I read in a blog that after a few days in Hanoi, people longed to return to the silence of Bangkok. And it’s true, Hanoi is the most noisy and chaotic city I’ve ever been in. You’re running errands between mopeds and pedestrians. Everyone honks intensely. If you are going to cross the street, there is no point in waiting until it is clear. It never will be. The sidewalks are full of mopeds and people eating or selling things. But apparently there are few accidents. Mopeds are like water running where there is least resistance. Red light is not respected. The right and left sides of the road go equally well. When crossing the street, just follow the law of the water. Walk slowly and purposefully over, and the mopeds will float around you.
Obtaining constipation medicine in Vietnam is not easy. In the past, when traveling to this part of the world, it was usually the opposite that was a problem, to stop what was running out of you. However, after I started taking Dukoral, a vaccine against tourist stomach and Typhoid, it has become a problem to get the digested noodles out of the body. Noodles with meat three times a day are not good for a stomach that is used to oatmeal porridge and wholemeal bread.
The problem started midway through the trip. The times it has happened in the past, such as in Japan three years ago, it was remedied with a whole bag of prunes put in water overnight. I actually managed to find a bag of prunes in Hue. It otherwise abounds in dried fruit, but prunes excel with their absence. Unfortunately, the prunes did not help much.
In Phong Nah there was a small pharmacy, but they had no worldly things. The appetite had decreased in proportion to the problems down there, and it went mostly in salads and juices. Old ladies’ advice like Jegermeister on an empty stomach did not work.
Arriving in Hanoi, the capital of the country, I reckoned there was a solution. Unfortunately, we got there right at the start of Tet, Vietnamese New Year celebration, and then everything is closed. Two days went by without toilet activity. On the third day, I found a pharmacy inside a hospital and figured that they would have access to most things. It was a big pharmacy with full shelves, and yes, they had remedies. Before I left, I had used Google translate and had the right keywords ready on my mobile. It was wise, they could not speak a word of English. I returned happy with the Vietnamese variant of MicroLax and bags with something liquid in. After taking “Microlax” the right way, things happened. Once, then full stop again. A little googling reveals that the Vietnamese MicroLax is Glycerol with some herbs in it. In other words, a natural product with only a local effect. Not the right one when the whole intestinal system seems to be clogged. Western medicine with potent chemicals is probably needed here. The other medicine contain a sugar that will increase the osmotic pressure in the intestine so that it absorbs more water. Probably OK taken over time, but not exactly emergency medicine. New round at the pharmacy, this time looking for Pursennid, which should be the real thing. Negatively, all they have are several Glycerol products. So it still goes on a diet while I live on the dream of oatmeal for breakfast. Flying home today, so it will be tomorrow!
PS. here in Hanoi we stay at Nexy Hostel in the center of the French Quarter. A backpacker place with mostly dorms, but also some small double rooms with bathrooms. The place is clean and elegant, has amenities like bar, lounge etc. Can be recommended.
More about Vietnam and Cambodia:
Vietnam backpacking – Hoi An
Halong Bay – Vietnam
Cambodia – Angkor Temples
Phong Nha National Park Vietnam
Jungel trek with a fear of heights
