Before we dive into this wild day of being sick and traveling I have a crazy fun fact that Lola shared with me a bit ago (inspired by my siblings comment about Thai basil chicken actually being in Thailand)

Apparently there was a period of time where tourism in Thailand from western countries was really low. So to change this and raise awareness of traveling to Thailand, the Thai government decided to make a menu that they thought westerners would love. On this menu was Pad Thai! They then sent Thai citizens to western countries to open up restaurants and spread the good word about “Thai Food” and this is how we got Pad Thai. Crazy marketing strategy if you ask me and definitely worked!

Well, day 16 started off on the bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. I actually ended up sleeping really well on this bus but it was absurdly cold and I was feeling very ill. Even with sleeping so long, being up at 4am to arrive in Bangkok was not working well for me.

On the way we had one stop where I picked up a few snacks because I was very hungry… however they both weren’t that great unfortunately.

However luckily after we arrived to the bus station in Bangkok, I found a 7-11 nearby which was a life savor! I was running low on tissues, water, and of course had to stop and get myself a cheese toasty for a very early morning breakfast!

As I sat on the curb eating my toasty, I was struggling to figure out where I was exactly. I thought my ticket said I was being dropped off at Mochit Station (which I’d been to before) but this definitely wasn’t it. Luckily I had plenty of time until my next bus and eventually I figured out I needed to get a cab to get to the correct station.

I had a very friendly cab driver who was very excited to hear that I was from America! However I couldn’t say I was able to match his energy at this point in time 😂 He dropped me off at the station and I wandered to find an open ticket counter since technically the station wasn’t open yet.

I then found where my bus would be 2 hours from then and found a seat to camp out in and try to think of anything other than sleep and my sickness. These 2 hours felt like eternity… however 2 very nice things happened, I FaceTimed my friend Maddie from Kansas City since it was one of the only times our schedules had lined up! It was super nice to catch up. And then I also had a lovely playlist to listen to that Lola had made for me for my trip south (she’s trying to educate me with UK music).

Finally the bus showed up and with it the sun was coming up too!

This is actually the first time I had seen the sun in about a week! Which is crazy! I fell right to sleep after taking this picture and woke up to a small breakfast waiting for me of a grape juice box and a sweet roll with black beans on the inside.

After this I basically fell on and off asleep in 30min-1 hour intervals! It’s very nice I’ve been able to sleep at all on these busses! And out of no where I’ve actually started feeling a ton better too! I haven’t decided if it’s just my brain going into overdrive or I’m finally on the mend, but I’ll take it for now.

While I was awake though, I was texting Lola and hearing about her plans (pretty wild that we aren’t traveling together anymore). There were also some spectacular blue skies, beautiful views, and you can tell that the scenery is starting to become more beach like!

At around 12:30pm the bus finally stopped for a lunch break! And I didn’t realize this until we got to the food court, but the ticket I purchased included a free meal! Now… no one in this food court spoke English, so I have no clue what was in this green and red curry… but it was very nice having a surprise free meal!

The bus ride post lunch was brutal. The bus ride for the most part was fine… but I started going stir crazy. This bus ride was very cheap which is awesome, but I’d highly suggest not taking the bus from Bangkok to Phuket unless you’re with people you know and prepare for it (also it’d probably help if you weren’t sick too).

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining too much, but I was insanely hungry, thirsty, and very ready to get off the bus. I could tell everyone else on the bus was ready too.

The blue skies left and cloudy skies took their place. It also started drizzling. But on a more positive note there were still some beautiful views and temples along the way.

We arrived at the Phuket Bus Terminal at 9:15pm. I quickly phoned a grab (the Uber here) for my last 30 min leg of the journey to my hostel in Kata, Phuket.

After 32 hours total of traveling I finally made it to my hostel.

The staff wasn’t there so I had to call and get someone to come, but then I crawled into bed and passed out 😂 a long day, that I’m glad I experienced and hope I don’t experience again!

– Elie