A solution to sleepless nights
Since the itchiness that comes with the healing process has been bothering me so much lately and has stolen at least four nights of sleep from me, I finally found a solution: antihistamines!!
If you have read my previous blog, you know that right now we are residing in a retreat center somewhere in the middle of the woods in Vietnam. Access to basic amenities is very limited here. There are no grocery stores, no shops, no pharmacies, and literally nothing nearby except a few restaurants.
So you can imagine that getting to a pharmacy to buy antihistamines was not easy. We got lucky and found a Grab driver willing to take us to the nearest pharmacy, which happened to be in the middle of nowhere. . We ended up in a very quiet village about 10 minutes from where we live.
The trip to the pharmacy was an adventure
It was 2 PM when we got there, and it was crazy hot. The village looked almost abandoned, especially at that time of day when the heat is so intense that nobody wants to be outside. But to our surprise, there were three pharmacies in that village, all clean and well equipped! Why? I have no idea!!
So, I got everything I needed, and the pharmacist was very helpful. Google Translate did a great job too, hehe.
Getting a ride back to the retreat center, however, was not easy. The options were limited, and drivers kept refusing our request. So we ended up sitting on the side of the road, hoping that someone would finally accept the ride.
While we were sitting on one of those quiet streets, I heard a door open behind me. I turned around and saw a smiling lady coming out with two glasses of water. She handed them to us with a big smile. Oh, what an angel! This random act of kindness felt so special.
After about 20 minutes of rejection, we finally found a driver. We waited for him inside a little shop until he arrived.
We made it back to the villa, thinking that our next outing would probably be another adventure ;)
In the middle of the woods, Vietnam
June 9th, 2026