Okay, this is a late trip report - for me - but I have a really good reason. You'll have to read to the end to find it, thought. This is also the abridged version of the Komodo cruise description. The full version, with pictures, can be found at:

http://chiengfa.com/journal/2009/05/...rong-currents/

I can't say Komodo was high on my list of places to see, but when I heard the diving there was very good, I decided to start one of my business trips to Indonesia early to take in a dive cruise to Komodo. I chose the Moana because the dates and price were right.

I flew in to Bali on 1 May, stayed one night (and had coffee with the owner of Travelfish), then flew to Komodo Labhuan Badjo airport on Flores the next day. The plane was met by Susanne, the co-owner of the Moana, and we were driven down to the dock, where a tender took us out to the ship. The Moana is a beautiful wooden sailing ship, built in the traditional phinisi design, but only six years old. The ship sleeps a maximum of 14, but there were only 10 of us on this trip. Five were diving, and the other five were just snorkeling. The crew numbered 11.

We set sail just after lunch, sailing west towards Komodo. We stopped in the sheltered bay of a small island for our check-out dive, then continued on towards Komodo. We anchored in another sheltered bay off a small island off the northern tip of Komodo. Over the next few days, we had some of the most challenging - and rewarding - dives I've ever been on. The good news for you non-divers is that the snorkelers saw a lot of the same things we divers did.

We worked our way leisurely southward, and by the afternoon of the last full day, we were moored in a small bay off Rinca island. It was time to see some dragons! Susanne opted to see the dragons on Rinca, since it's a lot less touristy than Komodo (in fact, it was completely non-touristy). To see the dragons, you get a guide from the ranger station who takes you on a walk through the scrub and brush. We saw three of the big lizards in all. These animals seem to have no fear of humans. I guess that's what happens when you're on top of the food chain. We also saw a lot of monkeys, a water buffalo wallowing in a pool, and a deer.

After we got back from seeing the dragons, the boat moved off to a large mangrove in a large bay on the northern side of Rinca. The mangrove was known as "Bat Island", and every night thousands of bats fly out of the mangrove at sunset to feed on Rinca. It was a beautiful sunset, and a fantastic sight.

The next morning we sailed back to Labhuan Badjo for our flight back to Bali.

Now, here's where the trip report would have ended, but now I have to explain why it's late. Let's see if I can figure out how to put this delicately: During the cruise, I noticed a frequent and very strong urge to use the head, but when I got there, not much came out. This seemed to go away by the time I got back to Bali, so I thought nothing of it. But on my last night in Bali, it came back with a vengeance. I got very little sleep that night, as I was up almost hourly to visit the bathroom (just to be clear, this is no. 1, not no. 2).

I had a very early morning flight to Jakarta, and somehow made it there, but I was so tired that I had my business associates take me to my hotel to rest up and hopefully get some relief. I got some rest, but not much, and felt a little better the next morning, but not much. I got the business I need to get done out of the way, then went back to the hotel. At this point, I was just hoping to make it back to Bangkok the next day. No such luck.

By about 9 that night, I was getting very uncomfortable, and decided I couldn't wait, so I asked the hotel to send me to a hospital. They kind of resisted, but eventually got a taxi for me with instructions to go to Pertamina hospital. At the emergency room, the doctor checked me out, and said he thought it might be appendicitis (my first clue this wasn't the right place to come.) They took a blood sample and asked for a urine sample as well (hello? weren't you listening?) After a couple hours, they said it might be an infection, gave me a prescription, and let me leave. It was close to 1 am by the time I got back to the hotel.

Unfortunately, I wasn't at the hotel for more than a couple hours when the pain became almost unbearable, so I asked for another hospital. This time the taxi dropped me off at Jakarta Hospital. The doctor in the emergency room quickly realized that I needed a catheter inserted. Now, this is normally something that would make me (or any guy) wince, but by this point I respond with YES, PLEASE! They had some difficulty with this, but eventually I was feeling a lot better. I was checked in, x-rayed and got a private room for about $75 a night. After three sleepless nights, I was so tired that I slept on-and-off most of the day and into the next.

