Since we began our 12-month trip, we had been having an absolute blast… it’s been so amazing seeing so much new stuff!! At the time, we were currently up to Thailand. We had just gotten to the tranquil mountains of Pai (Pronounced ‘Pie’) the day before, and we were at a beautiful quiet resort. We were enjoying it and wanted to see more of Pai, so we decided to take the resort’s 6:00pm shuttle into town. We had dinner, and went to a cake shop for dessert.

When we finished our scrumptious ice-creams, scones and brownies, a small roadside stall caught our eye. It had 5 large clay pots full of boiling water which were being fed by a pipe connected to a heating system in the roof of the stall. We thought we might try some if it seemed appealing enough. After all, you can always make an attempt, but if you miss that opportunity, it’s gone.

The lady serving the interesting refreshment didn’t speak much english, so we stood back for a while and observed. She pretty much used the boiling water to make tea. They were served in either a plastic cup, or in a bamboo cup that was slightly more expensive but had free refills included. We thought it would be special to have it in a bamboo cup, and besides, we could always get a refill later.

We chose the flavour “Jasmine mint tea”. It was quite sweet, but it was nice with lots of ice. We sipped on the drinks while cruising through the street for another 45 minutes. Towards the end of my drink, my stomach started having mild cramps. Naturally, I instantly blamed it on my diet, as I had eaten a lot of wheat and sugar that particular day. I vowed to eat healthy the next day. We had to meet the shuttle driver again to go back to the resort, so we headed back to the spot we were dropped off at. Unfortunately it started raining, so we waited at the front of a closed shop with an awning until the driver showed up. My stomach was still crampy, but it was still so mild I only remembered it every now and then.

We got back to the resort, and once bedtime came, the severity of the cramps increased. It got quite uncomfortable after time, and I messaged Mum on Facebook Messenger on my iPad. She told me to try taking a warm bath, so I did. It didn’t really work, but I was still crampy and didn’t feel like moving so I stayed in the bath for a bit longer until I was really tired. The cramps still didn’t fade, so I decided I had to try and sleep it off.

The next morning my cramps were still there. I was beginning to wonder whether I got a bug or virus from that bamboo drink, such as gastro. All I could do was rest in bed and drink my ginger tea Doug had gotten for me.

Throughout the day, the cramps started getting worse by the minute. I told mum they were getting worse, and she asked me where the cramps were. I showed her where they were, in the bottom right of my stomach. Mum started getting worried, and told me that when she got appendicitis as a 12-year-old, her cramps were in the same spot as mine. That made me a little worried!!

Lunch came and my cramps started getting really bad. It hurt to lie down, it hurt to move…pretty much everything hurt. Mum and Doug got worried and started looking into some nearby doctors. My stomach felt so horrible… I just wanted to get to that doctor! We asked the resort manager to drive us there, and he did. We got out of the car after being driven down a few blocks and walked to the doctor, and the resort manager told the lady at the desk in fluent Thai that I might have appendicitis. She told us the doctor wasn’t there and we’d have to go to the hospital, so the resort manager drove us there.

When we got there, I felt a little glad we were somewhere that could offer me medical help, but when I looked around properly I realised how bad the situation was. The main waiting room / entrance part was pretty much just concrete and looked like we were visiting a house on day 10 of construction. The things that made it look less like a concrete prison were the cheap plastic waiting chairs, and the front desk.

The nurses were cleaning up some people’s motorbike injuries, and when they finished, it was my turn to be diagnosed. They weighed me and put me onto a fold-out bed. They wanted to do a blood test (My first blood test). I was really worried because lots of people said blood tests hurt, but I looked away when they were about to do it. Mum was by my side trying to comfort me by talking, but I felt the prick and panicked a bit. It was a different feeling, but it didn’t hurt too much. When they had gotten enough blood, I was glad it was over!!

Shortly after they gave me a drip, which went on the inside of my left wrist. It hurt like heck, and my stomach was equally painful, so I just tried to think about other things to keep my mind off it. Soon the nurse came back over and told us something. I was expecting the exact thing she told me, but it still totally freaked me out.

