A disappointing holiday in Thailand

Finally I had them this far! At least, I imagine that I did contribute to Wilma and Wim's decision to spend a little longer in one place. That was Koh Samui, they rented a house with a swimming pool for a month and in the run-up to it, we made some plans together. But it turned out differently.

Wilma and Wim did arrive on Koh Samui, but Wilma had to deal with such medical problems that they had to return to the Netherlands after a short time. The disappointment was great!

William and Wilma

Wim is a former colleague from my navy time. We were in the same "bin" (class) in the first military training in Hollandse Rading and the telegraph operator training in Amsterdam. After that we lost track of each other, because we never worked together on the same naval ship. I only met Wim again in 2005 when we both participated in a small reunion of ex-telegraphers.

I was there with my Thai wife and we also met Wilma. The ladies got along well, the meeting was fun and we reminisced about the navy, work and personal circumstances. We also kept in touch afterwards, albeit only by (ir)regular E-mail messages.

Lifecycle

Between our time in the navy and the reacquaintance at the reunion, a lot has happened in our private lives. Our ambition was not with the Navy, we both went into business. I started with a simple office job, worked my way up to management positions in various companies and ended up as director of a medium-sized machine factory. Wim did about the same thing, but a little more vigorously. He also started with an office job and eventually started his own company. He retired a few years ago as director/owner of an air cargo company at Schiphol.

Holidays

Wim told me that he and Wilma had a time-share house in Aruba and stayed there for a few weeks once a year. In addition, they regularly cruised on a passenger ship, which showed them a lot of the world. He reported on those cruises by e-mail, while I told him a lot about my experiences in Thailand and pointed out the stories on Thailandblog.nl.

Cruises

Wim and Wilma loved those cruises, a nice luxurious stay on a ship and they saw quite a few foreign countries. I remember cruises to America, from Rotterdam via the Suez Canal to Singapore and once a three month trip around the world. That journey went along the east coast of South America, back via the west coast, crossing via Hawaii to Australia, China and Singapore. Seen many ports and also some of the countries visited, but the stay in each port was always short. Excursions were organized, but I thought that was always fast, fast, because people had to be back on board in time. Life on board was - as I said - luxurious with a spacious cabin and all kinds of options for food, drink and other entertainment.

Thailand

We talked about that and I advised them to stay in a country for a while to see and experience more than just the port city. Of course I thought that they should choose Thailand, not only because it is a beautiful holiday destination, but it would also offer the possibility that we would meet again. And so it happened.

Sometime in the autumn of 2016 they booked another cruise, this time from Cape Town along the African east coast and then via the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand (Phuket) to Singapore. Afterwards, the journey continued to Koh Samui, where they would stay for a month. We agreed that I would also come to Koh Samui with my wife for a few days. We could then stay with them in the big house. Great idea, isn't it?

Setback

The first setback occurs when Wim and Wilma are floating somewhere on the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. Wim says in an email:

This morning, for the third time, I went to the doctor with my wife here on board. She has been having problems with one of her eyes for some time and before we left the Netherlands she already visited the ophthalmologist, who prescribed all kinds of ointments and drops. However, because they did not help, I visited the ship's doctor, who diagnosed an inflammation and prescribed other drops. Nothing seems to help and the doctor advised us to visit an ophthalmologist when we visit one of the following ports, Colombo or Phuket. The possibilities will be investigated because hospital visits abroad are not easy.

I then provided a link to an eye clinic in Phuket, but no appointment could be made. The lying times in both Colombo and Phuket were also very short. Wilma decided to see it for a while and then visit an ophthalmologist on Koh Samui.

No Koh Samui for us

That condition with the eye did not make Wilma happy and rather depressed she let Wim know that she couldn't possibly be a good hostess for us. Our visit to Koh Samui was canceled, but Wim had a new idea. He would come to Pattaya for about three days as soon as he arrived on Koh Samui. He was enthusiastic about my stories and wanted to get acquainted with the vibrant nightlife here. We had already made some preparations for his trip to Pattaya, but, unfortunately, that plan - as it turned out - could not be carried out either.

From Singapore to Koh Samui

Wim says in his report: “The flight from Singapore to Koh Samui went smoothly. We had booked a flight on Bangkok Airways, but strangely enough it turned out that we were flying in an Airbus from Air Berlin, a German company. Well, everyone shares everything with everyone these days, I guess. In an hour and a half we flew to Koh Samui and arrived at a very small airport with thatched roof, quite different from the giant halls in Singapore.

