We left the idyllic floating bungalows and went on a two and a half hour drive to our final destination--the beach resort. The first night we were in one resort, and then the next three nights we were to stay at one down the beach. This was clearly the part of the trip I would excel at, because, duh. We got to the resort around 4:00, got settled and did some exploring. See, that's the hotel's New Years/Christmas display. Pretty cool, huh?
Around 5:30pm, however, disaster struck. And by disaster, I mean every traveler's worst nightmare--I got sick. Very sick. Very very very sick. Stomach bug/virus/parasite/bacteria/whoknowswhat sick. I was sick for hours and hours with no end in sight and it just kept getting worse. Somewhere in the midst of it all I remember being really glad Dave had already proposed, or he surely would have rethought the whole "forever" thing with me. He saw some things that cannot be unseen. The only other thing running through my head during this time was the chicken soup with little chunks of chicken in it that I had at the floating bungalows. The same chicken soup that Dave DIDN'T eat. Even typing it now makes my stomach flip.
Anyways, after lots of back and forth telemedicine with Dave's dad in the US (thanks Gary!) we decided it would be best that I see a doctor. However, at this point it was about 10:00 at night and there were no doctors. My only option was the hospital. Since I was in so much pain, was shaking like crazy and had lost so much water, we had no choice and headed out to our next adventure--exploring the Thai medical system. On the way, the really nice cabdriver confirmed my diagnosis and said it must have been something I ate in Khao Sok. The rest of the way, he was just worried I'd puke in his car (which I did not, thank you).
We got the hospital. This was no Mt. Sinai, guys. This was not even St. Vincent's (and I mean after it was condemned). This was a hospital/mass casualty zone. I don't really even know what that means, but you can see for yourself:
At the time, I didn't tell Dave to take a picture, because talking was a lot of effort (further proof I was REALLY sick--when do I not talk?), but I remember wanting to tell him to take a pic because I knew at some point this would be really funny. Dave pulled through and took a photo even without me asking. What a nice guy!
The doctors(?) gave me some much needed meds for my pain, fluids for my dehydration, and treated my fever with some very special stuff they called Tylenol (all double checked over the phone by Dave's dad, Gary the Hero). About two hours later we took the thirty minute cab ride back to our hotel, laden with a panoply of Thai medicines to ease my symptoms. All of this cost $8.50 USD Don't worry, they gave me a form to file with my insurance when I get back to the US.
The next two days were pretty much a blur. We switched hotels. I slept a lot. I watched some Sons of Anarchy on Dave's iPad. I slept some more. Basically, whatever was in this chicken soup at the floating bungalows had run me over like a semi and I was totally and utterly wiped out. Dave spent those next two days mostly watching me to make sure I didn't die (spoiler--I did not). He also dispensed the panoply of Thai medicines to me. He was a real trooper and a great nurse. He also spent some time alone on the beach, watching the sunset, while I was passed out:
Slowly but surely, I came around. On the 31st we went to the beach for a few hours. Dave found a cool hermit crab for me:
We then went to a really odd New Years Eve party thrown by our hotel. Needless to say, I did not make it to New Years--but made a decent showing, all things considered.
On our last day at the beach I was finally feeling back to normal. Back to conquering the resort, Erica! I went into the ocean and in literally under a minute was stung by a jellyfish on my entire left leg. It was at this point, I quit trying to excel in Khao Lak. I just sat in one place and read my book for the rest of the trip while Dave googled "how to get your fiancee out of Thailand alive."
Dave's googling worked and yesterday we got out of Thailand alive! We spent the night in Taipei and are exploring the city today until we leave for NYC at 7:30 tonight. Here's some pics from Taipei (which is a really cool city. one with no jellyfish and hopefully no parasitic food)
I hope you all enjoyed our blog. It was a great trip with some really memorable moments! See you back in NYC!
Dave's googling worked and yesterday we got out of Thailand alive! We spent the night in Taipei and are exploring the city today until we leave for NYC at 7:30 tonight. Here's some pics from Taipei (which is a really cool city. one with no jellyfish and hopefully no parasitic food)
I hope you all enjoyed our blog. It was a great trip with some really memorable moments! See you back in NYC!