Travel and Hospitals – Burkina Faso, Part Two

After my experiences in Banfora, I hoped I wouldn’t end up in another hospital in Burkina Faso. BAH! I ended up in another TWO! Suffice to say it’s not the ideal country to end up in hospital in, should you have a choice. In Bobo-Diolosso I was taken the main hospital there. Far far bigger …

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Hospitals, Travel and Me – Burkina Faso (Part One)

Here’s my final two parts of my hospital experiences. Burkina Faso, and this is where it all happened, I got my first ever serious tropical disease, malaria. I was in Banfora, a large town (but definitely a town) six or so hours south west of the capital Ouagadougou. I remember the lead up – I’d …

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West African Memories – The Conclusion Part One

Hi folks. Well, today my series on my 2006 trip to West Africa begins to wrap up, this being the penultimate post. After leaving my readership hanging (never to happen again!) in Bobo Diolosso in mid-February 2006, I was home early March and yet didn’t post until the second half of May to tell the …

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West African Memories – Burkina Faso and Malaria

Howdy again. Just for one little day I’m taking a break from the Central Asia theme and returning to the ongoing story of my time in West Africa in 2006, reviewing my old blog entries and reacting to reading them again. And we’re at the tipping point today, when I contracted malaria. Actually it’s been …

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My Travel Blogging Experience – Part One

Howdy folks, it’s been a while since I wrote a reflective piece, so I thought I’d actually reflect a little on the process of travel blogging and my experiences over the years with it. The experience has certainly changed a lot. For those who don’t know my history, I began travel blogging back in 2006 …

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A Date With Malaria Part Three

Before I begin the final part of my experience with malaria in a West African nation on my own and thousands of miles away from my friends and family – oops, sorry too much there, I think it’s really important to remember that malaria is still a killer, despite the work that has gone into …

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Culture Shock Part Two: First Experiences in West Africa

When I went to India, I was a very green traveller. It was my first solo trip, the first time I had travelled alone. When I went to West Africa in 2006, I couldn’t claim the same. I had been to India three times, I had visited Bangladesh twice and been through Pakistan and Iran …

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