Kids eating a whole fruit smoothie on Doi Suthep just outside the Wat (temple) -- this was incredibly tasty, although it could land them at one of those Damon Orthodontics! Choose a cup with a variety of fresh fruit combinations (behind Alia's head) and the vendor adds coconut water and ice and then blends it up. Best smoothies we have EVER tasted! Cost about $1.25 each.
Nope, Thailand is not home for us. The heat, while a dryer heat (humidity is only 45%) is still too much for our crew.
Yesterday at lunch (only 45 minutes after leaving the pool) Josiah was showing signs of heat stroke.
When that is a common occurrence we need to look elsewhere.
And we assumed it'd be too hot for us here but we wanted to see what it was like.
However there's been a couple of developments.
And both of them are in the health category.
We knew going into this trip that places like Thailand and the Philippines have really great English speaking healthcare. However we didn't predict that we'd need it.
And in case you're wondering, yes we have insurance, in fact we have two forms of insurance! Our normal insurance Samaritan's Ministries actually covers medical needs around the globe and they have many missionaries using their service.
We also signed up for travelers insurance just in case. It offers a lot of other benefits (non medical stuff) that made it worth it.
So what's going on?
Well Becky hasn't been 100% since before leaving Michigan. First it was her dry socket from the wisdom tooth extraction. And just as that pain was subsiding she got a painful ear infection. After a week of "swimmers ear" not going away we went to an ENT the day before we left the Philippines. He prescribed steroids and a decongestant. He also said if it's not better in 3 days see a new ENT in Thailand.
Well tomorrow it will be a week since seeing the ENT in the Philippines.
So we are going to hangout here while we get an ENT and get Becky to 100% for the first time on this trip.
The other health concern.
Josiah has a hydrocele. He's had it since he was an infant. However in the last couple of weeks it's grown significantly. It's now causing uncomfortability and self awareness issues.
So here we are in Thailand. We have acceptable internet. We have an acceptable house (until May 13). We have transportation issues solved (more on this soon). And we're near an English speaking hospital.
How long will we stay? As long as it takes!
There are a ton of tourists, backpackers and expats here, we're almost uncomfortable with how many English speaking westerners there are. However because there are so many westerners here networking is not like I experienced in the Philippines where there were so few of us that we stuck together.
So that's the health/travel update. We're staying put for a bit. Probably just a few more weeks but since we don't know exactly how long it will take to get Becky and Josiah back to 100% we can't really say how long just yet.
We covet your prayers.
Thank You.
Paul Kortman
Dad of 4, husband, blogger, digital marketer, follower of Jesus. I podcast at nomadtogether.com and own connexdigitalmarketing.com We're on this crazy journey to travel the world as a lifestyle. Looking for help in how to live as a digital nomad family? Join this Facebook Group!
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