(Chinese below)
Curry Boy rarely goes to beach. First time was in Pattaya ; Second one in Okinawa; And this one, is the most memorable one, I believe.
On the second day of our trip, Curry Boy wanted to go to a beach called Kupalište Bene, which is a rocky beach. It was nice that there are shades of trees to hide from the sun, but there is no fine sand. Curry Boy only brought a towel and swimming trunks, not even slippers.
I sat under a tree and watched him slowly started to swim. After swimming about 50 meters, I saw him on the other side, and he was checking his feet. I didn’t pay much attention. After about 15 minutes, he swam back, and I asked, “Is it fun?” He replied, “I’m injured!” He stretched out his feet, his knees were a little swollen, red and bleeding, and there were black thorns on the soles of his feet… OH MY GOODNESS! Not only the right foot, but also the left foot!
I asked what’d happened? He sighed and said, “I thought it was a stone that scratched my foot, then I wanted to take a closer look and I stepped on a rock, who knew there were sea urchins there! OH! IT’S HURT!”
Frankly speaking, both of us were a little panicked and didn’t know what to do. Curry Boy tried to squeeze the thorns out, but because it was too dense, he would encounter other thorns when he squeezed, which was very painful. I tried searching on Internet for a solution. Most say soaking in hot water to soften the skin, then using tweezer to pick the spines out.
He put on his clothes, shoes and socks, limped to the only restaurant on the beach, asked one guy there. He said, “I see, you stepped on a sea urchin! You can sterilize the needle with alcohol, then pick out the thorns.” He replied plainly, as if stepping on sea urchins was common.
It was already more than seven o’clock in the evening, and the sunset was an hour away. It was a half-hour walk to the apartment (there are no taxis there, don’t think about it). I said, “Let’s go back to the apartment first!” Curry Boy said no, “Nothing we can do even going back, let’s go dinner!” (You’re still in the mood for dinner?!)
Luckily, he still could walk, just need to adjust and not putting pressure on the thorns. So, we walked slowly to a restaurant for dinner. In fact, in our minds, were filled with thorns throughout the dinner. Could it be poisonous? How to pick with a needle? Where can I buy needles? Or go to the doctor? The black risotto in front of me, I have no idea how it tasted like.
After returning to the apartment, I sent a message to ask the host where I can buy needles, and asked my friends if they had similar experiences. And I googled for solution again, some people say that soaking in vinegar can decompose the thorns. But the night is quiet, and without needles/nail clippers/eyebrow clippers/vinegar, all you can do was soak your feet in hot water. And because there was no bucket, we only could use a wide and large food plate to soak the feet (host, I’m sorry).
The next day, we went to the supermarket to buy a bottle of white vinegar, soaked the feet while eating breakfast, and the room was full of sour fragrance. But the question arises again, in the end, how long does it take to soak? It’s also impossible to stay in the Apartment all day to soak in vinegar! Should we buy needles? But with so many thorns, even if there is a needle, we even don’t know how to pick the thorn… At last, we decided to go to the clinic/hospital.
There is a clinic 10 minutes walk from the apartment, and the hospital is 3 km away. On the way to the clinic, we saw a pharmacy, and we went in and asked. The pharmacist said that ointment might be helpful, but if it is urgent, it is recommended that we go to the hospital.
So, we continued to look for that clinic. Strangely, we couldn’t see any signs of a clinic! Looking around and around, we still couldn’t find it. Curry Man couldn’t help: “Forget it! It’s better to continue the journey, it should be ok.” Just as he was about to give up, an elderly came over with a cane: “xyz.. blah blah blah…problem?” We only understood “problem”. “Um…doctor?hospital?” He pointed in a certain direction with a cane and said, “doctor!” Ah~ That means there is really a doctor nearby, we should go back and look for it again. Finally! We saw “dr. med. xxx” written on the ground floor of a neem similar to a civilian building!
Got inside, a few people were waiting. We asked one of the men, “Do you speak English?” He pointed to other lady who could speak fluent English. We asked again: “Where is the reception?” She said, “There is no reception here. When the doctor opens the door, then the next patient will go in.” We told her our story, and she said, “Usually we use needles to pick them, all you need is patience!”
At that time, the number of patients had been increasing, and we didn’t know how long is going to take. If every local said that they used needles to pick them by themselves, so should we try by ourselves? But the lady said, “Since you all came here, why not let the doctor take a look?”
Later, the doctor opened the door and said a few words that we couldn’t understand. The lady was very helpful, told the doctor about our situation, and then the doctor came over and asked us in English: “You need help?” We showed her the photo of the sea urchin’s foot, and she asked, “Do you have insurance?” Fortunately, our insurance covers even other EU countries, so there is no problem! She said the thorns could be removed, but we had to sit down and wait. (Great! The locals are so friendly!)
