Alrighty, well, the day after I parted ways with Pauline and Linda I had a true, quintessential  RTW travel backpacker  moment…I was forced to ponder just exactly why my head itched so much…

This is an unedited excerpt from my journal:

November 30, 2008

I kinda hate this backpackers hostel…this place brings the word filthy to a whole new level…right now I am pondering if I have head lice from the beds…ewww! Let’s hope not because that is going to rightly suck!  On top of all of that, I think that I may be losing my voice – oh happy day.

December 1, 2008

My head still itches and I am definitely losing my voice…not good.   Today I spent the whole day organizing, getting work done on the computer, and itching my head…I would laugh if it was even remotely funny.  Now that P and L have left, I wonder who I can ask to check my head…Oh dear lord, ok, now I am laughing…There’s me going up to reception, “excuse me, but do you have a pencil handy so that you can check my scalp for lice.” Nice! Ooo- must Google head lice – perhaps just dandruff – would be a nice relief.

Later the same day:

Googled head lice and heeded advice – took a really thorough shower and shampooed my head twice.  The white lice egg-like things are mostly gone…it’s a sad day when I am glad to discover that I have probably have dandruff.  On a positive note, three nights in the hostel down without bed-bug bites!!!! woo-hoo, woo-hoo, that is cause for celebration – two more to go and I am free and clear of this s*** hole.

In retrospect, all is much funnier now that this is a couple of weeks behind me.  I did end up losing my voice slowly over the course of the week. I probably could have avoided losing it completely but I was hanging out with Row, my Aussie couch-surfing friend who let me crash at his place for a week (more on that in the next post) – I was so addicted to talking that I only stopped when I could barely even whisper…this makes me wonder how I am going to get through a ten day Vipassana course!

A funnier moment from my forced silence: I ran into a Maccas to ask if they had free Wi-Fi – the poor teenager behind the counter must of thought he was being punked when I made him lean in so that I could whisper my question into his ear – his expression of complete confusion was priceless – he couldn’t figure out why I was whispering to him!

Oh – and just writing this blog entry makes my head itch again…and I bet yours itches now too…muah hah hah…you all must suffer with me!

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