Day Four... Back to Shangri La!!!!!!!
By Monday morning the sleeping sickness had worn off, and lovely as it was, I was ready to get out of the hospital. It seems that the inevitable wait to be discharged is universal, cos I was showered, packed, dressed and ready to go by 10.30, and didn’t actually get out till 1.30!
The shower was a revelation tho’. I was expecting to need help - after all it’s only 48 hours since I was sawn in half, but I’d healed enough to be able to wash myself, including my hair. I’m not sure who was happier - me or Jasmine the poor nurse who’d drawn the short straw two days running!
To kill time while I waited to get out, I wandered downstairs and bought some chocolates for the nurses and a latte for myself - would you believe they have a Cafe Ritazza concession in the hospital here? Back home that’s my coffee shop of last resort, but after the challenging hospital cuisine, their bland latte was just what I needed.
I drank it whilst sitting outside in the little garden right outside my room, it was gorgeously hot and sunny and I found myself doing some yoga arm stretches without even thinking about it! I am so gonna book myself on a yoga retreat somewhere hot next year! The muscles bend a whole lot easier in the sun! You can see why it was invented by an Indian and not an Eskimo!
Eventually it was time to go, I gave the nurses their chocolates and little Jasmine - the nurse who never seems to go home - accompanied me and big Jasmine (I only call her that to differentiate her from the nurse!) from Gorgeous Getaways down to reception with all my stuff on a trolley.
Thirty minutes later I was checking back into the Shangri La and very happy about that. I got another upgrade - I’m sure they just say that to make you feel special! - and this room has the most enormous waaaaaay more than double bed but no bath. As I’ll be spending more time in the bed than the tub I am cool about this. It also has a fabulous panoramic window, sadly the views are of more anonymous skyscrapers, but at night it all looks very sparkly and fab.
A slightly more fabulous skyscraper... well a pair of em to tell the truth
I unpacked again, relieved that it’ll be a whole seven days before I have to pack again, then was collected by another GG girl - Endang - who took me for a pedicure. I was desperate cos they’d taken my toenail polish off for the op, and I wanted them all painted and pretty again. I was pretty surprised at how good I was feeling considering it was so soon after the surgery, I guess all that yoga and exercise I did before I came out here really did pay off!
The nail parlour was in the most fantastic shopping mall - Sunghei Wang - one that isn’t for the wealthy, full of the usual suspects like Gap and Zara, Chanel and Prada. This one is several floors of proper local stuff. I was very excited! Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore before my appointment, and afterwards I was feeling a bit spent, so there was only time to get some fruit juices and back in the car to the hotel.
My back was starting to ache as we sat in the gridlocked rush hour traffic, and Endang said to me to flick the switch and put the seat back so I could ease the pressure. Sadly, cackhanded me flicked it a bit too hard and was laid spark, flat, out! It was a shock I can tell you! It hurt my stomach like hell, but what hurt more was laughing at it! I could so see myself pissing myself laughing if I saw that happen to someone on You’ve Been Framed, and I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. I suspect it was partly the pain and partly the emotions of everything I’d been through.
Anyway that was enough excitement for one day, so I hit the shower and that was quickly followed by painkillers, a sleeping pill, and that ultra-queen-size bed.
The shower was a revelation tho’. I was expecting to need help - after all it’s only 48 hours since I was sawn in half, but I’d healed enough to be able to wash myself, including my hair. I’m not sure who was happier - me or Jasmine the poor nurse who’d drawn the short straw two days running!
To kill time while I waited to get out, I wandered downstairs and bought some chocolates for the nurses and a latte for myself - would you believe they have a Cafe Ritazza concession in the hospital here? Back home that’s my coffee shop of last resort, but after the challenging hospital cuisine, their bland latte was just what I needed.
I drank it whilst sitting outside in the little garden right outside my room, it was gorgeously hot and sunny and I found myself doing some yoga arm stretches without even thinking about it! I am so gonna book myself on a yoga retreat somewhere hot next year! The muscles bend a whole lot easier in the sun! You can see why it was invented by an Indian and not an Eskimo!
Eventually it was time to go, I gave the nurses their chocolates and little Jasmine - the nurse who never seems to go home - accompanied me and big Jasmine (I only call her that to differentiate her from the nurse!) from Gorgeous Getaways down to reception with all my stuff on a trolley.
Thirty minutes later I was checking back into the Shangri La and very happy about that. I got another upgrade - I’m sure they just say that to make you feel special! - and this room has the most enormous waaaaaay more than double bed but no bath. As I’ll be spending more time in the bed than the tub I am cool about this. It also has a fabulous panoramic window, sadly the views are of more anonymous skyscrapers, but at night it all looks very sparkly and fab.
A slightly more fabulous skyscraper... well a pair of em to tell the truth
I unpacked again, relieved that it’ll be a whole seven days before I have to pack again, then was collected by another GG girl - Endang - who took me for a pedicure. I was desperate cos they’d taken my toenail polish off for the op, and I wanted them all painted and pretty again. I was pretty surprised at how good I was feeling considering it was so soon after the surgery, I guess all that yoga and exercise I did before I came out here really did pay off!
The nail parlour was in the most fantastic shopping mall - Sunghei Wang - one that isn’t for the wealthy, full of the usual suspects like Gap and Zara, Chanel and Prada. This one is several floors of proper local stuff. I was very excited! Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore before my appointment, and afterwards I was feeling a bit spent, so there was only time to get some fruit juices and back in the car to the hotel.
My back was starting to ache as we sat in the gridlocked rush hour traffic, and Endang said to me to flick the switch and put the seat back so I could ease the pressure. Sadly, cackhanded me flicked it a bit too hard and was laid spark, flat, out! It was a shock I can tell you! It hurt my stomach like hell, but what hurt more was laughing at it! I could so see myself pissing myself laughing if I saw that happen to someone on You’ve Been Framed, and I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. I suspect it was partly the pain and partly the emotions of everything I’d been through.
Anyway that was enough excitement for one day, so I hit the shower and that was quickly followed by painkillers, a sleeping pill, and that ultra-queen-size bed.
Labels: Travel
posted by JoJo Smith at Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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