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My hostel in Pai |
My next stop after the forest Monastery was Pai. I had heard a lot about this place with its magical vibe and I was looking forward to going there. Unfortunately nothing worked out like I wanted it to and I didn't really get to experience the magic in Pai but rather the toilet from my hostel and the hospital.
Originally the plan was to take the yellow bus from the Monastery to Pai but the bus was full so we decided to hitchhike the 70 km to Pai. We were 9 people but we split up. It didn't take long until we got a ride. A very nice local in a Pick-up stopped and we jumped on the back of the truck with all the backpacks. At first I really enjoyed the ride. We four girls were sitting outside on the truck bed and Zac was inside. It was still early in the morning so the air was nice and cool.
The road from Mae Hong Son to Pai is very very windy and it goes up and down all the time. It didn't help that our lovely driver was speeding around the corners and we had to try our best not to fall off and so it didn't take long until I started feeling really sick. Usually I don't get car-sick easily but this trip was a challenge for me. For all of us.
The more we came into the mountains, the more smoke was in the air from all the recent bush fires. However we got some very scenic views on the scenery.
It was a long drive. Somehow we survived and one and a half hour later we were in Pai. When I jumped off the truck I was so relieved but literally green in my face. I would do it again though, it was a lot of fun!
Pai is a very nice place. It is like a small village in the forest but full of tourists, markets and cute little cafes and bars. There is also a lot of music, everybody is friendly and happy and it seems like everyone knows everyone. There is a nightmarket every night with delicious and cheap food and all sorts of things you can buy where we went to in the evening. There is one guy who sells super delicious bruschetta with loads of guacamole and salsa! I love avocado!
My plan was to train Muay Thai again in Pai. So on the next morning I went to my first Muay Thai session at Charn Chai Muay Thai. It was great. Like the training in Phuket it was really tough and I was sweating a lot but the gym is smaller and a bit overcrowded. The trainers are funny and they focus a lot on technique something I really appreciated.
We didn't manage do go into the same hostel together but we ended up hanging out a lot at Pai Cat Hut, the hostel where I ended up staying. We enjoyed bonfires together and I learned playing the Ukulele (well, I tried).
I was really tired after my first training session. It was hard to train so much after 10 days of meditation. I still went to the second training class in the afternoon but I had a weird feeling in my stomach and I felt like I would have to throw up. It didn't help that we had to do kicks in the stomach during training.
After the training I felt a lot worse and I had to throw up. I spent almost the whole night in the bathroom and I was feeling sick the whole next day and the day after. First I assumed I would have food poisoning but I ate pretty much the same like the others and they were completely fine.
I seriously have never felt worse in my life. Luckily all of my lovely friends took very good care of me and brought me medicine and electrolytes. I spent two days in bed instead of training. On the third day I started feeling better and so we went to the pool in Pai, a very nice place for relaxing and to cool down from the hot weather. We had at least 36°C every day. I really enjoyed the pool and I was feeling completely fine. I decided I would go and train on the next day. But when I woke up my eye lids were swollen so that I could not properly open my eyes. After I had a shower I also discovered a very itchy rash all over my body. It looked like an allergic reaction.
I felt very uncomfortable and since the hospital was only 200m away from my hostel I decided to see a doctor.
I could not belive what was going on. Why did that all happen now? Why everything at once?
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I was feeling pretty bad |
After I filled in all the registration details and talked to a few nurses it was time to wait. Finally it was my turn to talk to the doctor. He was a very young man and he could speak a little bit english but I could hardly understand him, mainly because of the face mask he was wearing. He ordered an injection against the rash and he also prescribed me antibiotics against the infection which I had on my stomach (just a small spot). I had to lay down on one of the hospital beds right next to all the other hurt people, there where no partitions to separate us.
While I was waiting for my injection I had time to observe the hospital. It was a very old building and nothing compared to our western standards. All the nurses were super stressed and overworked. There were a lot of patients waiting. There was also a lot of chaos, I don't know how they could find the right things because everything was a mess. The sink was also dirty and the plates where they had their instruments on looked a hundred years old. But anyway, I guess I am just a spoiled western girl with too high expectations.
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Waiting in the hospital bed |
Finally I could leave the hospital. The rash was completely gone and I was totally fine the whole day! I have no idea what they injected me but it worked - credit to the hospital!
I could even eat something.
So instead of training and enjoying my life in Pai I was laying in bed the whole time. I guess that was just a sign from my body that it is enough. From living 10 days in the Monastery, meditating every day and hardly training to four hours of super tough muay thai on one day was too much.
There are some borders even I can not cross.
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Typical shop in Pai |
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New friend in Pai |
I took the mini van from Pai to Chiang Mai and in Chiang Mai I decided to go to the hospital again because every step hurt.
This time the hospital was way more modern and a lot bigger. The nurses were really friendly to me and the hospital itself seemed to be a lot cleaner.
I had an elderly female doctor and she spoke good English. She told me we have to open the wound to take all the pus out. We went to the emergency room and I had to lay down on one of the beds. I was wearing a dress and so I just lifted it up because there were only women in the room and I had already done it that way to the doctor. But one of the nurses was really shocked and pulled my dress back down. Then she brought a blanket to cover my legs and after that I was allowed to lift my dress up... oops!
In Pai I thought it was the worst time of my trip but Pai was nothing compared to the pain I was in at this hospital in Chiang Mai. The doctor took a scissor and jabed it right into the swollen spot. It was very red and infected and it hurt a lot. Tears were running down my face and I pressed my fingernails into my hands, trying to focus on something else but the pain. Now she started pressing. There were at least five nurses standing around me and watching her pressing the pus out of my stomach. One of the nurses held my hand and another one stroke my leg but that didn't help much. Every time the pus came out they cheered and laughed (the doctor as well). It was a very funny scene.
It took about 15 minutes. The most painful 15 minutes of my life. I was glad I went to the hospital though because I knew it would only get worse. I spent the rest of the day in my hostel bed, unable to move.
Same procedure on the next day. Luckily most of the pus was gone and so it took only five minutes and I could leave again.
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John and Saffron |
I spent the day walking around Chiang Mai with John and Saffron and we had the best vegan Khao Soy and delicious Mango-Sticky-Rice at Morning Glory, a vegan restaurant in Chiang Mai.
In the night I took a flight to Bangkok where I would spend the next few days in a hotel. I took a red car to the airport where I met Irene from Spain. She is lovely. When we reached the airport and I was just about to take the bags out of the red car, the driver suddenly started driving. He almost drove off with everything from me - I had even my passport and my wallet in my small backpack in the car. Luckily I realized it early enough and jumped back into the car, forcing him to stop.