Travel Vaccinations

Travel vaccinations are required for when travelling to many parts of the world but especially in parts of Asia, South America, and Africa. Common diseases which may be contracted include:

Cholera
Dengue Fever
Hepatitis
HIV/AIDS
Malaria
Japanese Enchephalitis
Yellow Fever
Menengitis
Rabies
Typhoid
Tetnus
Polio

So before you go travelling, don’t forget to check out which vaccines may be required to protect your health:

Check with your doctor before departing on holiday for information on travel vaccinations which can prevent a number of the common travel related diseases. However, vaccines are not always available and other methods of prevention are required.

More info on travel vaccinations:

Globalization facilitates the spread of disease and increases the number of travelers who will be exposed to a different health environment. Major content areas of travel medicine include the global epidemiology of health risks to the traveler, vaccinology, malaria prevention, and pre-travel counseling designed to maintain the health of the approximately 600 million international travelers. It has been estimated that about 80 million travelers go annually from developed to developing countries.

Travel medicine includes pre-travel consultation and evaluation, contingency planning during travel, and post-travel follow-up and care. Information is provided by the WHO that addresses health issues for travelers for each country as well as the specific health risks of air travel itself.[3] Also, the CDC publishes valuable and up-to-date information. (see external links). Key areas to consider are vaccination and the six I’s:

1. Insects: repellents, nets, medication
2. Ingestions: safety of water, food
3. Indiscretion: HIV, sexually transmitted disease
4. Injuries: accident avoidance, personal safety
5. Immersion: schistosomiasis
6. Insurance: coverage and services during travel, access to care

The traveler should have a medication kit to provide for necessary and useful medication. Based on circumstances it should include also malaria prophylaxis, condoms, and medication to combat traveler’s diarrhea. In addition, a basic first aid kit can be of use.

Tips and Advice

Tips and Advice is an Australian website providing helpful information on a range of topics. It can be used as a reference which you can go back to or is great if you are just looking for a particular piece of advice. Some of the topics are mentioned below.

Bed Wetting Tips – The short term solution to bed wetting is for your child to wear a nappy during the night. If you child is a bit past wearing nappies they can try pull up nappies which are more like underwear. Your child can probably try going without a nappy at night if they show the following signs:

* No or few night time wettings
* Your child wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet
* Your child stays dry during the day for up to 4 hours
* Your child doesn’t need changing after naps

Once you see these signs your child can probably sleep through the night without a nappy and have a dry night.

How to Start a Vending Machine Business – The second thing you need to do is find out about typical vending machine scams and how to avoid them. There are a few around so make sure you know what is really involved in this business. Don’t let someone talk you into it by making out that you can get rich quickly with little work. The reality is that this is a tough business which takes persistence and hard work.

There is also plenty of advice on health issues, parenting, pregnancy, finance, business, travel weddings, and more. Check out Tips and Advice for more details.

Bamboo Construction

Yes But No But Yes talks about bamboo construction:

The 300 meter banana will be constructed of bamboo and paper and be filled with helium. It will float at 30 to 50 km above the state of Texas, which will put it on the line between atmosphere and space. From the ground, the banana will be visible and recognizable day and night from all over Texas. Why a banana? Is it a symbol for comedy or just a phallic symbol? A symbol for a banana republic or has someone gone bananas? And why Texas? Whether this is a hoax or a real art project, there are just too many potential jokes to resist!

Bamboo Knitting Needles

Asian Buzz writes about bamboo knitting needles:

I came across this cute Scarf Knitting Kit tonight. I love the packaging and clever names. Available in Lychee (blue), Green Pepper (green), Black Bean (black), and Sweet & Sour (purple). The yarn is packaged in a Chinese Take-Out boxes and comes with 14″ bamboo knitting needles & instruction booklet, all the ingredients you need to create a scarf.

Chinese New Year

Christmas Spirit writes about bamboo and the Chinese New Year:

Recipes for Good Fortune
A small plate menu offers something for everyone. And because every dish in the Chinese culture has special significance, the more items served, the more blessings you receive. For example, spicy-sweet prawns promote vitality and happiness, while savory pork ribs indicate wealth and prosperity! This flavorful, multifaceted meal elevates your celebration, starting off your new year with a bang!

Setting the Scene
*Set tables with red and gold linens for fortuity and success.
*Decorate with paper lanterns; use fresh flowers and bamboo to signify rebirth and growth.
*Place dishes strategically around the room to encourage mingling.
*Greet guests with “Gung Hay Fat Choy,” meaning “Wishing you happiness and prosperity!”
*Present guests with tangerines, leaves attached, for luck and abundant joy.

Bamboo Plants

Phases writes about bamboo plants:

2.5 years ago, I planted 2 bamboo plants – each with a few shoots – in the far corner of the house. It shot shoots from the ground at rapid pace, grew pretty unruly to about 20 feet and I wished I had a panda that could keep the growth under control.

Bamboo plants are a nice sight … the way they would sway to the wind, leaves rustling against each other and the shade it would provide but the maintenance is a killer!

When it was first planted, I think there was possibly 3-4 shoots each planted into the ground. By the time I decided to rid the garden of it, this was the result …

Bamboo Furniture

Bali Blog writes about bamboo furniture:

Driving Toby, Maya, Ika & Jevon around East Bali I had to weight up my options as far as accommodation. I like to go cheap when I can and I know Toby was concerned at keeping Maya comfortable, hoping for an AC room. Selang beach, on the Amed coast about 20 minutes south of Amed, offers some okay places. Good Karma Bungalows is a set of bamboo guest houses on the beach. Conditions are simple and include an outside cold water shower, bamboo / alang alang roof, bamboo furniture and a Robinson Crusoe feel. Up on the cliff, Blue Moon Villas, offer several rooms complete with AC, pool and all the extras. We checked out the prices for both. Blue Moon were asking $115 a night, Good Karma, 250,000rp. I got 200,000rp which was okay with me.

Xie-yi

Heaven Tree writes about bamboo:

Yet another familiar element of the concept of xie-yi is the conceit that an object drawn badly can nevertheless make for a good drawing as it may reveal somehow something important otherwise hidden from the eye: the object’s true form (an appealing idea if you are a mystic). And thus, a bamboo need not look like a bamboo (Ni Zan, when told his bamboo didn’t look like bamboo, replied: “total lack of resemblance isn’t easy to achieve”); and a good portrait may not need to carry much of a physical likeness if it carries somehow a spiritual likeness. (Whatever that is). This, too, has been heard in the West (and is exemplified in the way Bertolucci represents the work of a portrait sculptor in Stealing Beauty).