As agreed, the owner of the house we rented was already waiting for us in front of the arrivals hall and we were in front of our temporary home within fifteen minutes. A beautiful large house with a large veranda and a sitting area with swimming pool next to it. Within a large living room with kitchen a cracker of a television set. Under the stairs, a very modern washing machine with buttons with Thai characters, it will be quite a challenge to find out how this device works. On the top floor two huge bedrooms with air conditioning, so we don't have to worry about the heat.

The same evening we did some quick shopping because the kitchen stock consisted of a can of pepper and a salt shaker. Fortunately, a “7/11” is never far away. It is a pity that practically all packaging contains Thai texts, so if it is not possible to deduce from the picture what the content is, it becomes very difficult. Anyway, although European things are almost impossible to get there, we managed to score water, bread, butter, eggs and something that looks like cheese. They don't have any coffee from Nelle or Douwe Egberts, only some powdered coffee that turns out to be barely drinkable.

There are two small stalls across the street. In the first, a dark-looking woman sells all sorts of fresh vegetables, to me rather puzzling shrubbery. The only thing that seems somewhat familiar to me is some kind of lettuce and a cucumber-like looking green fodder. The stall next door sells all kinds of fruit, papaya, mango, bananas, but also fruit that I have never seen before. Of course we buy everything from the smiling and nice owner who even speaks a few words of English. The costs of the purchase are put on a calculator, so there are no misunderstandings about this.

Problem with hip

On Koh Samui, a hospital was contacted for Wilma's eye problem, but it turned out that hospital did not employ an ophthalmologist. and referred to another hospital, which did not respond to phone or email. The eye problem seemed to be getting less serious and Wim said: “maybe we can wait until we return to the Netherlands”.

The second setback, about which Wim reports: “But now suddenly another problem arises, she can hardly walk, sit or lie due to pain in her hip. Tried a massage but unfortunately that didn't help. This morning she was in so much pain that she wanted to go home acutely. I talked her out of it because if you can't sit or lie down, a long flight to NL seems completely impossible to me. Fortunately, she still has some painkillers left that were provided by the ship's doctor. They seem to help and hopefully it will get better with rest in the short term. If that is not the case then try to book an earlier flight and go home earlier than we planned. You will understand that under these circumstances I cannot afford to come to Pattaya, as much as I would like to”.

Holiday life on Koh Samui

From a subsequent report:Because we also want to buy something edible that we, as spoiled Europeans, are familiar with, we are advised to go shopping in the village further on in a large supermarket, where, in addition to Thai products, all kinds of European things are also for sale. Lek, our landlady, has put on a piece of paper the address where we live now (in Thai) because otherwise we will never come back here. Most Thais don't speak a word of English. Lek takes us to the street and hails a kind of public van, an open pick-up with a bench on both sides. Lek tells the driver to drop us off at the Tops supermarket and after we have given him 50 baht (about 1,40 euros) per person we are on our way. And sure enough, after some time the man lets us know that we have to get out and we do indeed end up in a huge supermarket where we can get real ground coffee, but also cheese, milk, ham, bacon, sushi and Bon Maman jam.

With a fully loaded suitcase, it doesn't seem like a good idea to wait at the side of the road for a means of transport that looks like the vehicle that brought us there, so we take a taxi. Of course it costs quite a bit more and the driver is not prepared to reduce the price, perhaps he knows only too well how to handle tourists who are standing in the full sun with perishable goods. Fortunately, the driver can read the address written down by Lek and we are literally dropped off at the back door of our house. We spend the rest of the day in the shade on the veranda where a nice breeze brings cooling.”

Eating off the street

“Lek asks us if she should bring us something from the barbecue for dinner. It is set up along the street in the evening and she regularly gets food there herself. For the costs (200 baht, about 5,5 euros) we don't have to leave it. We think that's a great idea, so a little later, a roasted fish (a kind of red snapper) wrapped in a salt crust is brought along with various types of greenish stuff that Lek claims are tasty fresh vegetables. All this must be eaten together with thin noodles and a very hot sauce that resembles sambal but is many times hotter. The fish tastes fantastic, the vegetables (simply raw) is a different story, I have to get used to this, you know!”

Physical distress

I write to Wim that I am very sorry for them that their holiday is less pleasant due to Wilma's problems. William writes back: ”Indeed, very annoying what happens to Wilma's physique, but these are things that can apparently occur from one moment to the next. Of course I'm not happy with it either, I was looking forward to seeing you again and also getting acquainted with a completely different culture. 

