From Chill Mode to Ambulance Adventure on Koh Samui
We are now two weeks into our big adventure: twelve months traveling across Southeast Asia while building an online business and training to become scuba Divemasters and hopefully instructors one day.
Our first stop? The tropical island of Koh Samui in Thailand.
We landed at the cutest airport ever: small, open, surrounded by palm trees, with a vibe almost like a holiday park. Fun fact: the airport is privately owned and domestic flights to and from Samui basically always cost the same.
Arriving on Samui reminded us immediately how easy traveling here is. On every corner someone is yelling: “TAXI?!”
So we said yes to a “TAXI?” and a little later we arrived at our resort, cooled down to a wonderful 18 degrees thanks to the air conditioning in the car.
The first days: resting. Well, kind of...
The first few days were meant for relaxing and catching our breath. Both of us had a couple of busy, stressful weeks behind us so we figured some R and R was well deserved.
Day one: chill mode.
Day two: we planned to go diving and maybe see a few sights.
But as often happens in life, things did not go exactly as planned.
First sight-seeing stop: the emergency room
We did not go diving because Thessa apparently really wanted to see the inside of the local emergency room. She decided not to drink enough water and fainted from dehydration.
And what an experience it was. We got a ride in an ambulance, fluffy white slippers for Thessa, she got to try out an IV and as a bonus received a new tetanus shot. Incredible!
The reality behind the adventure
All jokes aside, it turns out Thessa had probably drunk too little water, but we also discovered that the bottled water that’s sold here contains zero minerals. It is literally just “wetness”. Without minerals, the body cannot absorb or retain water properly, making dehydration a real risk. Combine that with a hard fall on the street and you end up in shock.
That is how we ended up at Wattanapat Hospital on Koh Samui. I have to say, I was really impressed with the emergency department and staff. They were friendly, helped us with the insurance, and the whole place was clean, modern and professional.
If you come from a Western country, you might have certain ideas about healthcare abroad, but this was a reassuring experience. Everything went smoothly, we were well taken care of, and there was never any stress or confusion.
Insurance peace of mind
It is worth mentioning that we have a travel insurance plan from FBTO, specifically for a twelve month trip. It was handled brilliantly. We just called the emergency number and they took care of the rest. No hassle, no stress, just great service. That gave us real peace of mind at a tense moment.
After a few hours, Thessa was able to return to the resort. She rested and quickly started feeling much better.
The reality behind the adventure
As if a ambulance adventure was not enough for one day, we also went to Central Samui Shopping Mall because Thessa had broken her phone earlier when she fell.
A new day, a new phone, fully charged and ready for the next chapter of our travel adventure.
To be continued.
