Postscript - On traveling when unwell

 I wasn't sure whether to keep writing after the trip. I am not 100% convinced that what I say is interesting to anyone except myself and maybe some close friends. But I was reading something the The NY Times review site, The Wirecutter, about how to pack for a trip. Although Wirecutter does not give you any way to contact them, what I wanted to say is about packing to prepare for misfortunes.

Everyone knows that you should bring pain meds, sunscreen and maybe insect repellant, but what if you manage to get burned or bitten nonetheless. After getting a particularly stubborn bug bite in Greece last year, I brought not one, but two anti-itch creams, hydrocortisone and Benadryl. This was helpful when I got bitten. What I would have liked to have is some lidocaine, which is also what you'd bring for sunburn. This turned out to be a futile quest, though I am now the proud owner of anti-itch medications from both Greek and Moroccan pharmacies.

The other thing is, what happens of you get injured? I somehow, and I'll never be sure how it happened, got hit by a motor scooter and knocked to the pavement in Marrakech. I say I don't know how because I was crossing at a crosswalk, cars had stopped, but there was about 6 feet between the cars and the curb. I've walked around New York enough in my life that there is no fucking way that, even though I was sick, I would just stroll into that space without looking both ways. I also did not get hit by the scooter itself but rather by some part of the rider's body. I have no injury on the side of my body that was hit. This suggests to me that I was starting to peek out to see if it was okay to cross and I got hit by the guy's shoulder or arm as he sped by. I never saw him. I guess if I'd been seriously injured I would have more information, but I'll gladly do without it.

The good news, aside from getting by with just a huge abrasion, was that I had antibiotic ointment with me. The bad news was that I had nothing but bandaids. No gauze, no wrapping, and so I needed to rely on people who understood maybe 2/3 of what I was saying, to get me something of the sort. They sort of did, and it was enough to get me home, but I would have been much more comfortable with some sort of sort dressing on it. So add a small first aid kit to your list.