My sister and I are preparing to visit India next month, but it’s proving harder than we thought.

First comes a trip to the doctor for vaccinations against the known knowns and the known unknowns, as Donald Rumsfeld once said. Dr X is looking up my vaccination history – a minor miracle that he has this information at his fingertips, especially since I was last vaccinated at another clinic. He knows I’ve been unfaithful. And I know he knows.

I’ve been to India twice before and never felt anything but healthy and happy.Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK

“You will have typhoid and hep A two weeks before you leave for India. But today, shingles and flu – they’re free!”

He guides me into the nurse’s surgery. “Oh, you’re very brave!” she tells me. I’m not sure if this is because I’m to have two injections, one in each arm, or if I’m going to India. I realise it’s the latter when she asks: “Why you choose India?”

“We have friends there. Delhi first, then Jaisalmer.”

“Jaisalmer in tropics?”

“No, desert.”

“Whaaa!” she cries.

All this is making me nervous. Though it shouldn’t. I’ve been to India twice before and never felt anything but healthy and happy. Well, sad too at times. As my didi – big sister – puts it, “India touches all your senses”. It’s also poised to pack a global punch. It’s the most populous nation in the world, has the fifth-largest economy, a mega army – and best of all – it loves every kind of Aussie from Anthony Albanese to Ricky Ponting (even seven-year-olds still talk about him).

QOSHE - Going to India? You’ll need vaccinations mainly for the visa process - Jo Stubbings
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Going to India? You’ll need vaccinations mainly for the visa process

9 1
21.01.2024

My sister and I are preparing to visit India next month, but it’s proving harder than we thought.

First comes a trip to the doctor for vaccinations against the known knowns and the known unknowns, as Donald Rumsfeld once said. Dr X is looking up my vaccination history – a minor miracle that he has this information at his fingertips, especially since I was last vaccinated at another clinic. He knows........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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