We had an excellent vegetarian meal at the cafeteria half-way down the mountain. We were served lentil soup, the requisite red rice (yes, red!) and a chili and cheese dish that I could only eat three bites of. We had it at almost every meal and I was working my way up to....maximum three bites. The Bhutanese love chilis so be warned if you aren’t used to super hot food. I sat and drank tea while taking in the tiny white dot on the side of a cliff where I had just been.
Later in the day, after visiting dzongs (fortresses) and more dzongs, I was finally set free from my guide and allowed to roam the streets of Paro on my own for an hour. I was shopping for a few items, but not finding what I wanted. I crossed the street at the end of the row of stores which constituted the town, and thought I would peruse the other side. As I got closer to a store which looked like it had some interesting items, I heard a growl. Thunder dragon? Magical tigress? The next thing I knew, a street dog and four of his buddies were surrounding me. The lead dog came in fast and nipped my calf. I stopped walking in mid-bite, as soon as I felt his teeth. It was an instinct because I really didn’t know what I should do and I wasn’t having a coherent thought at the moment. My strategy worked, believe it or not, and the dogs went away. After I was safely out of teeth’s reach, I examined my leg to assess the damage. I had pants on and it wasn’t very deep of a bite, not really bleeding but it did pierce the skin.
I told my tour guide about it and I was bundled off to the hospital. Guess what, health care in Bhutan is free, even for tourists! However, the nurse or doctor...not sure which...said that none of the dogs in town were rabid (as if he knew them personally), and that his fangs didn’t touch me so I was okay. He cleaned the wound and gave me a tetanus shot. I felt a smidge helpless that my point was not getting across. I fretted about it and decided to get a second opinion from my supervisor, Dr. Ghosh, who promised to arrange for me to see a doctor as soon as I got to Kolkata and get the rabies shots, just to be safe. The next day, I was flying to Kathmandu and then Kolkata, and then waiting at the airport more than six hours for Tabby to arrive, so it would have to be the next day, which would make it almost two days after the bite. But, I get ahead of myself. Flying out of Bhutan, I was not fortunate enough to be on the smooth behemoth Airbus, but had to settle for the OTHER plane, which was smaller, with big propellers on each wing.
The ascent went between mountain tops, and the climb was rather curvy. My stomach dropped several times as the plane lurched its way above the Himalayas, bumping and bruising through the sky. Some passengers groaned and some screamed. I was hoping the monks dressed in maroon robes were chanting prayers to themselves. I realized it didn’t matter about the dog bite because this plane is going down in these mountains and rescue would be impossible.
Eventually the turbulence settled down, and we reached cruising altitude. The view was stunning from my window. When I began to take pictures, looking through my LCD screen, I saw the propeller stop for a brief second and my heart started beating fast, until I realized that I was pushing the button on my camera, only freezing a moment in time.
Needless to say, the plane arrived without mishap. I landed in Kolkata and spent the evening with Abhishek, MSW student cum guide, and Ritor, our driver, in the parking lot underneath a tree at the airport. Unfortunately, my mosquito repellent was packed in an unknown place so I was a feasted upon.
The next morning, we went to see a doctor. She was apprised of my situation, and frowned, speaking in Bengali to Abhishek that I was doomed because I should have had the shot the first day. I didn’t like her assessment of the situation and started silently freaking out in the privacy of my own mind. My legs started to get weak. I reminded myself that my thick waterproof hiking pants prevented the dog’s saliva from contact with my leg, and the bite was small, away from my brain and many nerve endings, but it didn’t help too much. And then there were the mosquito bites. I ended up with 50 or so. I was due to take meflo-lariam or whatever it is called but I read that this malaria drug might interfere with the rabies treatment, so I weighed my options. Rabies or malaria...what are my chances? I opted to help the rabies vaccine work, since I had already lost time. I felt very far away from home.
Later in the day, after visiting dzongs (fortresses) and more dzongs, I was finally set free from my guide and allowed to roam the streets of Paro on my own for an hour. I was shopping for a few items, but not finding what I wanted. I crossed the street at the end of the row of stores which constituted the town, and thought I would peruse the other side. As I got closer to a store which looked like it had some interesting items, I heard a growl. Thunder dragon? Magical tigress? The next thing I knew, a street dog and four of his buddies were surrounding me. The lead dog came in fast and nipped my calf. I stopped walking in mid-bite, as soon as I felt his teeth. It was an instinct because I really didn’t know what I should do and I wasn’t having a coherent thought at the moment. My strategy worked, believe it or not, and the dogs went away. After I was safely out of teeth’s reach, I examined my leg to assess the damage. I had pants on and it wasn’t very deep of a bite, not really bleeding but it did pierce the skin.
I told my tour guide about it and I was bundled off to the hospital. Guess what, health care in Bhutan is free, even for tourists! However, the nurse or doctor...not sure which...said that none of the dogs in town were rabid (as if he knew them personally), and that his fangs didn’t touch me so I was okay. He cleaned the wound and gave me a tetanus shot. I felt a smidge helpless that my point was not getting across. I fretted about it and decided to get a second opinion from my supervisor, Dr. Ghosh, who promised to arrange for me to see a doctor as soon as I got to Kolkata and get the rabies shots, just to be safe. The next day, I was flying to Kathmandu and then Kolkata, and then waiting at the airport more than six hours for Tabby to arrive, so it would have to be the next day, which would make it almost two days after the bite. But, I get ahead of myself. Flying out of Bhutan, I was not fortunate enough to be on the smooth behemoth Airbus, but had to settle for the OTHER plane, which was smaller, with big propellers on each wing.
The ascent went between mountain tops, and the climb was rather curvy. My stomach dropped several times as the plane lurched its way above the Himalayas, bumping and bruising through the sky. Some passengers groaned and some screamed. I was hoping the monks dressed in maroon robes were chanting prayers to themselves. I realized it didn’t matter about the dog bite because this plane is going down in these mountains and rescue would be impossible.
Eventually the turbulence settled down, and we reached cruising altitude. The view was stunning from my window. When I began to take pictures, looking through my LCD screen, I saw the propeller stop for a brief second and my heart started beating fast, until I realized that I was pushing the button on my camera, only freezing a moment in time.
Needless to say, the plane arrived without mishap. I landed in Kolkata and spent the evening with Abhishek, MSW student cum guide, and Ritor, our driver, in the parking lot underneath a tree at the airport. Unfortunately, my mosquito repellent was packed in an unknown place so I was a feasted upon.
The next morning, we went to see a doctor. She was apprised of my situation, and frowned, speaking in Bengali to Abhishek that I was doomed because I should have had the shot the first day. I didn’t like her assessment of the situation and started silently freaking out in the privacy of my own mind. My legs started to get weak. I reminded myself that my thick waterproof hiking pants prevented the dog’s saliva from contact with my leg, and the bite was small, away from my brain and many nerve endings, but it didn’t help too much. And then there were the mosquito bites. I ended up with 50 or so. I was due to take meflo-lariam or whatever it is called but I read that this malaria drug might interfere with the rabies treatment, so I weighed my options. Rabies or malaria...what are my chances? I opted to help the rabies vaccine work, since I had already lost time. I felt very far away from home.
Aww honey...your dog bite and mosquito bites...:(
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