MYANMAR -- As the nurse expounded on the risks of dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and malaria, I realized it was going to be an unusual trip. No five-star hotel this time.
I travel a lot. Some people have asked if I go primarily for business or pleasure. It made me wonder: What kind of pleasure trip would include a risk of malaria?
For this latest journey, I got various shots (polio and tetanus boosters, hepatitis, etc.) and took Larium for malaria. I had to purchase a mosquito net, promise not to drink the water and buy baby wipes. The latter was for . . . well, there aren't any toilets in the Myanmarese hills, dominated by ethnic Karen guerrillas, where I was heading.