I am not an asshole. None of us are. But give us some Malarone anti-malarial pills and well, it’s not pretty. We may not get malaria but we are irritable and irritating. Behavior that would surprise all of you and, no, I won’t admit to or describe any of it.

The prescription directs us to take one with meals once per day for 2 days prior and 7 days following exposure to CDC malaria zones. The risk of malaria is “Low” in Luang Prabang and “Very Low” in Siem Reap. Not a high risk but in theory one of those little buggers could have gotten us and therefore we are to take our pills until Nov 7. I might have it all lapse today but Lauren, ever cautious, requested hers and after a short discussion we elected to stay with the regimen.

Some of the travelers we met along the way opted not to take anti-malarial medication because the risk was low and the side effects unpleasant (stomach pain, gastro-intestinal, fatigue, joint pain among others). My thinking was that we would certainly have to take them in February when we are to see the Great Migration of the wildebeest in Tanzania so we would test them out on this shorter period to gauge our tolerance. On the whole we are doing fine and at least now we know to expect irritability and stomach issues in February.

Only three days to go, if we don’t kill each other first …

Grumpily yours,

KPD