As readers of this blog would know, the Bachwani family tries to hit the shores of Goa at least once a year, sometimes twice a year!  It had been a while since our last trip, and so it was time to schedule another one.  Early in 2010, we decided to book us a 3-night stay slated for mid Feb.  And, as predictable as the Old Faithful in Yellowstone, a few days before departure, ill health struck… 

Pumpkin came down with a very bad bout of viral fever and cough.  A quick trip to the pediatrician confirmed that the bug was in the air and would  take 7-10 days to fully get out of the system.  She advised us to carry on with our holiday plans, since there was not much to do besides take the required medicines regularly.

So, off we went to our annual visit, fully prepared with a large kit of medicines for any eventuality.  What we did not plan for, however, was that Tiger would soon catch it from his sister.

The kids would alternate between having high fever (sometimes reaching 102!)  and no fever in the day.  There would be times when either one of them was “down”, and also times when both were sick or both completely normal.  The nights would keep both parents awake with both the kids coughing and choking incessantly. 

Of course, during the day, in bits and parts, it would feel like a completely typical holiday when we would head to a nearby Goan restaurant for some yummy food!  We even shot some videos on the digital camera on which you’ll see no trace of any thing unusual, just a family on a holiday having fun!!!

It was a very weird experience in a funny and tragic sort of way… Kind of like suddenly having your energizer batteries pulled out and pushed in, throughout the 4-day stay.  By the time we returned, both the kids were on their way to recovery, but the wife and I were fully “out”.  Guess, attending to all the ill health and not getting any sleep ourselves didn’t really help our immunity.  It took both of us nearly two weeks to recover from that.

But, we made it.  And, we would surely return to Goaaaah soon!