Here on Koh Samui it is also called Thailand, but of course it cannot be compared to Pattaya, which, as I read on Thailandblog, is a bustling city with many entertainment options. Here we are limited to staying in and around our rented house for the time being. Owner is a Russian who apparently met a Thai lady in Bangkok and they ended up here together. I have the impression that several Russians live here and that our landlord owns several houses.

Lek, the landlady

His girlfriend is a not so pretty but intelligent Thai who is pretty good speak English. In addition, she is very nice and helpful. Now Wilma feels difficult can move, she thought yesterday that she should start cooking for us and then came over with two plates of delicious nasi with some kind of meatballs and some lettuce and cucumber. She must have taken our European heritage into account and didn't make the food particularly hot, I even had to add some reddish chilli sauce. I bought it at 7-Eleven but didn't see that it said "very hot", so a little bit was enough. Must be just me, but seldom eaten so tasty nasi. We had barely finished the plates when Lek appeared again with a bowl of fresh fruit, oval, white with small black seeds, don't know the name. So a sweetie ...... that Russian is not that stupid after all!

Area

“We are not far from the airport here, think fifteen minutes by car. The house is on a side road off the "main road" that runs across the island, fortunately a quiet location. In the early morning the local roosters start to crow and I hear the strangest sounds of birds that I have not seen or heard before. I would actually rather live here than on Aruba, the island so adored by Wilma. I don't care much for that, too touristy for me and also much more expensive than here on Samui. Koh Samui will also be touristy, especially in certain places on the island, but I don't notice much of that here. Only the language seems difficult to learn, just the spelling!” I will read in a subsequent report.

massage

The massage that Thailand is known for is not always suitable for solving medical problems, but I advised Wilma and Wim to give it a try anyway. William reports: “Partly on the advice of our landlord, we have now been to a (extremely neat, no way “happy ending”) massage parlor here on Koh Samui. I myself took a simple Thai Massage. Not that I have any physical complaint or muscle pain, but such a massage by those small (yet strong) female hands is always pleasant. 

Wilma got a different kind of massage, not so much pushing and pulling but with oil, hot stones and I don't know what else. Unfortunately, this had no effect at all on her hip problem, in fact, the pain only got worse. So don't hurry and I am now taking into account that we will return to the Netherlands sooner.”

Restaurant

“We haven't eaten in a restaurant yet. There seems to be a good local nearby to be a restaurant, but with the speed that Wilma is developing at the moment, we have to set off before noon to arrive there by dinner time. She's not really walking yet, so we just stay in and around the house, lounger, swimming pool etc.

Our hostess Lek got on her motorbike last night and bought us food at a market nearby. "Fried rice" with shrimps, good to eat and, as you know, for next to nothing, at least for us.

Near the main road is a fruit stall where fish is also roasted on the barbecue. There is also a large stone pot that is occasionally heated and in which "pork" is roasted. So we will probably not starve, and, armed with my address written in Thai, I will also come home after doing some shopping in the village further on.”

Travel agency

From William's report: “What a disappointment, in addition to the eye problem that she has had for weeks, Wilma is also affected by an acute pain attack in the right hip and upper leg. As a result, she can hardly move a step, but sitting and lying down is also a problem. Lying on pillows on a lounger on her left side, she lies like a dead bird on the terrace. Fortunately she still had some painkillers left from the pills provided by the ship's doctor, but it is not possible to go on excursions, every movement hurts her. Let's just hope it passes with peace or at least gets better. 

Not so, the pain only gets worse and there is no improvement. A few days ago she was really fed up and wanted to go home. Well, rebooking the tickets is not easy, if you don't have a flexible ticket you are the hare and you can whistle for your money and a new ticket has to be bought. After contacting the travel agency, it turned out that a one-way business class ticket on KLM (folded in economy is nothing) would cost around 5500 euros + a ticket for myself, because letting her travel alone under these circumstances is of course not possible. The travel agency suggested contacting the insurers emergency center, after all we have taken out comprehensive travel insurance. That was done, but yes, it is not that simple, first a visit must be made to a hospital and it must then be determined whether earlier return is really necessary”

Medical examination

“So off to the hospital for an examination by an orthopedic specialist. We insist on advice that leads to an earlier return to the Netherlands. He says he understands and will cooperate with it, but we have our doubts…. Anyway, an X-ray was taken which showed that there may be a nerve trapped between the vertebrae. But only an extensive scan would make this visible, it cannot be seen on an X-ray. A therapeutic treatment was immediately done with a kind of electroshock therapy and heat treatment. An analgesic injection was also administered and an elastic support band was fitted for the waist.