They told me I had suspected appendicitis, but they weren’t sure and they said it would be easier if they could run more tests. Mum wanted to get me to a good hospital just in case, and to get some more PROPER testing, so we agreed to transfer to the ‘Bangkok Chaing Mai Hopital‘. It’s a great private hospital we found, but the only problem was that it was a 4-hour ambulance ride away. I was suuuuper nervous about what would happen, especially because it was night time and we had to ride down steep mountains. I felt so sad that we had to leave Pai early, because it’s a beautiful place. But all I could think about was the worsening pain in my stomach.

The pain got really bad by the time the ambulance was getting ready to go, and I also get car-sick fairly easily, so I wanted some painkiller if any was available, and maybe something to settle my stomach for the long ride. After consistent begging, they finally caved into letting me have some Valium, which settled my stomach. They gave me a smaller dose than average which didn’t work particularly well, but hey, it was better than nothing!!

After constantly waking and falling back asleep on the ride, I finally woke up after 4 long hours to heaps of commotion. The ambulance was pulling into the emergency care part of the hospital and they opened the door. they rolled me back out and took me into a room and put me on one of the many beds divided by curtains. They asked us for any information we had and they said it was likely to be appendicitis, but they wanted to run some tests to be sure. They did yet another blood test first off. And the best thing was, they later gave me an amazing painkiller.. Morphine!!! I felt it run through my veins because they injected it through a thing they put in the inside of my elbow, kind of like a tap leading straight to my veins. It soon felt like I was under a warm blanket… I fell in love immediately!! <3

After about 3 different tests it was clear that it was appendicitis. It was about 2:00am when the last one was done, and they said they would take me to my private ward before I was to have surgery at 9:00am. They took me there with Mum and I slept on and off until it was 9:00.

I woke up to the nurses talking. My eyes shot open and darted to the clock, and yes it was the one time I dreaded. 8:56am. The nurses wheeled me out to prepare me for surgery. Mum had to leave me, and when I got there, I was still sleepy from all the morphine I had. They put a mask over my mouth to get some oxygen (I think…!!), and then they injected me with something that made me fall asleep straight away. That was the last memory I had.

I woke up in a large, clean white room. There were no noises except for the steady beeping of heart monitors. Because of the morphine and whatever else they gave me for surgery, my memory was still fuzzy and my brain wasn’t woking so I worried about where I was for a second… I then saw a sign that said ‘Recovery Room’. I then remembered where I was. My first instinct was to lift the blanket and the bottom of my hospital shirt to see my wound, as I call it. I was surprisingly disappointed when I saw it was covered by a big square of waterproof bandage. I was so curious to see what it looked like!!

A nurse then came into the room and told me I had another 30 minutes to go until I could go to my ward. She left again, and that 30 minutes started to seemed like an eternity. While I waited, I studied the extremely painful drip in my hand, and by the time I figured out how it worked, i decided to kill the remaining 25 minutes with sleep.

I woke up again when the nurses told me I could go back to my ward to rest. I was so excited it was finally over and that i could see Mum again!! When they tried to get me to roll over onto the stretcher (with their assistance), I only just realised how intensely PAINFUL it was!! i eventually got onto the stretcher and was in my ward with Mum in no time. I was so glad and after telling mum all about it, I was so hungry. I asked the nurses if I could have some food, and they agreed, but it had to be a full liquid diet. I was disappointed but glad I could eat again!! (After all, I hadn’t eaten or had proper water for a full day!! Although it did suck, for the first time ever, I was glad I had the drip to keep me hydrated!!)

My very first hospital meal after a full day of starving: potato soup, some bread, jelly and some papaya. I learned that day I didn’t actually hate papaya as much as I thought I did!! I soon learned that I love papaya. Shortly after my meal, two nurses came in and asked me if I wanted to try having a shower. Once again I checked the bandage on my wound, and yes, it was waterproof. I was DYING to clean up a bit after the surgery and everything, so I thought it couldn’t hurt. It hurt heaps getting up and I felt quite dizzy, and extremely tired. After the nurses helped me to the bathroom, I sat down on the chair and waited while they left.

