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.

When 2 days finally passed, I was REALLY excited. We found out the Wiggles were Performing live in Dreamworld that day, so we thought Amaya would love that. I looked at a map of the place, and it was insane. It was so big, and it had a variety of rides, so you had several levels of thrill to choose from. As soon as we finally got through the never-ending ticket lines out the front of Dreamworld, We saw a maze of rides everywhere. I was so excited!! We were just on time for the Wiggles, so we made our way through the crowds to get to Mum’s friend we were meeting there. She was right up near the front of the stage, so it gave us an excuse to cut to the front!! I didn’t really care about the Wiggles, but it was pretty cool to be seeing them live.

When the show was over, we made our way into the main part of Dreamworld just out the front of the gates. It was a large round courtyard lined with several shops and restraunts. We wandered about for a little bit and I saw what I was looking for – the candy shop. It was the  biggest candy shop i’d ever seen, and it had about every single type of candy I could think of!! It was a complete sugar galore. I took $20 out of my purse, split the money between my brother and I, and off we went!!

As a group, our family and Mum’s friend’s family wandered to the first part of Dreamworld’s rides. Something caught my eye – The Giant Drop. It was basically an 8-seater ride that took you almost 40 stories up a large tower, then sped down at around 135 km/h. It was the world’s largest freefall ride. I looked up at it, and thought, ‘You only get to live once, so you better make the most of it!’. So… you can guess exactly what I did next!! My brother, Mum’s friend’s husband and I went right up to the line. We were told it was a 15-minute wait from where the line was, and I was slightly disappointed, because I wanted to get it over and done with before I started having second thoughts!!

After a painful 15 minutes of waiting, the staff running the ride pulled the gate open and let us in. It was finally our turn!! We put all our loose clothing pieces and items in our pockets into lockers, then we were strapped into our harnesses. On the way up I was so excited I couldn’t stop bouncing up and down in my seat!! Mum’s friend’s husband, on the other hand, was swearing like a madman on the way up!! As we rose off the platform, I could see more and more of Queensland with every second passing. The views were breathtaking!! I could see the mountain lines, I could see little towns, and I could even see the cars in the Dreamworld carpark that were parked in illegal spots due to a full carpark. At the top it was a little windy and a bit colder than on the ground. They held us up there for about 10 seconds to absorb the view, and in the middle of the serenity I forgot where we were… until we started dropping at 135 km/h!! I held onto the harness so tightly both of my arms just wanted to die. I felt like I was going fly upwards out of my harness!! My eyes were wide the whole way down, and I didn’t remember anything apart from screams around me; the drop was so fast that my brain only registered the memory after we stopped again at the bottom!! I was a little shaky when I stood up at first, but I had no regrets. I just had to have done that ride, no matter what!! It was such an amazing experience.

The next rides we went on were some water rides, where we were either in a round wheel of wood or a large log, and went down fast rapids and small waterfalls. They didn’t give me as much thrill- but anyway, I thought nothing could beat The Giant Drop. Well at least that’s what I thought, until the next thrill ride we went on.

So, it was called the Tower of Terror II for a reason, as I found out. The 16-seater ride bolts backwards for about 100 metres at roughly 160 kilometres per hour, then up the side of the same tower The Giant Drop was situated on until you were halfway up,  sitting horizontally in your seats, facing the ground. Then, it launches you forward at the same speed you went backwards until you stop at the end. It sounds simple, but it was extremely thrilling to ride on!! The ride was so loud you could hear the vehicle rushing along the rails all around Dreamworld – that’s an idea of how fast it goes.

When we were all strapping ourselves into our harnesses, three people chickened out at last second. At least we had extra room!! Soon in our narrow chamber of concrete and steel, red lights turned on, giving the feeling we were in a launchpad. I squealed in delight as I waited for us to move- and boy, we did!! We blasted backwards and went from 0km/h to 161 km/h in just seconds, and everybody was SCREAMING. Really loudly. Before I knew it, We were going backwards, and up- it wasn’t long before we were facing the ground. my eyes were set wide and i couldn’t narrow them, and i could barely blink!! Nobody could stop screaming, even in the small vertical stop of about 2 seconds, before we went flying forwards at the same speed we came backwards. The narrow tunnel created an illusion, and it appeared almost impossible to fit back into; on the way in, I tucked my head down close to my body because I was worried about hitting the top!! What I didn’t know was that I screamed so much that my throat hurt to talk. I also didn’t know that they had a camera that took a picture of us on the way down, and i couldn’t really see my face… my hair was everywhere!! That ride was my favourite, and I just wanted to ride it again!!

The next thrill ride we went on was Pandamonium. It’s where we were in these cart type things and we spun around in circles slowly. It’s not so scary, you say?? Wait until it wildly swings you side-to-side and upside-down!! There were sheds and bamboo trees around us and as we swung, I felt like I would hit them because they appeared closer than they were!! I have to say though, I felt that this ride was the slowest and least thrilling out of all the thrill rides.

The final thill ride we went on, and the final ride we went on, was The Claw. It’s where you are strapped into harnesses on the outside of a circular metal frame, and it swings you at about a 45 degree angle, while the circular frame spins at the same time. Every time I swung, I either felt like I was touching the sky on the way up, or about to scrape the ground on the way down. It was an extremely fun ride, and was a good last ride at Dreamworld.

After a long day, we stayed overnight in a hotel at the airport, then we went off to our next destination, which you will find more about soon!!

Dreamworld Fun Pictures!

Now, picture time!! (I didn’t get many as I was too busy on the rides!! )

The Wiggles came to Dreamworld, too!!

One of my favourite rides at Dreamworld, The Claw (Details…)

The Tower of Terror !! (You can see the white reinforcements for The Giant Drop’s rails, and the rails for the Tower of Terror II on the side; if you follow it down into the trees, you can see where it curves.)

Buzzsaw (Sadly was closed for safety reasons… I wanted to go on this one!! We still had fun at Dreamworld though!!)

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“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.

My name is Marisa, and I am 12 years old. I was supposed to be starting year 7 this year, but my mum came up with a great idea – our family is now travelling the world for a whole year!!

I believe travelling is a great experience, and it is also educational; along the way, there will be so much to learn about different countries and cultures. I’m really looking forward to seeing so many new places!

In my blog, I’ll be sharing my experiences and thoughts, and a few cool things I learn on my trip, to show how much travelling can teach you.

Join my family on our adventure around the globe!

The post Hi Everyone! I’m Girl Around The World appeared first on Girl Around The World.