a cautionary tale

Well, it turns out that Thai people don't go running very often, and the reason is that it is an incredibly hazardous activity. I took off yesterday afternoon, and had not been gone ten minutes whenever I had to be driven back to school on the back of a moped. The reason? I had been attacked by two dogs, one for each leg, who had managed to sink their teeth into my right calf and my left knee. It was a very strange experience. Right before it happened, I suddenly realised that I was going to be bitten. It wasn't very sore at the time (shock), but I did fall down in shock, and also the realisation that I didn't really know how to fight them off. I had been fighting the one who was attacking my knee, when the other sunk his teeth into my calf, which is a much deeper bite. An all round terrifying experience. The owner of the dogs got her son to drive me back to school, and from there I was taken to hospital. It was incredibly efficient - none of this hanging around that goes on in British casualty. Instead I was put in a wheelchair, wheeled in, and some nurses right away started to clean my wound. The doctor gave it a cursory once over, asked me why the dogs had bitten me, and then the nurses started poking cotton buds soaked in iodine right in the deep cuts (where the canine teeth really sank in. Now I know why they are called canines!), which was agonizing. I had to grab a pillow to stop myself screaming out. After that, I got another rabies shot, waited around for antibiotics, and was charged 1250 baht. Apparently, I can claim this from the woman who owns the dogs. Yes, like I'll be going back there.

I have to have the wound cleaned by a hospital every day. I also have to keep it dry at all times. Now, bearing in mind that there is no bath where I stay, and the asian toilet is too painful to even use (squatting is out of the question and makes me whimper in pain), I have skipped town and headed back to the incredible luxury of the ViengTai hotel, where I have air conditioning, a double bed, a western toilet, and most importantly a bath shower. This means I'll be able to wash my top half whilst keeping my legs dry. What I do is sit down in the bath with my legs away from the taps, and turn on the shower. This means my head gets wet, but not my feet. I also have to buy clingfilm to make sure this works. And I have to do this for at least 7 days. What a nightmare. Plus, I can't even walk further than 100 yards, so its not like I can go sightseeing. I am going to go to the cinema a lot, I think.

So yes, that's the latest news from me. Please send me emails so that at least I can have some entertainment each day.