Wow. This post feels strange to write...
Two weeks ago I came down with dengue fever in Hampi. It started as a mild, annoying fever and headache that came and went, came and went, ultimately progressing into the massively uncomfortable raging heat and body aches that more than give justice to the disease's unfortunate moniker, "breakbone fever." We were lucky enough to move onto Bangalore before it got too bad, where I've been able to meet with doctors, have my blood monitored, and spend a slow, quiet 10 days resting, recuperating and being wonderfully taken care of by both Jesse and my brother.
Thankfully I'm now feeling much much better, and the disease never became too serious. Unfortunately, however, we can't be assured traveling here in Asia where dengue is endemic that I won't be bitten again, and the second time around is often much rougher, even life threatening. Therefore, on the advice of friends, family and doctors, we've decided to leave Asia.
At first it was massively disappointing. We've fallen in love with India and feel we could easily spend another several months exploring this vast, wonderful country. We were planning to travel next to Laos and Vietnam (also dengue endemic countries) to meet up with Jesse's parents and put a wonderful capper on our Southeast Asia adventures. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.
But sometimes with long-term travel you just have to be flexible, and five days ago, we threw all the plans out the window and started anew. We got out the computer, pulled up Kayak, dreampt up a new destination, and booked the tickets. Tonight we leave for New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND!! It's something of a shift I know. We've booked a campervan and are going to be spending the next six weeks road tripping through the North and South islands. It feels so bizarre to be leaving Asia, especially with only a few days notice, but already we're beginning to think this whole debacle might end up being something of a blessing in disguise. We've absolutely adored our seven months here, but the closer we get to hopping on that plane tonight the more excited we are about the opportunity to shake things up, travel a little differently, see some place completely new.
We may be done with Asia for this trip, but certainly not forever. No question we'll be back to India one day, and Laos and Vietnam will hold their places on the ever-growing travel lust list. But for now, it's on to new adventures... can't wait to hop in that camper and get driving.
