Preparing the Parents

Tiger Balm Tales – vol. 2

“Dad, you NEED to get a hepatitis shot.”

“Do I really? I’m strong, I should be ok.”

“Dad, your strength has nothing to do with it – when you travel in a developing country you are at the mercy of that country. You can’t control who is preparing your food, and what they’ve been doing. You can’t control how clean or dirty you may be trekking or who you come into contact with. You can’t control anything – you are going to Nepal, not Paris. Spend the damn money and get the shot!”

This was one our many pre-trip skype conversations that left me wondering what I had gotten myself into. What was I thinking – asking my 73 year old father who had never traveled to a developing country (ok – he had one business trip to Ecuador years ago) to go to Nepal?! Nepal is like India – it’s the big leagues of developing country travel. I had asked him to skip the play offs and go right to the super bowl.

I spent the next skype conversation with him going through his packing list.

“How many pairs of socks should I take?”

“Dad, I have no idea….uh….how about 5 pairs.”

“5 - Ok. How many t-shirts?”…

Continue reading on ottsworld.com

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