After the nurse left, I stood up again to get ready for the shower, when I noticed how hot it was in the bathroom… Before I knew it, I was sweating heavily. Soon the room started spinning and wherever I looked, I saw grey and dark green spots everywhere that obstructed most of my vision. I didn’t feel so well in my stomach so I sat down again and called mum. I couldn’t help the fact that I kept swaying from side to side- it just happened. I continued to sweat as mum made her way to the bathroom, and I told her I was extremely dizzy and wanted to lie down again.

Mum called the nurse with a little button in the bathroom and helped me stand up slowly. The nurse also came soon after and continued to help me. I felt almost like I was trying to see through cloudy water… I walked over to lean on the bathroom doorway, and I thought I did… Only I apparently didn’t make it.

It turned out I fainted… For the first time!! I regained slight consciousness again about a metre and a half from where I last remember being, and mum and about 5 other nurses were trying to carry me back to my bed. I realised, seeing as I was about as big as each of the small Thai nurses, I should attempt to help them a little so I carefully stood up and worked my way towards my bed. With the nurses’ help, I was soon lying back down on my bed. I still felt a bit off, and one of the nurses pricked my index finger with a small needle and tested my blood pressure, and it turned out I had low blood pressure. ‘Figures,’ I thought. I guess my meal wasn’t particularly nutritious in any way.

I saw another nurse opening a small plastic packet and she pulled out a cotton ball and waved it below my nose… It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever smelled!! It was strong, and I soon started to feel a bit better. Mum told me it was to help me to regain consciousness. As far as I knew, it sure worked!!

A few tests and checks later, the nurses all filed out of the room. I was glad to be alone with mum again!! I just wanted to sleep, nothing more… And so that’s what I did.

So it eventually came to me that morphine gave you hallucinations. Every time I would begin to drift off (or even closed my eyes for more than 30 seconds, for that matter!!), I would have a wacky hallucination. I don’t remember them exactly but I had about 8 before I was finally off the morphine.

The next few days passed quickly… By the next day I was on a soft diet, and then I was eating more solids in the last few days. On the second last day, They gave me a cute blue heart pillow (I call it a souvenir from the hospital!!).

Including the days I was admitted and discharged, I was in the hospital for a total of 4 days. By then I could walk fine on my own (but still slowly and carefully, of course!!). Thank god I healed quite quickly. Apart from checkups every 5 or so days to change my wound dressing, I was done with the hospital. To be honest, I kinda missed it. It was great having constant care while you rested!!

Although one thing I didn’t miss were the 2 nurses that tried to get me to shower the day after surgery. I know they were trying to help, but fainting wasn’t fun… Not to mention the pain I felt with each step!! But I don’t mind too much because I was soon able to do everything without any assistance.

After about 1.5 to 2 weeks after surgery, I took my wound dressing off for good. I had a small scar the length of 2 grapes, and it continued to heal over time. I was glad it was small, because another relative had a appendectomy scar that pretty much goes halfway across their whole stomach!!

So that pretty much wraps up the story of my first time in hospital (and fainting, blood tests, surgey, having a drip and much more!!). Not only was it a load of experiences but it made out to be one of my highlights of being in Thailand!! It wasn’t what I expected from a visit to Thailand at all, but when I look back on it, it was certainly fun!!

The post Hospital Time!! appeared first on Girl Around The World.

1. Dreams, Dreams, Dreams

At the breakfast table one morning, my brother Elijah brought up the topic of dreams, and told us he had a really odd dream the night before. It went something like this:

He was at a restraunt, and was standing around. Soon Wolverine (from X-men) came into the scene, and so did Four (Tobias) from the movie Divergent, and they had a big fight. Soon enough, another two heroes walked in; Captain America and Thor. They were smashing up furniture and having a big battle, then towards the end of the fight Elijah woke up.

Speak about wacky, hey??

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2. Sleeper Bus Toilet

We were going on a six hour trip on a sleeper bus (A bus where the seats are reclined back into a lying position, but like bunk beds; they had top rows and bottom rows) and we were on a moderately full bus. Near the back was the toilet; our seats were located next to the toilet. In Vietnam, the toilets aren’t as clean- they squat over them and hose the seat down with a water hose next to the toilet if they make a mess. The bus toilets are only cleaned once a day roughly, so we didn’t use them. That didn’t mean everyone else didn’t use them though.

