Hello Young Adventurers!

Locations Visited: Thailand-Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Chiangmai

Language Spoken: Thai

Words Learned: Hello- สวัสดี (Sawadee Ka/krab), Thank You-ขอบคุณ (Kob-kuhn Ka/Krab).
***When speaking, if you’re male you use “krab” (Krahb), and if you’re female you use “Ka”

Welcome to Thailand! A country that spans beautiful, misty mountain ranges, to tropical clear islands with beautiful temples and delicious food along the entire way.  The land oozes with ancient history and stunning scenery that I was excited to discover and experience, and I was fortunate to make a friend that I got to experience it all with!  This leg of the journey brought out some bucket list goals being checked off, new friendships, and even a surprise hospital stay for a few days.  So let’s not wait any longer and dive on in- grab a coconut and let’s go!

Bangkok, Thailand

I got off the plane super early in the morning from India and decided to catch a bus rather than take a taxi to my hostel.  Little did I know, this would be one of the best decisions I would make during this entire year of travel.  While on that early morning bus, sleepy and just wanting a warm shower and some food, I started a conversation with a Canadian girl who was heading to the same hostel.  Her name was Gillian, and we began talking and decided it would be fun to explore a bit together while we were both in Bangkok.  We arrived off the bus and were immediately greeted by a shining, golden temple which only made me more excited to get out and explore despite being so tired.  We dropped off our stuff, changed into new clothes, and headed out to visit the Grand Palace where the king resides.

They weren’t kidding when they called this palace Grand.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  Gillian and I had a great time exploring the grounds, walking around the temples and admiring the golden decorations that were on every building we saw.  Built around 1782, this palace served as the seat of the government until 1932 when absolute monarchy was abolished and the government functions moved to different locations.  There is still a king and royal family, though, and they reside here at various times of the year.  We explored for a bit longer, and then headed out to head off to our next spot!

Gillian and I then got on a small boat and crossed the river so that we could go explore Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), a famous and beautiful Buddhist temple.  Completed somewhere before 1656 BCE, the final touches were completed in the mid-nineteenth century.  This temple is just beautiful, and unfortunately you can’t just go inside.  We had fun exploring around it, though.  Afterwards we grabbed ourselves some smoothies and navigated our way through the neighborhood before eventually slowly making our way back towards our hostel.  

That night we went to a restaurant near the hostel that is famous for it’s Pad Thai.  There was a line out the door, and we knew it would be worth the wait for our first official Thai meal.  It did not disappoint.  I would say this was one of the best meals I had on the entire journey up until this point.  Belly full, and happy, I headed off to sleep.  Gillian and I had a big day planned for the next day!

Ayutthaya (Day Trip)

Gillian had planned to do a day trip from Bangkok to the temple complex of Ayutthaya and I knew I had to tag along.  After a beautiful train ride through the Thai countryside, we arrived and jumped on a tuktuk (small motorized vehicles) and began our exploring!  Ayutthaya was an ancient Siamese kingdom that was around mainly between 1350 and 1767.  Nowadays, the site is mainly a tourist destination with remains of all of the various Buddhist temples scattered around.  Our stops included Wat Chai Watthanaram, Wat Mahathat, Wat Phanan Choeng, Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Ratchaburana, and Wat Lokaya Sutharam.  The word Wat comes up with each name and is another word for Temple. 

There were so many different sites we visited in 20-40 minute spurts, that I’m not going to break each one down.  Instead I’ll hit the highlights of the day and break down some parts of the temples.

Prangs: Tall towers built as part of the temple.  The various Wat of Ayutthaya have some pretty amazing prangs.  Check them out!

Buddha Images:  There were some really beautiful and special Buddha images throughout Ayutthaya.  Some of my favorites were the Sleeping Buddhas and the Buddha Head in the tree roots of Wat Mahathat.  There were countless other statues scattered throughout the temples.  Check them out below and see what differences and similarities you can find between each one!

We left as the sun began to set, and headed back to Bangkok!  The rest of my time in Bangkok was spent basically eating and wandering the small streets of the city until we headed off to islands!  

