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Writer's pictureCoralie & Salah

Ubud and the crazy dengue fever

January 30 to February 15, 2020




We got to Bali late on January 29 and went to our hotel rooms in Kuta that we actually walked to after we got off the plane.

Mehdi and Amelle had a later flight from Kuala Lumpur and slept at the same hotel. We were very happy to get together again the next morning.











On the 30th, the 6 of us got a Grab taxi to get to Ubud – 24km, 1h30 drive because roads are windy, narrow and full of crazy drivers.







In Ubud, we had 3 nights booked in a guesthouse with no window again (but a net and no monkeys 😉), so pretty noisy, and without common area. We had a private patio but we had to keep the noise down for the girls so had to go into the alley to get some work done and got bitten by a lot of mosquitoes. This is probably where we got infected.


Our first walk in Ubud was to find a SIM card by walking down one of the busiest streets. We were with Amelle and Mehdi and unanimously found the experience horrible – too busy and noisy street, too many tourists, narrow and ill-maintained sidewalks, being harassed 10 times a minute if we needed a goddamn taxi. We avoided that street as much as possible after that but we were staying very closeby.


January 31st was my birthday. By now you know my love for pastries so I had to find a good place for the occasion. In the afternoon, the four of us, Mehdi and Amelle all went for pastries at the Caramel patisserie. We had chocolate and passionfruit pastries and they were very nice! It was awesome to be back in the Southern hemisphere, where I was born, and in great company to celebrate!


The next day, we visited the Tegallalang rice terraces – beautiful, very steep, tender green-colored, very famous for the swings and photo set ups everywhere (charged as an extra). We also had a coffee sampling (didn’t try Luwak coffee though, made with the animal’s feces) but I read a lot of online reviews of people buying a ‘speciality’ coffee which turned out to be a bad quality mix of coffee and creamer. Seems like there are a lot of scams like these in Bali.

The gang went to go around the fields but, because of the knee, I stayed at the entrance.

On the way back, a T-storm broke out but we found a private car bringing us back to Ubud (where Grab does not work unfortunately, their drivers get beaten up by the local drivers apparently).

Rice paddies, coffee and luwak


We also visited temples in Ubud and attended a Legong dance show in the Ubud palace – Naema will tell you more about that soon.

Temples in Ubud


Legong dance show



Culture Bubble: Bali is Hindu in a mainly Muslim Indonesia. Actually, Bali's religion is a mix of hinduism and animism. Temples boast very detailed rock sculptures with animals, human-looking creatures and vegetation. Offerings are prepared every morning and laid all over town: on sidewalks, in house temples, on trees.


The Bali calendar counts 210 days and many religious holidays are observed like Nyegi, the day of silence (March 25, 2020 but changes every year). That day, no one is allowed outside their homes (hotels for tourists), the Denpasar airport is even closed for the occasion. The Pecalang police patrols the streets to make sure people comply with the restrictions.

February 19 is another big holiday, Hari Gulungan, that we saw families preparing for by decorating their houses and house temples with home-made palm leaves and colored paper.


We extended our stay in the first guesthouse by 2 nights to give us time to find another guesthouse in a quieter area to get a more authentic experience. Some rice fields are located 5 minutes outside the center and we went there for lunch one day – it was very peaceful, quiet and beautiful.

Rice paddies right outside the centre


We found a much more comfortable guesthouse with 2 rooms and the whole 1st floor for us 4. For the 1st time on the trip, the girls were sleeping together in one room and locking the door at night. The guesthouse’s entrance was also locked overnight so we felt safe.

And fortunately, that’s in this comfortable place that we got knocked down by dengue fever for a whole week.

Bedroom door

View and breakfast were great!


Thunderstorms in Bali are no kidding!


On February 6, I started having strong headaches, taking one Tylenol after another for 24 hours. The next day at 4am, the pain was just too much (and I am very pain-tolerant). Fortunately, before heading to bed, I saw there was a 24-hour clinic with pick-up so I got up and called them. They sent a car to fetch me. At first, the doctor did not seem to lean towards a diagnostic but after the 1st blood test at 1pm, I was confirmed with dengue fever. There’s no medicine for dengue fever, it’s just about controlling pain and fever. I got stronger pain killers to help manage the pain. I also had fever for the first 48 hours.


