Ari's Planet

Probably the safest solution is to get a basic domestic individual health insurance plan for the US and supplement it with one of the international plans such as those offered by insuremytrip. The domestic plan will cover the usual medical treatments in the US and the interntional plan will cover overseas treatment. Individual plans via bcbs are very expensive, at least $230 a month, so one of the state's subsidized medical plans would be more affordable. Therefore, which state plan do I get? Which international plan do I get? Can I cancel my travelplus insruance, which offers 100,000 evac insurance and get a prorated refund if the other medical plans offer suitable coverage? How does it work if both insurers offer coverage for the same thing?

Traveler's Emergency Network, provides emergency travel services, including $100,000 evacuation insurance for $129 annual individual membership.
InsureMyTrip.com, quotes and comparisons of several travel and medical policies; very convenient.

Parasites are wonderful amazing little creatures. Their life cycles, involving multiple hosts and periods in free water, are marvels of natural adaptation. Schistosomiasis, otherwise known as Bilharzia, is a common parasitic infection in tropical regions of the world. There are several varieties, such as Schistosoma mekongi, found in the Mekong river. Indeed, this is probably where I contracted the disease while swimming and bathing in water from the Mekong river. Feeling not entirely well, I stopped by the Travel Doctor clinic in Auckland. The doctor there tested me for antibodies to schistosoma, which came back positive. The test is only useful several weeks after exposure. Treatment is straightforward: two doses in a single day of Praziquantel (brand name Biltricide). Other than a headache and going to sleep a bit earlier I had no ill effects.

That filling I had done in India was starting to hurt a bit, so I stopped in to see a dentist in Christchurch. A few minutes on Google turned up St. Albans Dental Center, located about 20 minutes walk north of the town center. They got me in the next day and I saw Dr. Ali Khalessi. He said the filling had partly worn off and exposed the dentine, which is why it was sensitive.

Food prices are going up, though some people are making money off of it. Indian food can be made with cheap healthy ingredients and can be pretty easy to prepare. Dhal (lentils) and rice is pretty basic and pretty good food. Here's a really simple recipe for dhal, I don't think recipes get much simpler than this. I mostly lived off of food very similar to this for lunch and dinner when traveling in India.

Another vaccine-preventable disease in Asia. Most of what you need to know as a traveler is here:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/jencephalitis/qa.htm

See also my vaccinations page.

The story of getting from Agra to Jaipur will follow another day. In Jaipur, I realized one of my remaining wisdom teeth had developed a few cavities. There was only some sensitivity, but it was something I wanted to take care of before it became painful or infected. I asked a friend from Delhi for a recommendation for a dentist (plus a few other recommendations) and got the 10:00 deluxe bus from the Jaipur bus station. The bus cost 460 INR. This is a about $11.50, which is a lot for a bus in India.

I have received the following vaccinations (in addition to the usual required in the US):

Tetanus booster
Diptheria booster
Polio booster
Typhoid
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Yellow fever
Meningitis
Rabies preexposure booster

Typhoid was provided as oral tablets containing inactivated typhoid. You take these pills every other day for four doses. The pills must be kept refrigerated to maintain the viability of the organisms.

The best way to avoid malaria is to avoid being bitten by a mosquito carrying the disease. In regions in which malaria is transmitted, this means avoiding mosquitoes which bite mainly in the evening/nighttime, covering up with clothing, using a bed net, using insecticides and insect repellents (DEET). There is lots of reliable information available, e.g., from the CDC.