After waiting for about half an hour, finally it’s Curry Boy’s turn. He lay on the white operating table, and the doctor started picking with needles! Curry Boy gasped and asked if he could get some anesthesia. The doctor smiled and said, “No anesthesia!” It was too horrible to see. I had to grab his hand and cheer him up, saying it gonna be over soon, and asked him what to eat after this torture, but he didn’t seem to be able to use his brain anymore. The doctor was also very attentive and empathetic. She would ask Curry Boy if it was his first time in Croatia, where he lived, and what he thought of the new German Chancellor, all to distract him.
The doctor kept picking, and Curry Boy looked very painful with his eyes closed, and I couldn’t help much. In the end, after picking it for half an hour, aound 8-10 sea urchin thorns were out , big and small, long and short, and blood. The bottom of Curry Boy’s foot became bloody holes, and I felt pain when I saw it. We asked the doctor: “Some say soaking in hot water and vinegar is useful. Is it true?” The doctor was very humorous: “Some say urine can help too! Do you wanna try?”
The doctor thinks that the big ones should be picked out, and the very small ones can be discharged naturally. It is helpful to go to the beach to soak in the water. She also said we should not be afraid to go to the beach again.
After the little surgery, Curry Boy said felt much better. However, after a few days, when he touched some parts on the sole, he knew there were thorns left, so he picked two or three needles out by himself. Few days later he played badminton, when he jumped and the soles of his feet were pressed, he could feel the pain, so he picked some thorns out again.
This time, in order to test whether the vinegar works, he soaked two thorns, one thick and one small in white vinegar (5% acidity).
(See above pictures) Experiments have shown that vinegar can really dissolve sea urchin spines! The small one, soaked in white vinegar for 3 hours, almost completely dissolved! But the thick one is still there! If you simply soak in vinegar, I am afraid it will take many hours. It is recommended to pick out the big ones.
Later, I looked at the Google Review of that beach. Someone pointed out that there were many sea urchins in the water, and they were hurt by sea urchins also. It’s just that we weren’t prepared, we didn’t have much experience swimming at the beach, and we were too careless.
To avoid stepping onto sea urchins, in addition to wearing protective shoes, you should also avoid stepping on water or rocks. It is recommended to swim or float in the water, and it is better to observe where other people are swimming.
