We won’t get sick. But I might collapse.

Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Measles, Rubella, Cholera, Yellow Fever, Typhoid.. We’ve collected them all. Or at least, the vaccinations against them. So we won’t get sick. Probably.

We went to the vaccination bureau. Located next to the vehicle management station where Maren got his Chinese driving license. You could call that road the “Prepare-for-extreme-road-trips-to-places-where-vaccinations-are-needed Road”. Or maybe it’s just coincidence.

While I believe the chances of getting a coconut on my head on the steppes of Kazakhstan are bigger than getting typhoid. You never know. There might be an angry Kazakh with a coconut. Or you might get typhoid. As I said, you never know.

Luckily both Maren and me (yes, it’s Rogier/XiaoHelan writing in case you hadn’t noticed yet) already got most of the scary diseases covered before we moved to China. But our typhoid and cholera vaccinations had run out.

We met with a female doctor and enthusiastically started sharing our travel plans. She was not interested. Instead, she gave us her books with maps that show dangerous regions (diseases, not kazakh men) and asked us to play for doctor ourselves. Too bad she didn’t let me do Maren’s vaccinations by myself as well.

After I told her I lived in China for 5 years, she told me not to bother with a cholera vaccination, as after 5 years in China she believed I must have grown immune to it already. Not really a ‘Brand New China’ story, but hey, at least it saved me a vaccination. (I took the pills anyway mom, don’t worry).

I’m more concerned to collapse of exhaustion during one of Maren’s outdoor activitiesRogier

However, and more importantly, this week Maren made a list of multi-day hikes (he thinks) we are going to do. (Maren is a nature guy, I’m a culture guy). Multi-day camel treks, horse riding, rafting, climbing mount Olympus, you name it. So although I might be immune against dangerous diseases – and survive “dangerous” regions in Central Asia – I’m more concerned to collapse of exhaustion during one of Maren’s outdoor activities.