Heading Out

To state the obvious, it’s been a long time since I updated this blog. I didn’t even finish Uzbekistan, never mind covering South Korea and Japan, which is a pity because we visited Khiva after Bukhara and it was magical. Instead of thinking about travel I spent the last year or so dealing with medical issues, and made the depressing discovery that chronic pain leaves you with very little energy.

The good news is that I finally got a definite diagnosis (alas, a variant of rheumatoid arthritis) late last year and after some false starts am now on medication (Xeljanz) that has my symptoms under control. Yes! The bad news is that it works by suppressing my immune system, which makes me reluctant to travel.

But I am typing this while waiting to board a flight to London at the start of a six week trip. I’m planning to visit friends and family, and also take a look some new places, notably the Channel Islands. I am carrying a lot of antiseptic wipes, and a couple of small bottles of Purell. I’ve read that the most germ-ridden things you encounter when flying are the check-in screens and the TSA bins. Thanks to a friendly agent I avoided the first, and thanks to TSA Pre-check I avoided the latter. I have TSA Pre-check because I have Global Entry. It took a painful trip to DC last year for the ten minute interview, but I think it will be worth it.

For the DC trip, when I was taking OTC pills that didn’t help much, I had wheelchair assistance at both airports – the first time. This trip I can handle my departure airport, but I have asked for a wheel chair at Heathrow because it is usually such a long trek from the gate, not to memtion standing in line for immigration. I am also splurging for a car and driver to my first stop, as it is also a route march to the central bus station. I’ll be staying with my ekder sister for a few nights before taking the train to London for Open House.

Entrance to Khiva