Samut Songkhram – Bangkok – 90 km
One of the great things about cycle touring is the opportunity to
explore minor and rural country roads. It's astonishing how rural the
outskirts of bustling Bangkok can be. Along the many rivers and
canals, people live and make a living from the canals, and even the
taxi stands are longtail boat jetties. It wasn't unusual to meet people,
like a broom and feather duster salesman or an elephant carer, but
our conversations were limited.
Everything went smoothly until around midday when I began to feel
feverish and my entire body started aching, from my hair follicles to
my ankles. I was drained of all my energy but kept going,
remembering my motto: I'll reach my destination if I keep moving
forward. I honestly didn't think I could finish the last 20 kilometres,
and even resorted to counting to keep myself going.
As if feeling this dreadful wasn’t enough, the traffic was horrendous
due to the construction of a new Skytrain—what a mess. Once in
Bangkok, I went straight to my old go-to guesthouse, only to find
they no longer existed. I had no energy to search for alternative
accommodation and opted for the next available room, where I
collapsed onto the bed, trembling and vomiting everything I had
eaten that day. Looking back, I don't know how I managed to cycle
the 90 kilometres from Samut Songkhram.
Over the next few days, my condition worsened. Dengue fever is a
mosquito-borne illness that currently has no cure. As the name
suggests, it is characterised by high fever, severe body aches and
pains, headaches, pain behind the eyes, nausea and vomiting. My
body ached, and the slightest movement caused shooting pains that
made me groan. Eating was impossible, as everything came straight
back up.