An Unexpected Exit in Time for Halloween!

Reading my previous entry on Lake Toba, you’ll know that I enjoyed the area very much. I was there for roughly 6 days and had every intention of staying longer to further enjoy the mountains, water, and food. However, I was dealt a spooky hand by fate and it created complications in my traveling plans.

From the photo above you can see Tuktuk from the top of the nearby mountains. That day I chose to ride around the island on a motorbike. It also included my amazing time at Synergy Coffee. The drive back was gorgeous but needed to be quick as the sun was ever setting and I needed to get the scooter back before it left the sky for the day. So after I snapped this photo I hauled myself on the bike, started her up, and began my descent down the mountain!

There I was: flying down the zigs and the zags of the road, racing against time, taking it all in! First I made it to lake-level, then I passed the various souvenir shops in Tomok, and next I left the town for the dark and deserted area between Tomok and Tuktuk just as the sun had left the sky. It was sometime around 6pm and I knew I was late. Worse yet I hate driving scooters in the dark – I’m barely comfortable doing so in a car. So I sped up a little bit just as I began turning a long curve in the road.

Around me the hum of 150cc engines roar. The shadows creep long against the road, descending from the tops of the trees. Out of the corner of my right eye I see a rustling of leaves and the formation of a gap. Something springs forth, flying through the darkness! It bobs up and down, left and right, moving forward. It can’t decide where to go. There’s too much noise for it to know which direction is right and it’s probably still groggy this early at night. I know what it is, and I can see its confusion. Time slows as I capture in detail how it moves and in what direction while I try to predict what’s going to happen next. Excitement flutters in my chest. My fears become clear as I realize it’s heading toward me. I’m not a risk taker so I rev the engine with my right handle! It’s not enough, it can’t save me. In an instant the bat’s path intersects with my own.

The knuckles of my right hand – the one revving the engine – collide with the bat. I punch him perfectly on what feels like his back. It’s soft, like your favorite pillow, and as furry as your beloved pet at home. His wings unfold at the force of my hand to fully envelop it, from tips to wrist; they feel like a well-fitting leather glove. He moves with me for a time at 50km/h. I realize, to my horror, what I’ve done. I have punched a bat.

Quicker than you’d think, in maybe 2 or 3 seconds, all of the events you’ve just read unfold. I punch a little bat who just woke up from his rest and got dazed in the sound of human transport. Once my fist was done with him he bounced off and was struck by the front of the scooter and flung into the darkness on my left. In hindsight I feel sorry for the bat and hope he survived, but in that moment one thing goes through my mind: Rabies.

In Indonesia rabies mostly comes from stray cats or dogs because animal vaccination isn’t very common there. In the USA we think of it as a disease that comes from bats because it’s the most common mammal we can’t vaccinate but that we can easily come into contact with. Of all bats ever caught and tested in the USA only 6% have every tested positively for rabies. And the chance of contracting rabies from one that bites or scratched you is only 15%. So without even factoring in the unlikely situation in which I had physical contact with the bat and the factors involved driving the percentage even lower, my chance of actually catching rabies was exceedingly low.

But rabies is horrifying. If I caught it and never sought treatment there is a 100% chance that I would die. Only something like 3 people have ever survived it and there’s no consensus on why they survived. I’m not going to get into details with you but if you really want to frighten yourself have a read of this description of rabies and the process of dying from it. Needless to say, I went to get treatment right away.

I went to the clinic they have in Lake Toba and talked to the doctor on hand. He examined me and considered the chances of me having contracted anything were so low they barely warranted me going to see him. Undeterred though, I asked after the vaccine. In an area roughly 240sqm there are only about 95,000 people and that’s not big enough for a hospital; not one that carries the rabies vaccine anyway.

And thus it was that I left Lake Toba, land of beauty and relaxation. The doctor in Tuktuk said I should just stay and enjoy my vacation, but even as early as February the province had 3 rabies-related deaths. I wasn’t taking any chances. Within a day I was on a boat and a bus headed for Medan and a regiment of rabies vaccines. Post-exposure you need 5 shots total spaced out over a month. I had my first two done at Columbia Asia Hospital in Medan and they were very kind, helpful, and cheap! In total the cost for everything for two shots was $54. Go ahead and look at the cost in America if you want one last scare!

The remaining 3 shots are getting done in other countries with Thailand being the first to keep me on schedule. It’s a headache to figure out and it forced me to leave paradise, but in the end it beats dying slowly of a melting brain in a tropical country far from home. And it gave me an excuse to continue The Journey. I, for one, am satisfied with the trade-off.

Happy Halloween everyone!