Above: Some of my dental bills.
Coronation Day
Today was my Coronation 👑 Day. Sometimes bad things strike at the best times. During my two stays in Kuching this trip, I learnt that I had a tooth decay that had killed the tooth and needed a root canal and then a crown 👑.
I had had the affected too ground to a stump last week upon arriving back from Kathmandu. This morning, I return to have the crown installed. It all went smoothly and I can barely feel the difference compared to before.
A total of five appointments for a scale/polish, filling, then a root canal followed by a crown cost MYR3105 (NZD1100). This would have been around NZD3100 in Auckland, I’m guessing.
I’ve saved most of my airfare ✈️ for the trip already!
Big lesson though. No matter how well you look after your teeth, the unexpected can happen. I put mine down to possibly the previous dentist missing a new cavity, longer gap between check-ups and delay having it filled once identified. Expensive mistakes, some on my part.
Political update
Four days ago, I voted for the first time in Malaysia. This has resulted in a hung election with the leading party not having simple majority but needing to form an alliance with others. On the other hand, the losing parties also had the possibility of forming an alliance that could out-do the winner.
Not all parties would work with each other but today, seemingly sworn enemies have come together to form the government.
The man in the spotlight now is Anwar Ibrahim, formerly a Deputy Prime Minister, then imprisoned for reasons (possibly bogus) and now the tenth Prime Minister.
A lot of people are counting on him to lead the country well and in the right direction.
Tummy woes
Four days ago, I started having a niggly tummy, starting with bloatedness and then feeling cold. It wasn’t until more than a day later that I had diarrhoea. This continued for a further two days but infrequently, with surprisingly long stretches during which I didn’t need to be near the loo.
I put it down to two things: the fried chicken (a relatively safe food) I had the night before it all happened, or catching something airbone (eg. Covid-19) from a friend I had met that afternoon.
I had tested negative but tests aren’t foolproof and is quite dependent on when in the infection cycle it is done.