Phuket, Thailand (1 Day)

Okay, so this began a total bucket list few days.  I’ve always dreamt of going to tropical islands and swimming in the crystal clear waters.  Gillian and I were so excited about it, and we immediately headed for a day at the beach the morning after we arrived.  I won’t lie- not much happened while we were here.  We basically spent the day swimming in the ocean, eating good food, and wandering through a night market.  Our stay here was super short because we decided to make our way to another set of islands.

Koh Samui (1 Day)

Okay, so this is when the tropical dream really began.  Gillian and I were so excited about arriving here, and knew we wanted to explore as much of the island as we could. Our hostel was right on the water, which made for beautiful breakfast views, and it only made me want to go see more.  We decided to rent a motor scooter, which was a little terrifying.  I had never driven one before, but I knew I had to learn if we wanted to see as much of the island as possible!  Fortunately, a kind girl named Olivia was able to give me a lesson before I took off for the day.

It definitely paid off in the end!  We spent the entire day going to a few bueaitufl beaches, eating more good food, and then ended up seeing one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.  We wanted to spend more time here, but we decided last minute that we were going to take a ferry to the next island so that we could learn how to be SCUBA DIVERS!  Y’all…I was so excited!  Little did I know the adventure that was ahead because of it.

Koh Tao (5 Days)

We got off the ferry in the afternoon and went straight to the diving school to check in and put down our bags in the hostel that was part of it.  I’m not going to lie- I hadn’t been this excited in a long time, and I couldn’t wait to get certified and explore the underwater world.  It was also nice to get to be a student again for a few days!

The course started immediately that night with some videos and classroom time.  Nothing too crazy, and so I headed to bed afterwards ready to get started the next morning.  The next day included more classroom time learning about the science and safety that is important fo scuba diving.  Have you ever swam in the pool and felt your ears hurt when you dive really deep?  Pressure builds really quickly as you go deeper in the water, and without proper training you can get really hurt as a result.  The body has to adjust as you go down and back up.  If you aren’t careful and trained, you can get really sick and/or hurt.  

Although it’s never fun to just sit and have to learn the information, it was definitely important, and I was so excited when we were finally done and ready to get in the water!  We learned about our equipment- what’s what, how to set everything up, and how to test everything to make sure it’s working properly.  Normally our first dive is done in a pool to make it safer, but the pool was currently being repaired.  I was so excited to get to get into the actual ocean earlier than expected! 

We packed our gear, got on a boat, and headed off to our first dive site.  Jumping off the boat in gear the first time was pretty scary, I won’t lie, but that fear quickly went away as soon as I saw all the fish swimming through the water below.  We floated along the surface until we got to shallow water, and began our first dive!  We practiced a bunch of skills here, like finding our regulator (the piece that gives us air) if it gets knocked out, clearing our masks of water, learning how to share air while underwater if someone runs out, and other important skills.  Being underwater was incredible, but I’ll share more on that in a bit! I also made friends with another traveler named Katie who is a singer from London! She became my dive buddy for the next few days while Gillian enjoyed the sun and the rest of the island during the week!

We finished up, headed back, and watched the sunset before going to bed.  The next day was much of the same for a while- more class time learning about technique and safety with a final test afterwards.  With the theory behind us, we got to finally jump on a boat and head out for our first two official dives!  Unfortunately I have no underwater photos, but this first dive was incredible.  We saw lionfish, giant grouper, tons of tropical fish, anemone, corals, and so much more.  There was something so peaceful about just floating through the water about 30ft down.  I never wanted to have to come up.  The fish were just so beautiful, and everything was so calm.  I wish I could describe how much I loved being underwater, but there just aren’t words for it.

We had another dive that evening and 2 more the next morning, and then we were officially certified Open Water Scuba Divers!  I loved it so much, though, that I decided too stay for the Advanced Course.  This course started the next morning, and we did a bunch of specialty dives.  We dove down to almost 90ft deep!  We also learned how to navigate effectively underwater, swam around a shipwreck, and dove in the dark at night!  That last one was a bit scary, but it was incredible.  When we got to the bottom of the ocean, we turned off our flashlights.  I was a bit nervous, but when we did we saw all of the phytoplankton light up every time we moved!  They use bioluminescence to glow, and it actives when they get agitated.  It made the water look like we were surrounded by a seas of stars!  This island’s beauty was unreal, and Gillian and I were sad to leave and to have to say goodbye to Katie the next morning.

