang hospital with a diagnosis of "fever of unknown origin". During my time there, the doctors ordered 9 blood samples, a blood culture (from the foot.. oww!), urine and stool samples, a chest x-ray, an abdominal ultrasound and tracked my blood pressure, breathing rate, and temperature every hour. I was also hooked-up to an IV for fluid and antibiotic treatment. Despite all of this, my condition was not improving, and no diagnosis could be made. The blood tests seemed to show some sort of viral infection and the ultrasound showed that my liver and spleen were both greatly enlarged. So, I was flown to a hospital in Hanoi (the capital) to see a Canadian doctor who specialized in diseases of the liver. There I was finally diagnosed with Rickettsia, a bacterial infection (non-responsive to antibiotics) caused by dead ticks found on unclean fabrics. Both myself and the doctor assumed I picked it up while trekking in Nepal, but the bacteria were dormant (inactive) for a period of time. I was just glad to have a diagnosis! I spent two more days recovering and being treated in the hospital before being released in Hanoi.

Thankfully, since I had been flown to Hanoi, I was actually caught up to where my GAP tour group was and was able to re-join the group. Unfortunately I had missed the town of Hue and Halong Bay. I was also thankful that I had purchased good insurance and didn't have to pay a thing for my time in the hospital! Finally healthy, I was able to enjoy my last day in Hanoi. I explored the city, Hoan Kiem Lake (a small and beautiful lake in the center of Hanoi) and went to see the famous Water Puppet Theatre in the evening.

The next day, we headed for the border of Laos. I enjoyed my time in Vietnam, despite having to spend some of it in the hospital. What I saw, I liked! It's an extremely interesting country with a diverse historic background. I have come to the realization that being ill is a part of travel. I guess I am just unlucky enough to be as ill as I was. Regardless, I am thankful to continue on my journey feeling well and I am very thankful for the doctors and nurses that looked after me. Everything is an adventure!