Adventures By Design

In which Gin’s spots get worse, and we start to worry.

We arrived in Bangkok disoriented after a uncomfortable and restless sleep aboard the bus. We had the most of the day in Bangkok before our train south to Trang left at five. We tossed around the idea of pampering ourselves with a trip to a spa or getting a massage, but Gin’s bug bites have taken a turn for the worse. Covering her arms and legs were large raised pink spots. They looked like mosquito bites, except for the fact that they were practically everywhere.

Exploring the city was out of the question. Gin felt miserable, and both of us were exhausted. Fortunately, Gin spotted a sign for “The Train Inn”, a nearby hotel that rented rooms for the day. It was directly beside the train station, in an old narrow four story building. We woke up the inn keeper (it was 5:30 and still dark), and rented a room for the day for 550 baht. Although all the rooms shared a bathroom and shower room, our room felt like heaven. We took showers, settled in for some quiet time, and set our minds to solving the mystery of Gin’s spots.

Now, for all the moms in our lives, I’ll shatter all suspense and tell you that days later Gin is fine. But at the time we were a little freaked out. An unexplained rash in a tropical country is something to take seriously, and despite the fact that Gin often gets more than her share of red bumps, this bout had crossed the threshold between “Hmmm, that’s weird” and “I wonder if we need a hospital.”

But what was causing them? Using our trusty computer and its wireless connection, Gin consulted the internet from the comfort of our bed and learned that the most likely culprits were bug bites, scabies, and oddly, gluten allergies. We say ‘oddly’ because it was only the day before that we had been chilling with Heather and Michelle, both of whom have intolerances to gluten; we idly wondered if the Crow sisters were contagious.

Yesterday, bedbugs had seemed to fit Gin’s symptoms: red spots in a line. But after a night on the bus, away from the suspected bed, they had gotten worse not better, plus there still was not a single bite mark on Ric who had shared the bedbugged bed. The bedbug theory was developing some serious holes. We wracked our brains trying to think of what else it could be. Maybe it was the sunscreen? Possible, but unlikely: Gin had used that kind for years, including the weeks immediately prior to the outbreak of her spots. What had Gin changed in the last few days? The scungy moat water? Maybe, but again, Ric was equally drenched in it too. Finally it dawned on us: what if the very elixir that was supposed to keep Gin free of itchy red spots was actually causing them? What if it was the bugspray?

It was now the early afternoon, and we needed to make a decision about what to do. As we saw it, we had three courses of action: Plan A was to find the nearest hospital, hopefully with an international clinic. The advantage was that we’d be dealing with the most knowledgeable professionals; the disadvantage was that since Gin didn’t have any bones sticking out, or trouble breathing, she’d likely be a low priority, and we might miss our train. Plan B was to find the most well-stocked pharmacy and see if it could suggest an over the counter cream to ease the swelling and itchiness. The advantage was that it would be easier and quicker, but the disadvantage was that if it were something serious, we still wouldn’t have any real medical treatment, and adding yet another unknown substance to Gin’s already traumatized skin might just be inviting further complications. Plan C was to employ that time-honored approach to all mysterious ailments: wait and see. The disadvantage was that we would have neither a diagnosis nor medicine for Gin, but the advantage was that if her spots were caused by the bugspray, then in a few days of discontinued use Gin’s skin would heal itself.

We decided to employ Plan C and see what would happen. Gin would quarantine all her clothing that might be contaminated, including her sarong/towel. If she got worse, we’d revisit plans A and B.

With our working plan decided, Gin put on long pants and a shirt to mostly cover her disturbing spots (lest someone think she had leprosy). Then we ate a quick lunch at a Chinese restaurant beside the train station and headed in to find our train to Trang. Our first class a/c fare gave us a very comfortable private cabin with two beds, and after a game of crib (Ric won this one) we settled down with our books for the night.