Well, I made it home safely, but not quite soundly. One would think that with all the vaccinations I received prior to our trip, I would have arrived home in perfect health! Not the case. Lucky for Mike, he is still basking in the sun for another two weeks. I think he decided to go to Koh Lanta for now - another idyllic island in the southern part of Thailand, not too far from Krabi and Ao Nang.

The plane ride home started out okay, well, at least health wise it started out okay. I was able to upgrade my seat to Business Class for the first leg of the flight - Bangkok to Narita, Japan (5 hours). I thought I would get lucky and have an empty seat next to me and be able to sleep. Think again! Lucky me, I got the big guy who loves to brag about his wealth, his yachts, his homes in Bangkok and Miami, blah-blah-blah. Most of my friends are aware that I am an introvert - particularly with persons whom I've just met. Well, I had to sit and listen to this guy for hours. Even after picking up my book to read or putting on my headphones, he still insisted on talking to me. [Sorry, the venting session is now over.]

I made my connection just fine in Japan, but was unsuccessful at upgrading my seat for the second leg of the flight (11 hours) as there were no available seats. Yikes. Oh well, I figured I would just try and sleep the whole way.

Not long after takeoff, I started getting the chills. And the bodyaches. And the nausea. And the stomach pains. This lasted for...oh...roughly eleven hours. Believe me, sitting in coach class is fine for domestic flights or even short overseas trips to Italy or Hawaii. But eleven hours is a bit much for me. And before takeoff (being the nice Minnesotan I am) I gave up my uber-spacious exit-row seat to a woman who wanted to sit with her friends; the seat I received in exchange was far less spacious.

So, after hours of shivering and moaning quietly to myself under a paper-thin Northwest Airlines blanket, I arrived in Minneapolis where the temperature was around freezing. I practically sprinted off the plane -- not only because I was dying to get off that ride, but also because the walkway was freezing! I could see my breath!

Immigration was a breeze, and customs didn't even bat an eye at my massive pile of luggage. My brother-in-law, Nick, picked me up at the airport. As soon as I got home I took my temperature: 101 degrees. My body aches were so bad, it hurt to wear clothes. I took some Tylenol, bundled up in as many warm clothes as I could find (including a winter scarf), and laid down for a nice nap.

The next day I was supposed to return to work, but my fever was still nearly 101 degrees. Time for an appointment with the doctor. She checked me out, took blood and other samples I won't mention here, and told me to rest and continue on the Tylenol. I guess after taking two different kinds of malaria pills there is still a chance of getting a different strain of it, so she had the lab test my blood for that, too. Chances are, I just caught some weird tropical virus or bacteria which will clear itself up in a few days. Until then, I'm going back to bed!