I had multiple fears when coming travelling. My biggest one was ending up in a third-world hospital. I am scared of hospitals in the UK, so the thought of being somewhere where the medical facilities and staff are not up to Western standards with an additional language barrier was my idea of hell. Unfortunately a month into my travels I had got a pretty nasty infection on my leg and ended up alone in an operating room, having no idea what was going to happen next.

I was lying in the bed close to tears, thinking how do I say in Lao ‘please sedate me’ as the lady was injecting me with god knows what. I know I sound like a wuss, but it isn’t the pain which scares me. It is the fact that I am putting my life in someone else’s hands. One mistake could change my life forever. Anyway, I am drifting away, so yes I really don’t like hospitals but part of the reason for my trip was to find myself and get over my biggest fears. So even though it was a terrifying experience, I am so proud of myself for overcoming this fear.

Living in the UK we are so fortunate to have access to free medical care, you might have to wait hours to be seen but being sick is not going to bankrupt you or your family as it does to some people in Asia. When I was leaving the clinic after getting my wound checked up an ambulance arrived full of poorly children. I was told that these children had been driven down from a town 3 hours up north, and there had been a malaria outbreak. Apparently, there are only a couple of places in Laos which could give these children a fighting chance. The ward was full, so they had to clear the floor outside in the waiting room to start treatment. The most upsetting thing about this experience was apparently only half the children would survive. Due to the financial circumstances, these families had they had left it very late. And regardless of whether the child survived or died the families would be burdened with the debt for the rest of their lives. It was heartbreaking.

Another experience of the healthcare issues in Laos was in Pakbeng. When we were staying in a guest house we met a beautiful little girl who was disabled with bow legs. My friend told me that there was a higher risk of children with birth disorders and life-threatening health complications in South East Asia due to a chemical called Agent Orange. In the 1940s the US used this toxic chemical to clear foliage during the Vietnam conflict. Due to the countries in South East Asia sharing a boarder, this got spread to neighbouring countries. The operation to fix her legs was only possible in Thailand. The family would have to sell their guest house (which was their only form of income) and move to Thailand for the operation. This is something which they could not afford to do.

It really puts the world in perspective, I have realised how fortunate we are to have so much in the UK and Western countries. Even when life is tough, someone out there has it a hell of a lot worse.

Ps. If anyone asks the reason my leg is bandaged up is because I had a fight with a crocodile. Crocodile 0, Tay 1.