I often wake up in the middle of the night.
Looking at my heart rate, it suddenly went up and down. It repeated like that. My immune system was fighting and I had a fever. Because of that, my autonomic nervous system was disrupted, the sympathetic nervous system became dominant, and I couldn't fall asleep easily.
After getting up in the morning I got through a work meeting. Then I quickly got ready and left the hotel. I headed to the pier and boarded the boat while filming video.
I was a little happy to have a window seat again, but someone sat next to me, so after going to the restroom I moved to an empty seat.
Whether it's a cold or not, the symptoms have been dragging on. My nasal congestion is severe and it's reached the point where it might turn into sinusitis. If it gets a little worse I'll consider antibiotics.
Still, I thought it was nice that in Vietnam you can easily buy antibiotics at times like this.
After arriving in HCMC, I went to a nearby pho restaurant for lunch. Maybe because I was tired, I stopped caring what others thought and was able to shoot while rolling the camera.
When I thought I would post a diary every day from now on, for some reason I felt like talking more, like I wanted to put things into words. Not just filming scenery and actions, but also properly recording my own talk. That realization felt really good.
To get to the pho restaurant you have to cross a big road. A lot of motorbikes were passing, but a Vietnamese person was crossing, so I thought 'I can do it too' and tried crossing together.
Then everyone slowed down for me and I was able to cross more smoothly than I expected.
The restaurant was completely aimed at foreigners. Locals basically eat at street stalls. So it's more expensive here. But I ordered a banh mi and pho. It was very delicious.
After that, I took a motorbike taxi to a hotel near the airport. The location was excellent—very close to the airport.
After checking in, a powerful drowsiness hit me and I took a nap. I slept for about an hour and a half.
I was thinking about what to have for dinner. I had actually planned to eat with Tao, but because I had a coated tongue and wasn't feeling very well, I decided to skip it this time.
So I thought I'd buy antibiotics just in case, and on the way to the pharmacy I found a Sukiya about 1 kilometer away, so I decided to go there first.
Yakiniku bowl, pickles, miso soup, soft‑boiled egg, peach tea. Even though it was an L size, it was only 600 yen in total. Very cheap. They also had ramen and other menu items; I thought it was a uniquely Vietnamese lineup and it was genuinely interesting.
After that, when I tried to buy clarithromycin at a nearby pharmacy, they asked, 'Do you have a prescription? We can't sell it without one.'
I thought 'What, in Vietnam?' and checked with ChatGPT; apparently a law regarding medicines was adopted last November and is set to take effect this July. It said antibiotics will no longer be easy to buy.
Honestly, this was a shock. I had thought Vietnam was the place to get antibiotics. Not being able to do that is painful. I even wondered if in the end only Thailand would be left.
Even so, I didn't give up and decided to try another pharmacy.
I went to a pharmacy of the same chain near the hotel. This time I changed how I said it.
"I've had green phlegm for three days and I think it's a bacterial infection, so I'd like clarithromycin," I said.
Then she laughed and said, 'Your English is too fast, speak more slowly.' She was very young, probably about my age or younger.
When I lowered my tone and explained slowly, she nodded and, amazingly, brought me clarithromycin.
In this way I was able to purchase five days' worth of clarithromycin. The price was 55,000 dong, about 250 yen. Too cheap.
I realized it's really about 'people (luck)' and 'how you say things.' The person you're dealing with is human, with personality and emotions. The reaction you get changes depending on how you approach them. I felt that strongly.
I don't plan to take the antibiotics immediately. These are standby medications for the adventures I'll be taking across countries. I'll take them if things worsen, and if they don't I'll keep carrying them.
The antibiotics I'm considering keeping on hand are Augmentin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin. Ideally it would be good to also have metronidazole and ciprofloxacin, but those are for emergency treatment for things like pseudomembranous colitis.
For now, azithromycin covers pneumonia and bronchitis types, clarithromycin is for sinusitis and skin infections, and Augmentin can cover beta‑lactam–sensitive bacteria.
With these three I'll be okay for the time being. After that I want to get Augmentin somewhere.
You never know what might happen—getting pneumonia in Africa or in the desert, having sinusitis worsen when your immunity drops, or prolonged food poisoning. That's why antibiotics are really important.
In that sense, I'm glad I was able to get them this time.
After that I returned to the hotel, worked, and slept.