Halfway through the trip, an old lady needed to use the bathroom. She went to the back and obviously didn’t use door handles often (or maybe it was the fact that the door was a bit heavy), because she was having trouble getting the door open. We leaned over and kindly helped her, and she walked in. But there was a problem- we noticed she DIDN’T CLOSE THE DOOR!! We expected her to close it, but she never did. So not only did the sound hit us, but the smell did too. We had no choice but to look out the windows until she’d finished. We wondered about this a bit- but we came to the conclusion that Vietnam was a different country, and probably lived differently. Shortly after our assumption, an old man came to the toilet and did the EXACT same thing.

3. The Train of Terror

Just so you know, it was definitely NOT fun, as you can gather from the title.

For further references, click here.

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4. Jaws

Snorkelling in Fiji was amazing, full stop. One time we were staying at a resort with great reefs, but you had to go quite far out to get to the best part. We never did research to find out about any dangers, because the reef was quite shallow and the drop-off was a good 10-20 minutes away from shore. The staff had told us it was perfectly safe if we stayed in the shallows.

I was with my mum snorkelling because it was a fine afternoon, and we didn’t see much marine life close to the beach because the waves were a little rough. It took us slightly longer to move out, as we were going against the waves; though eventually we got to the best part. We were having so much fun, and it was amazing because the coral was so bright and there were plenty of fish.

We eventually got absorbed in following a group of colourful parrotfish, and we followed them for quite some time. When we lost them, we were admiring a massive blue starfish with arms roughly 25cm long (9.84″).

I saw a clownfish and chased after it a little, but only just realised Mum wasn’t following me. I turned back and she was frantically trying to get my attention and was pointing upwards towards the surface. I lifted my head above the surface and took my snorkel out of my mouth. She told me “Don’t panic, but follow me. Go straight back to the beach, NOW!!”

I mean, of course that made me panic. I shoved my snorkel back in my mouth and adjusted my snorkel mask and submerged again. I looked behind me and saw the drop off, but I didn’t see anything unusual. I turned to Mum and followed after her. We got super tired- it was the fastest snorkel we ever did. Our legs were sore, and we were out of breath. Worst of all, I had no idea what I was running from! My first thought was SHARK.

We had come about halfway in, so I tapped mum’s shoulder and asked her what it was. She told me she had seen a big fish, but didn’t tell me more. The waves were rougher now we were closer to the beach, so we continued our journey back. When we got there, we sat on the edge of the water. While we were taking our snorkel gear off, she told me she saw a MASSIVE shark that was bigger than me. If I am 165cm (64.9″), you could imagine how big the shark was!! We walked up to mum’s boyfriend on the hammock, and he was wondering why we came in so quickly. We told him the story, and we all had a laugh… we’ve never snorkelled since…

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More funny stories coming soon!!

That’s about all for now- I’ll update this post when I get the chance. We are constantly having funny moments, so I’m sure there will be several more funny stories soon!!

Have you had any disastrous or funny trips?? Feel free to tell us about it!!

The post Funny and Horrific Moments While Traveling appeared first on Girl Around The World.

We didn’t realise at first quite how busy it was going to be, because in Vietnam it was their Reunification Day and they were all traveling for celebration. We only found that out once we got to the train station; it was absolutely packed in there. What we also didn’t realise was that a great, terrifying adventure started unraveling itself.

Along with all the noise and small amount of space, there was a lady who owned a small shop at the station, and she wouldn’t stop bugging us. She was all “Very good price!!” and “Buy food!!” at least 5 times. We had some bananas and yoghurts, and thought there would be food on the train, so we didn’t want any more snacks.

After 45 minutes of waiting, the train had arrived. We all walked across some train tracks with 7 suitcases and bags between us (something you wouldn’t do in Australia!!) and before going on board, we saw the toilet situation from the outside. Somebody must’ve been in there and flushed, and we observed that there wasn’t a tank for your business- there was only a pipe going out the side of the train, and it just flushed all your stuff onto the tracks. No wonder it was so smelly!!