The next day, I was feeling much better, and the plumbing seemed to be working normally. The specialist said they would do some tests, but by 3 pm they still hadn't gotten around to it. The husband of my business partner showed up and started asking around. There really wasn't any sign of a doctor, so since I was feeling fine I decided to check out. My business partner graciously offered to put me up for the night in her fantastic home in South Jakarta.

So that's the end, right? Unfortunately, no. I got back to Bangkok just fine, and attributed any remaining difficulties to recovery. I got some sleep that night, and felt good enough to go to work the next day. But, as the morning progressed, that feeling of discomfort returned, and I resolved to high-tail it to a hospital. Regulars here know I've been disenchanted with Bumrungrad, so I opted to go to Sametivej, which is also IJACO certified, and which had the added benefit of having a big branch close to the office.

They were unable to insert a catheter, so sent me up to x-ray and ultrasound, then back to emergency. They checked me in for a cystoscopy, but didn't have any regular rooms available, so they put me in a suite "temporarily", saying I would be moved to a regular room that evening. Whilst I was waiting, the pain became excruciating, so I was rushed down to the OR. They had trouble inserting the scope, so knocked me out to insert a tube in my bladder to help drain me. I woke up feeling much better. From the recovery room, they sent me back up to the suite. "Aren't I changing rooms?" I asked. The regulars were still full, they answered. So I got a relatively good nights sleep with just the HDTV for company.

The next day I rested up and had three good meals. That afternoon I was visited by someone from catering, who gave me my choices for meals the next day. There were four choices (two Asian & two western) for each meal. The doctor dropped by to check I was okay and not having any symptoms of the kind of infections that are a real danger for this type of surgery.

On the third day, the doctor dropped by again in the afternoon and asked if I wanted to go home. Sure. So, now I'm home, for a week, when I then have to go back and see the doctor. He wants me completed healed before they try to figure out what the problem was (probably calcification) so I might have this tube in my belly for a month.

The long-and-short is, I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Sametivej, and will probably make it my regular hospital for all my health needs.

Ouch! I think you've been drinking too much premium Black Canyon coffee.

Hope they sort it all out and get well soon.

Wow Michael! Certainly a very different kind of trip report. Fascinating! (Sorry). Nothing to do with your prostate? And to keep this travel related, Komodo is one of those trips on the back burner- I didn't realise there was more than one island with the lizards.

Wow, what a lousy end to a good trip. I guess you wouldn't recommend Indonesian hospitals! Hope it turns out the Bangkok drs. fixed the problem.

Thanks for the report. Sorry you had a difficult end to the trip. I'm glad you are back in Bangkok where you can get good medical care.

My mantra if I get sick in SE Asia is "get me to Bangkok."

wow, maybe now is the time to become a lady-boy....just kidding....that must be horrible and in indonesia of all places...

hope a final solution is found real soon...

oh man, michael. i was so excited when i saw this thread pop up...realizing you finally got to take THE trip.

so sorry to hear that things ended up that way. as bob said, i can't imagine being stuck somewhere like indonesia when a medical emergency happens.

glad to hear it all turned out okay.

Thanks for the report. It sounds great. Mrs. panda would never go for it and dragons are generally scared of Pandas. The hospitalization exception to the penalty clearly applies. I'm contemplating some sort of sanction for the cringing your medical report brought on.

Wow and ouch! Love the dragon reports.....hope you are feeling and getting better. All the best!

Aloha!

Hope you remain in good health, MichaelBKK. If you make Sametivej the hospital for all your health needs, I hope you will be spending more time with the Komodo dragons than seeking medical attention.

Thanks for the Komodo info. As a visitor to Komodo Island, I think your Rinca choice was a good one and it's great you saw them.

Thanks for all your good wishes. I refuse to believe coffee is the culprit - especially since my roaster in Bali was plying me with his kopi luak just before this flared up. However, maybe I've gotten hold of some melamine-tainted artificial creamer over the years.

Fortunately, I'm now in my annual visa-renewal downtime, when I don't have any travel scheduled, so this is as good a time as any for this to happen. I'm not sure what airport security would make of the bag strapped to my hip.