Delhi Belly!
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2007
1
114
153
Trip End
??? ??, 2007
Kodaikanal,
India
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Arriving in town, we found a room in what turned out to be a comically and typically Indian hotel, where they gave us a room where the TV didn't work (i know, a TV, talk about luxury!) when we went to try it, and they had made a fuss about the fact this room had a shower head and not just a bucket shower, yet that didn't work either
Me after sickness
. Not that this bothered us, as we weren't there to see the room!So off we went on a brief sightseeing tour. A relaxing place, where due to the amount of foreign and domestic tourists you are not seen as a novelty and as such hassle in the streets here is much more minimal, creating a tranquil relaxed atmosphere. This combined with the cooler temperatures, makes it a thoroughly enjoyable place to stay. There are many places to visit nearby, all within walking distance (if you like a few km walking) and very 'pleasing to the eye' (cheesy phrase i know). The lake in the middle of town is nice for a relaxing stroll; Horses take domestic tourists on overpriced brief rides around its edges as more tourists peddle their plastic swans across the interior. Coakers walk also has stunning views of the surroundings and the shola falls are a nice set of waterfalls within town to visit too.
I tell you about all the main sites in advance because i got to see precious little of them due to the events of the following day...
Having a fish thali for lunch, i then saw one of the parks in town, the Murugan dedicated temple and the bear shola falls, a nice small waterfall, though a classic example of how Indians spoil a place of natural beauty. There is rubbish all over the place and upon climbing to the top of one of the falls i saw a fresh pile of human faeces
View on the way to Kodai
. Lovely. It was around this time that my insides and my normally iron stomach, began churning rather horribly. Nothing else to report for that day, a little relaxing before sleeping.Next day. IT BEGINS...
(For regular followers i apologise gain for the repetitive descriptions regarding toilet habits!)
Didn't feel great when i woke up, and upon entering the bathroom had some rather disgusting bowel movements (i guess from outside the bathroom, they can't have been the nicest wake up call for Joseph either). The sound was of the kind where it has gone beyond childishly funny and has entered the region of just plain gross. Joseph went off walking and feeling a little unsure of my fitness, i went for a brief walk within the confines of the town to assess the situation. Taking an unsatisfying egg dosa as a breakfast and as a test to my fitness was a very bad idea, and confirmed my suspicions that i was indeed rather ill, sending me rapidly to my room for another explosion over the porcelain throne.
That was the beginning of a fun three days. Climbing into bed i began to feel very, very cold, despite the three layers of clothing i was wearing i was laying under the blankets shivering like mad. I had the TV (now working, yay) to watch and my books to read, but all i could focus on was the desperate desire to be warm again
more views
. Couldn't sleep as the demon in my bowels arose just frequently enough to prevent that, so i just lay in bed, sometimes freezing cold, sometimes boiling hot.Symptoms worsened as the night went on, visits to see my now good friend the toilet becoming more and more frequent and less and less predictable, prompting a few mad dashes to release the now semi liquid movements.
Next morning i knew i was in for a rough day, but thankfully i managed a short though very uneasy walk to buy some crackers, feeling like death and looking white as a sheet. At this point i was still optimistic i would be leaving tomorrow as i returned to my prison cell, to try and keep down some of the crackers.
Why is it when you are stuck with nothing to do except watch TV, they only have truly awful programmes on TV. Crackers wouldn't stay in my system either, and sent me to greet my now good friend the toilet. Thankfully the fever had passed it seemed, so it was just the bowel movements i had to contend with during the course of the day. However the evening was much worse than the previous night, with bowel movements becoming harder to control and toilet dashes becoming much more desperate.
One thing i have noticed from this whole experience is that it seems much less embarrassing when you soil yourself when you are sick (not that i do it frequently when healthy)
A lake
. Joseph went out to buy his bus ticket to leave the next day and upon getting up to lock the door behind him i passed out. How long i was out i don't know, but i awoke t find myself lying in front of the door, in a large amount of my own faeces residing in my boxers and on the floor. Not the highlight of my travels so far, but probably very amusing for you I'm sure!Next day i woke up feeling i was through the worst of it, but i reluctantly agreed with Joseph that i should stay one more day. Took Josephs advice and managed to walk to he shop to buy some bread and honey as he recommended this to try and stop the movements. Spent the day sitting in front of the TV, eating honey sandwiches and visiting my friend for frequent chats. Honey is a bitch to try and spread into the corners of Indian bread, as it is of such a spongy consistency that it absorbs the liquid as soon as it touches it, and i hate it when you have bread without the spread at the edges (corrin i know you are the same!). The day was much more bearable today, Hugh grants antics on TV in 'extreme measures' and Vin diesels attempts at being Mr Nanny in the pacifier helped me see the day through. The evening was spent in the good company of Christian Slater and John Travolta as they fought over nuclear missiles (Broken arrow) though i had to cancel plans with Jackie Chan (Police story 3) as i went to sleep.
Next day i felt a little better but was determined to leave, despite the fact i hadn't seen half of the sights of Kodai. To me though, it was kinda like the place had been tainted, i just wanted to escape my toilet based hell. Managed to check out Croakers walk for the nice views before dosing up on Immodium, re-hydrating and then punishing myself with the terrible terrible 6hour midday bumpy road bus journey to Madurai. I really know how to punish myself it seems, for this was not a fun journey.
Comments
the runs and your toilet habits
Hi Ben
Been following your travel with great interest. Knowing that you are in India, I have been waiting for you to update us with your toilet habits. I was not disappointed. You described this in such great detail that it was more amusing that disgusting. The pic was 'yuck!'.