Once we got on, we saw exactly how the train worked. There was a narrow corridor, roughly 45 cm (1.5 feet) wide and down the corridor were cabins. First class has 2 or 4 beds in each cabin, but as those tickets were booked out, we just had regular tickets. We found our cabin, and the door was centered in the room, and contains six- yes, SIX beds in such a tiny space. There was a narrow walkway between the two rows of beds, mounted on the walls like prison beds. There were 3 beds on each side, set out in 3 levels; top, middle, bottom. They had about half a meter of space between each one with a tiny ladder to climb up. The beds weren’t so clean, either!!

We got a bit worried at what we’d seen so far and together as a family we discussed staying at a hotel for a night then taking a private transport the next day- but unfortunately at that moment the train started moving. There was definitely no going back now.

There were two Vietnamese women that were waiting in our cabin since we boarded. They’d gotten there first, and they got first picks- of course, they picked the ones at the bottom. We soon discovered between these two, there were also 5 kids.

So, now along with the small, cramped space on the train, we had to find somewhere to put our luggage- Doug decided to put mum’s suitcase at his feet, Elijah had some backpacks at his feet and I had a backpack and my bag with me, then we were lucky to find a ledge above the door to put the rest of our luggage on.

Seeing as we had 4 tickets between the 5 of us, my baby sister Amaya had to sleep with Mum on a 1 meter wide bed. She was going through a stage of independence then, and wanted the whole thing to herself for the start of the trip, so mum had to sit up (well, try to, anyway…!!) and we had an uncomfortable start. So, we all took ‘terror selfies’ on our iPads and iPhones and tried napping to get time to pass. If we had 10 hours, we had to at least survive the beginning of it.

So anyway, I napped a little, blah blah blah. I soon realised in horror that I made the mistake of forgetting to use the bathroom before we left the hotel. I was a little worried to use the toilet there, especially after we’d seen the sleeping arrangement. So, just in case I decided to bring my shoes. It turned out to be a VERY good idea!! The toilet door handle was sticky, and it grossed me out a bit. But it was nothing to me once I actually opened the door.

***! If you get grossed out easily or are eating, I suggest you stop reading here !***

There was pee all over the seat and the floor, and the toilet wasn’t flushed. There appeared to be poop smudged on a wall somewhere. It also REEKED in there, it was just vile. What was worse, there was also a large window behind the toilet, and that part just sucked. So I stood there almost with my jaw touching the floor, and as the people waiting outside the door got restless, I decided to just pass for now.

Soon nature’s urge became even stronger, and I just had to go. I planned to take Amaya’s baby wipes and I went to the toilet. I thoroughly wiped the seat, and even then just in case, I just kinda hovered over the seat, also trying to stay low due to the window behind me- the train was stopped at a station, and only beginning to leave. I finished and didn’t wash my hands- the sink looked like somebody had done a #2 in there. It was gross. So, instead I used a baby wipe to clean my hands.

***! The gross part is over !***

Soon we also realised we had no food, and they were serving Vietnamese food we didn’t know, and it looked like street food they sell everywhere in Vietnam, so we didn’t have any. For the rest of the night, we were rationing off of a packet of chilli chips, a packet of Pringles, and 8 packets of mini cookie snack things. We were starving, but it wasn’t worth the risk!! It only sucked even more because we didn’t get to brush our teeth- who knows how dirty the train water was.

We got in to bed to attempt sleeping, but the whole way all we could smell was cigarette smoke, because unfortunately you get that in these countries. It was coming through the air vent up top, as people were probably smoking at platforms and in between carriages. Did I mention the vent was right next to my head as I was on a top bed?? I ended up with a spare piece of clothing over my nose!!

So, we had bit of a rough start. We all had a bit of a hard time sleeping of course, but we eventually drifted off. We had to then wake up at 2:00am to get of the train- we woke up 15 minuted beforehand, and that gave us plenty of time to gather and organize our luggage, then we waited at the door, getting ready to leave and retreat to our lovely hotel. We had to stand around a bit because the train took a while to stop, but when we were off, we were glad to be.

We hurried through the station to a taxi, where we got a ride to our hotel. They didn’t have any intentions of giving us a meal at 2:30 in the morning though- they told us to wait a few hours until breakfast. (It was a bit disrespectful, especially as we were paying guests). When we got to the rooms we were starving, but all had showers (and used lots of soap!!) because we all felt so dirty. We got into bed. Except, I have this weird thing where once I sleep then wake up, I can’t sleep again unless I’m sick, or until the next night. So i ended up staying up for several hours watching TV.