Emergency center

This is followed by the administrative processing, from counter on the left to counter on the right, no, first to the department where insurers must first give permission to pay the costs. It will take a while, there are more patients with similar problems, because everything has to be confirmed by email. Then (again) call the emergency center yourself and explain what the problems are and that we want to return to the Netherlands as soon as possible. This is listened to with understanding, but only after a Dutch doctor has studied the reports of the hospital will it be decided whether earlier return is really necessary. I don't think that's possible, the eye problem is already weeks old and the hip problem seems to be combated with daily therapy and piles of painkillers.

The emergency center was supposed to call back yesterday, but instead received a text message that night that a report about the eye problem had been received, but that the orthopedist's report was still being awaited. We ourselves received a report from that orthopedist yesterday which showed that, apart from some minor deviations, no serious problems were found, so we can probably forget about "cooperation in an earlier return". They do want us to come back every day for checkups and further treatments, but we don't feel like that. Costs tons of money considering the bills they produce, it's a good thing I refused to pay them myself first, I referred them directly to the insurer in the Netherlands, which turns out to be possible."

Physiotherapy

"Just to be sure, I went to the hospital again for another physiotherapeutic treatment. This consisted of a combination of electro- and traction treatment. A number of electrodes are taped to the painful area, the top of the patient is lashed with two straps to the top of a two-piece treatment table, covered with warm blankets, and then electrical stimuli are sent to the electrodes while a device pulls a cord at the same time which is attached to the bottom of the patient. In other words, the patient is slowly pulled apart. I think they used to use this kind of method in the past, only more rigorously and that was called breaking the wheel”.

Eurocross

Wim is then called by Eurocross, the emergency center of the Dutch insurer. They want further medical examination, but Wim and Wilma have had enough. Wim responds towards Eurocross with: “If money still has to be spent on expensive foreign hospitals, Eurocross better spend some Euros on rebooking our tickets and let us go home earlier”.

Long telephone conversations are held and the Eurocross employee shows understanding. Thanks to her tenacity, the insurer eventually gives permission for an earlier return “out of leniency”, whereby they will pay the additional costs for a rebooking. What is still necessary now is a “fit-to-fly” statement from an internist in the hospital. So, says William, "Tomorrow again on to another snoeshaan in the hospital and try to get hold of this statement". 

Wim says about the conversation with the internist: “It was a pleasant conversation and the required statement was issued without any problems after some poking in the back, upper leg and knee. It is funny that this “Medical declaration” states that the patient (Wilma) AND the attendant (me) must travel Business Class due to her medical condition. Nice doctor, isn't he?"

Return trip

Everything is now arranged for the return journey. They are taken to the airport of Koh Samui where a wheelchair with an attendant is ready to take Wilma to the gate at check-in. Then the advantage of Business Class travel starts to become noticeable, because Wim and Wilma can enter the plane through a separate entrance and are already having a drink when the rest of the passengers arrive. In the report: “The flight to Bangkok is only a short one hour. Still, Bangkok Airways manages to serve us a delicious breakfast. At the bottom of the airplane stairs we are met by a van that takes us to the station building. From there again a wheelchair with attendant, now we are taken to the Air France/KLM lounge where we can wait until we can board for the KLM flight to Schiphol.

We are also fine on the KLM flight, quite a difference with the comfort class seats that we had booked. And if you have to fly for almost 12 hours, traveling in such a business class seat is very relaxed. After arriving at Schiphol, we are met by someone with a wheelchair, which is all neatly arranged. Even a taxi is waiting after we have taken our bags off the belt and gone through customs”.

Closing word from Wim

Then our trip is over and we can look back on a very special trip. We have seen and experienced a lot again, great!

But unfortunately we had to adjust our plans for Thailand due to Wilma's increasing physical problems and that has unfortunately cast a shadow over this special trip.

Finally,

I have let Wim speak as much as possible and used parts of his almost daily travel reports. Let's hope that Wilma recovers quickly and that travel plans can be discussed again. Wim and Wilma may have seen something of Koh Samui, but the memory will be a disappointment for the time being. Thailand has a lot more to offer them, so who knows, maybe they will come again soon!