Peter Parker was bitten by a spider and turned into Spider-Man. I asked Curry Boy, “Have you turned into Sea Urchin Man?” “My superpower is release sea urchin spines from my soles!”
The next set of Marvel, everyone will wait and see!
咖喱男在印度很少機會去海灘，在他30多年人生中，目前只有過4次在海灘游泳的經驗。第一次是泰國芭提雅，第二次是日本沖繩浮潛，第三、四次是這趟克羅地亞旅行。我想，後者一定是最難忘的了。
故事是這樣的。
克羅地亞旅程的第二天，我們選擇傍晚去行山。咖喱男還鎖定了途中一個公眾海灘，叫做Kupalište Bene。到達後才知道那是一個石灘，好處在有樹蔭可以乘涼，但沒有幼沙，不用妄想沙灘漫步。咖喱男只帶了一條毛巾和泳褲，連拖鞋也沒有，他真夠準備。
我坐在樹蔭下，看他慢慢下水，然後開始游泳，才游了50米左右，我看到他上了對岸，他在檢視他的腳，我不以為意。大概過了15分鐘，他游了回來，我問：「好玩嗎？」他回：「我受傷了！」他把腳伸過來，膝頭一點點腫紅流血，腳板黑色一條條刺⋯⋯OH MY GOODNESS! 不僅右腳，連左腳都有！
我問發生了什麼事？他嘆了口氣說：「我以為是石頭刮損了腳，想平衝身體看一下，於是踏在石頭上，誰不知那裡有海膽！OH！IT’S HURT！」
坦白說，我倆當時都有點慌張，不知道該怎麼做，咖喱男嘗試把刺擠出來，但因為太密集了，一擠又會碰到其他刺，很痛，他就想到去找有沒有職員可以問問，我就上網搜尋解決方法。大部分都是說浸熱水，讓皮膚變軟，然後用箝把刺拑出來。
他穿回衣服鞋襪，一拐一拐地走到海灘上唯一一間餐廳，隨手抓個職員來問，那職員說：「呀～你踩到海膽，你可以用酒精把針消毒，然後把刺挑出來。」他答得很平常，看來踩到海膽是很普遍似的。
當時已是晚上七時多，還有一小時便日落，距離Apartment是半小時步程（那裡沒有的士啦，不用想）。我說：「先回去Apartment吧！」咖喱男卻說不：「回去也做不了什麼，去吃晚飯吧！」（竟然還有心情吃晚飯？！）
他說走路還可以，只是要調整一下，不把重心壓在刺上。如是者，他一拐一拐的，慢慢走到一間餐廳吃晚飯。其實，整頓飯我倆都想著一條條刺，會不會有毒呢？用針怎麼挑呢？在哪裡買針呢？還是去看醫生呢？
眼前那一碟墨魚汁意大利飯，我都忘了是什麼味道。
回到Apartment後，發訊息問問host哪裡可以買針，又問問朋友有沒有類似經驗。上網再查，又有人說浸醋可以將刺分解。但夜闌人靜，在沒有針/指甲鉗/眉鉗/醋的情況下，可以做的就只有浸熱水，又因為沒有膠盤，唯有用又闊又大的食物碟，加熱水來浸腳（host, I’m sorry）。
到了翌日，先去超市買了瓶白醋，一邊食早餐一邊浸，滿室酸香。但疑問又來了，到底，要浸多久？也不可能整天待在Apartment浸醋呀！要不去買針？但那麼多條刺，即使有針都不知要怎麼挑刺⋯⋯還是決定到診所/醫院看看。
Google一下，離Apartment10分鐘步程有一間診所，醫院的話會是3公里外。去診所途中見到有藥局，也進去問問，藥劑師說有軟膏可能有幫助，但如果緊急的話，還是建議我們去醫院。
於是，我們繼續找那間診所。奇怪，怎麼都看不見有門牌？找來找去都找不到，咖喱男也沒辦法：「算了吧！還是繼續旅程好了，應該沒什麼的。」正想放棄之際，一位老伯伯撐著柺杖過來：”xyz..blah blah blah…problem?”我們只聽得明”problem”。回他說：”um…doctor?hospital?”他就用柺杖指著某一方向說：”doctor!”呀～那就是說那附近真的有doctor啦，我們又回去多找一遍。終～於～，在一楝類似平民大廈的地下見到有寫著”dr. med. xxx”！
推門進去，有幾個人在等，問其中一個男人：「請問你會說英語嗎？」他似懂非懂，指著另一個女士，然後那位女士用流利英語問有甚麼可以幫忙，我們問：「哪裡是接待處？」她說：「沒有的呀，醫生開門，下個病人就進去。」我們把故事娓娓道來，她說：「通常我們是自己用針挑的，需要的是耐性啊！」
那時我們想，病人一直增加，又不知等到何時，每個當地人都說是自己用針挑，那我們是不是去買針好呢？不過那女士說：「既然你們都來到診所，就讓醫生看一下吧！」後來，醫生開門了，說了幾句我們聽不懂的話，那女士很熱心，跟醫生說我們的情況，然後醫生過來用英文問我們：”You need help?”我們把海膽腳照片給她看，她就問：「你有保險嗎？」幸好我們的保險連其他歐盟國都包，所以沒有問題！她說可以把刺清除，但我們需要坐下等一回。（太好了！當地人都很友善啊！）
等了也差不多半個小時，咖喱男進去躺在白色的手術床上，醫生就開始用針挑咯！咖喱男一邊倒抽涼氣，一邊問有沒有麻醉，醫生笑笑說：「沒有麻醉啊！」太慘不忍睹，我只好捉著咖喱男的手，跟他加油打氣，說很快就完啦，問他之後想吃什麼呀，但他似乎都用不到腦袋了。醫生也很細心，又有同理心，會問咖喱男是不是第一次來克羅地亞呀，家住哪裡呀，覺得德國新總理怎樣呀，都是為了分散他注意力啦。
醫生挑呀挑，咖喱男閉上眼很痛苦的樣子，我也幫不了什麼忙。結果也挑了有半個小時，挑出了十條八條大大小小、長長短短的海膽刺，咖喱男的腳板底變了一個一個血洞，看見我也覺得痛。問醫生：「上網有人說浸熱水浸醋都有用，真的嗎？」醫生十分幽默：「也有人說浸尿啊，要不要試試？」
醫生認為大條的要挑出來，很幼很細的那些可以待它自然排出，去海灘浸鹹水是有幫助的，建議我們不要怕去海灘。
挑過後，咖喱男說馬上好很多了。不過，過了幾天，他再細心摸摸腳板底，其實還有刺在裡面，所以他自行用針挑了兩三條出來。又過了幾天去打羽毛球，當有跳躍動作，腳底受壓，他又感到好像還有刺在裡面，於是又挑呀挑，挑了兩條出來。
這次，為了想驗證浸醋是否有用，他將兩條一粗一幼的刺浸在白醋（5%酸度）中。
實驗證明，浸醋真的可以將海膽刺溶解的啊！幼幼那一條，浸了白醋3個小時，都差不多完全溶解了！不過粗的那條仍然健在啊！如果單純地浸醋，恐怕要浸很多個小時吧，建議大條的還是要挑出來比較好。
後來我再看一下那個海灘的Google Review，也有人指出水中有很多海膽，被海膽刺傷。只怪我們沒有做好準備，對在海灘游泳又經驗不多，實在太大意了。
要避免被海膽刺傷，除了穿保護鞋外，也應避免腳踏水中或石上，建議是用游的方法或浮在水中，也要觀察一下其他人在哪裡游泳比較好。
Peter Parker被蜘蛛咬到變了蜘蛛俠，我問咖喱男：「你是不是變了海膽俠？」「是的。我的超能力就是腳底飛噴海膽刺！」
下一套Marvel啊，大家拭目以待！