As you could tell, we were the first people to get to breakfast- although after reading this story, the least you can do is to not blame us. We ate a fair bit, although the food was unfortunately not that great and there wasn’t much. We just had the worst luck that day, but fortunately for us, the bad luck was wrapped up there with the housekeeping blaming us for stealing a towel (it was hanging behind the door).

So, was that a lesson?? Yup. 1) Don’t travel by train in Vietnam, especially during peak season. 2) If you NEED to take a train, bring food!!

3) Use a bathroom before you board..!!

We highly recommend against traveling by train, but that’s up to you. Who knows?? You may be able to have your own adventure. At least it’s cheap!!

The post Train of Terror appeared first on Girl Around The World.

“Travelling is great. I do sometimes miss my friends and my life back home, but travelling for a year gives me time to plan my new future bedroom, and it gives me time to turn over a new leaf and plan things out again. ( It’s a good time to set goals too, like for me, it’s ‘not doing your homework at last minute’..!!). To be honest, I don’t actually miss anything much, because my friends and relatives can keep in touch online, and i’m always making more friends during our travel… anyway, i’m always too busy having and making the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to even think about anything else. I’ll live in the present, and when it comes to our trip ending, I can catch up with my friends again – except i’ll have tonnes of cool stories and memories to share with them!!”

As Mentioned in the First Paragraph; My Future Bedroom Plans!! (Don’t Blame me if i’m Crazy!!)

Since i’ve been travelling, i’ve thought of a great idea. Have you ever got the feeling your bedroom was boring and old?? Well, I did for a long time, so when we get back, i’m planning to get rid of EVERYTHING (apart from a few small souvenirs and gifts…!!) and I want to sell it in a garage sale or perhaps online. Then, i’m planning to sleep on a blow-up mattress on the floor of my empty bedroom, all my clothes and toiletries in a suitcase, and slowly re-create my room from top to bottom. The good thing will be, I’ll already have a bit of money saved up from selling my previous furniture. I’ll want to add some cool features, like a few beanbags and a small sofa or armchair to create a gaming corner, a large bookcase to fit all my books, and finally a TV, which i’ll also save up for a large cabinet to go with it; I want it to be full of movies so I’ll have an endless supply. I know it sounds a little crazy, and like a complete dream. But I mean, if i’ve survived the horrific traffic in Vietnam, even though I felt like I was in Death Lane each time I crossed the road, I reckon I could do anything if I put my heart to it!!

Here’s my favourite quote;

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.”

- Anthony Robbins

The post I’m Just Thinking… (Updated) appeared first on Girl Around The World.

On our taxi trip to our resort, the taxi was like a maxi taxi (minivan), and I found out we didn’t need to wear a seatbelt (Which I thought was a little crazy..!!), and I made sure to sit at the back so I could turn around and look out of the back window. I gazed up and down the unique mountain formations which were covered almost top to bottom in vines and green plants, thriving on top of one another. I started to become curious over wether they had to fight each other over sunlight! Soon we got to a bridge that went over part of a beach- i’d have to admit, the beaches in Vanuatu were nothing compare to Fiji. The sand wasn’t really sand… I thought it was maybe volcanic ash mixed with lumpy rocks and coarse sand? I wasn’t quite sure, but I was sure when I started missing Fiji’s nice sand.

As we drove through a small town,I started to think that Vanuatu was a little bit richer than Fiji was. Soon, something caught my eye- I saw a large stone feature sticking out of the ground between some houses. I started seeing more, and asked the taxi driver what they were. He started telling our family that they were graves, and the village’s ancestors were buried there; he also mentioned that people lived so close to their graves because they liked the feeling of ‘being in their ancestors’ presences’. It was quite interesting to learn about some of the cultures as we travelled.

Once we arrived at our resort, Poppy’s on the Lagoon, I started to forget that weren’t in Fiji anymore; it felt so similar. All I did when we settled into our room was walk out the front and have a nice peaceful swim in the lagoon under the evening sun; at least some parts of Vanuatu will remind me of my first and favourite destination, Fiji.

The post Our Second Destination- Comparisons appeared first on Girl Around The World.