Alison

The Perils and Pitfalls of Penang Food – Days 3 and 4

After our very delicious dinner the night before my dear husband awoke in the early hours in incredible pain. He had succumbed to severe food poisoning, I suspect from a noodle stall on the quay when he walked back from Gurney Plaza.

As soon as possible the next day I went in search of a chemist. It was a blistering hot day unlike the day before. Well I searched in vain as I remembered it was a public holiday so had to make do with some gatorade I found in a mini mart. Of course we had to revise all plans and just stay close to the hotel.

Anyway to cut a long story short, the next day we found a chemist and bought appropriate medication. Around lunchtime he rallied and we went for lunch.

Traditional Indian shop
Terracotta Diyas
Blocked alley way!
Street scene
My lunch which I managed to eat half of before the drama unfolded

My crazy husband decided to eat a laksa for lunch, thinking he’s iron man. He then got up and said he felt dizzy and walked to the door where he promptly collapsed in the alley outside. I went slightly hysterical at that point and yelled for help. He was so unresponsive that I thought he had had a stroke. I can’t say enough good things about the people who rushed to our aid. An ambulance was called and off he went with me to find my own way.

Thankfully he was admitted straightaway to Penang General Hospital and was soon hooked up to fluids. I went back to the hotel where I called my son, his girlfriend and my daughter. Maddy, Laurence’s girlfriend was the first to answer and got the full brunt of my hysteria. Finally I spoke to Laurence who calmed me down. I decided to go back to the hospital and not wait for their phone call.

The Doctor said she wanted to keep him overnight but Anthony said no, it was quite a basic hospital with what he calls “starter block” toilets. So we went off armed with a prescription which we tried to fill at the hospital pharmacy, but his arm started spurting blood so we had to walk all the way back to ED to get this bandaged up.

We were supposed to be leaving the next day for Langkawi but I made the executive decision to stay another day in Penang, which in hindsight was a good decision.

Rest and …
relaxation

Thanks for reading and hopefully I will be posting more positive stories in the next few days!

30 comments

  1. Oh no! A brush with food poisoning & a Malaysian hospital is not great on a trip! Poor Anthony. Poor you. On a brighter note – hurray! you are in Malaysia! Can’t wait to catch up on your trip up to now …

    Hope Anthony is feeling better by now and that you can enjoy Langkawi.

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  4. Oh dear, that sounds an especially nasty attack of food poisoning, and a scary time for you. I’m a bit prone to such attacks myself but there’s no way I’d attempt to eat anything spicy the following day – plain rice and bananas are my usual ‘recovery’ dishes 🙂 I hope he’s feeling better now and you’re both able to enjoy the rest of your trip!

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  5. Nothing worse than food poisoning! Especially away from home. Bless your hearts, it sounds like you both handled it like troopers. Hopefully all is well now, and you are on your way to another adventure. I’m impressed with how you’ve shown us that travel is not all unicorns and rainbows. Hugs to both of you.

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