Chiang Mai/ Back to Bangkok!

The next morning Gillian and I headed off to the mountains.  Our time swimming and enjoying the sun in the islands was amazing, and we knew if we didn’t make ourselves move on, we would never leave.  This is where everything went downhill… and it went downhill quickly.  There’s a rule with diving that is super important, and although I didn’t break the rule, I definitely should have paid better attention.  You aren’t supposed to fly at least 18-24 hours after your most recent dive because your body needs to take time to get rid of nitrogen that builds up in your system when you’re diving underwater.  Basically imagine a soda bottle: when you shake it up and open it quickly, what happens?  Bubbles form and it fizzes over.  Well, the nitrogen can do that in your system, and flying too soon after a dive is basically the same as opening the soda bottle too quickly.  You have to let that pressure out slowly or it bubbles over.  Well, unfortunately we learned my body does not like to get ride of nitrogen, and although it was 18 hours after my last dive that I got on the plane, it wasn’t enough time.

This creates what called “depression sickness” or “the bends.”  It can be very serious, and the only treatment is laying in a hyperbaric chamber which puts pressure back on your body and allows it to clear out the nitrogen safely.  I was getting really sick, and Gillian helped me get to the hospital the morning after we landed in Chiang Mai.  From there, they told me I had to take an overnight bus immediately to Bangkok since that was where the nearest hyperbaric chamber was.  I jumped on the bus that night, and got to the hospital the next morning in Bangkok.  The doctor had me immediately get in the chamber, and I had 4 sessions in total over the next 2 days.  Fortunately, we got in the chamber before anything serious happened, and I was able to recover quickly.  

Here’s the lesson, though, friends- you need to listen to your teachers when they give you warnings and information.  My instructors told me to play it safe when it comes to flying after the dive, and I should have taken it more seriously.  I didn’t break the rule, but I also could have given my body more time.  I was lucky that I didn’t get more injured and that the nurses and doctors were so kind and helpful.  This was by far the most scared I’ve been this entire journey, and there was something really scary about being in a hospital in a foreign country by myself.  I couldn’t have gotten everything figured out without my mom and friends helping me from back home, and the nurses who made sure everything I needed was taken care of and would help translate for me when needed.  Once I was cured and cleared to go, I jumped back on a bus and headed back to Chiang Mai to meet up with Gillian again for a few more days of adventures before leaving for the next country!

Chiang Mai (For real this time)

TAKE 2!  Healed and decompressed, I was so excited to get back to the adventure after spending so much time laying around in a hospital. Gillian and I immediately hit the ground running with a day trip around the region where we got to see the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) and take a boat to a market in Laos.  I won’t lie- I was pretty exhausted still so I don’t remember much, but I do remember how stunning the White Temple was.  It was completed and opened to the public in 1997, and it was unreal.  I could describe it, but words can’t capture how beautiful it is.  Check it out below and see what you think!

At the end of the trip, we got to also take a boat at the “Golden Triangle” which is a fork in the river where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.  The boat took us to a small market in Laos, and then we returned home and rode a few hours back to Chiang Mai.

Our next morning we got up and took an all day Thai cooking class!  We made Pad Thai, mango sticky rice, Thai curry, papaya salad, and soup!  We got to explore the garden, walk around a local market and learn about where the ingredients come from, and then spent a few hours preparing and eating our meal!  We had so much fun here, and the food was amazing.  I’m so excited to get to make it again when I get home.  I know it will be nice when I am having those days where I’m missing traveling. 

Thailand was an incredible adventure, and I was lucky to get to spend it all with a new friend that will be a friend for the rest of my life.  Gillian is a a great person, and I could not have gotten through the decompression sickness experience without her support and help.  So much happened in these 3 weeks, and there is no way I can share it all here or else this post would be even longer!  I’m off to Hong Kong next to get some work done for later in the trip, and I’m going to be meeting up with a special guest: another wandering Weavil!  I can’t wait to share it with you, but for now I’m going to end this rollercoaster of a post. 

Have Courage, & Be Kind,

Mr. Weavil