Parents out-of-service so takeout dinner


The next day, Salah felt weird with joints pain, a little fever but no headaches. 2 days later, I pushed him to see a doctor and he got diagnosed with dengue fever as well. We got infected 24h apart. So…. we were pretty knocked out, barely making it to have lunch and dinner at the warung (restaurant) nearby, the same one every day. And the girls were just playing (Lana played with the grand-son holding the guesthouse, he spoke a little English), Naema did homework by herself, they watched some TV but not that much.

While the parents recover, the girls keep smiling


Our insurance (AVI Marco Polo) was following up on us and our blood tests daily. One of the first question they asked us was whether we wanted a repatriation but it would have meant the end of the trip … hell no, there was still so much we wanted to see! But we got lucky to have a top-quality service at the Ubud Care Clinic


The critical days for dengue fever are 4 and 5 because the platelet levels decrease drastically and risks of internal bleeding are increased. Below 100,000 units/mL, the doctor told us that’s a mandatory hospitalization. We were slightly panicking when thinking about the girls and what to do if ever we both had to be hospitalized. I called up Amelle and Mehdi to find out if they would be willing to come back from Nusa Penida to take care of the girls – should we both be at the hospital – and they were, without any hesitation. I felt filled with relief and gratitude. These 2 youths are smart, empathetic, curious and easy-going. I am so glad we met that night in Pakbeng!

Salah got down to 104,000 units/mL but I remained above 115,000 so in the end it worked out, no hospital (phewww). Headaches and fever ended up vanishing but our bodies were exhausted. Every day, we were getting picked up for a blood test. On the 7th day, the nurse popped the needle in my vein and moved it around OMG it was so uncomfortable and painful. I was closing my eyes when she popped the needle out and there was nothing in the syringe so… she had to do it again. Holy Moly at that point, I was done! I did not go back the next day, but I was past the 7th day so technically out of the woods. However, Salah had to go back one last time and got the green light from the doctor as well.


Although we were medically released, it took us another 7 days to build up our energy levels with vitamins, food and rest.

The tricky part is that we were contagious for 12 days after the 1st symptoms and we certainly did not want the girls to catch it because it can be devastating for kids. So, we were spraying ourselves and the girls with bug spray to rule out any transmission because dengue fever gets transmitted by mosquito bites. I probably contaminated a mosquito who bit Salah the next day. Anyway I am glad it’s behind us!

To help us regain energy, a selection of Indonesian dishes such as satay (skewers), gado-gado, soto ayam soup, capcay (veggies), or a nice smoothie bowl


The last 2 days, we were able to get some souvenirs before we left, Salah got a new haircut and we even went back to a café with a pool. The girls spent 2 hours swimming. We owed them that because they have been through a lot too! They had already enjoyed the pool a couple times before we got sick. That’s where we had spent the last evening with Amelle & Mehdi before they left to Nusa Penida and Martine & Alain (met in Melaka) before they left to Sanur (we will see them again there).

Memories and souvenirs such as Bali coffee (kopi) that can be mixed to hot water but much better than Nescafé 😃


While we did not really enjoy Ubud at the beginning, we were able to craft our own experience in the area and came to like it after a few days especially being amongst the rice paddies (Salah even took a yoga class). Over 10 days, we saw the rice farmers work the muddy fields barefoot, plant the rice 20 cm apart from one other, flood the fields at regular intervals with the irrigation system called subak developed in the 9th century, and we even saw the rice grow… from our guesthouse.


Although, we would have liked to leave Ubud earlier, our health did not permit it so we got a bit sick of it at the end and eventually happy to leave. But we were blessed to be sick in such a comfortable guesthouse, with hosts looking after us during that difficult time.

Our hosts


In the end, we left healthy, Salah with a new haircut, Naema having learned about Bali arts with local teachers in dance and painting. Going to Sanur and the beach for more Bali adventures.


Coralie

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