T Takes Thailand

Since I was a little girl I have been dreaming of devouring hot, spicy delicious dishes whilst watching the hustle & bustle that were the streets of Bangkok. I'd always dreamt of sitting on the beaches and drinking fresh coconut water. And for some reason a big dream of mine has always been to feed, walk and wash an elephant!

So when my mum told me and my sister that this dream was going to come true I was ecstatic! 2017 hadn't been an easy year, with my diagnosis, my sister finishing her A-levels and my mum's unconditional support for the both of us. This was the perfect end to what had been one of the most challenging years I'd ever had.

Since my diagnosis I thought places like Thailand were off the cards! Adventures like those weren't for people like me. I was wrong.

Of course I was nervous, we all were, the flight to Thailand was a long one, plus we had to stop over in Delhi. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't anxious. But it was a lot smoother than I could have ever imagined.

We got a coach to London, Heathrow with plenty time to spare. After the quick and easy check in it was time to go through security. I'm always nervous about this part as I often don't walk "normally" and when I get nervous my symptoms are heightened, this means I shake a bit more and just generally become a bumbling mess!! In the past when I have set of the alarm due to jewellery or my belt and I've calmly had to explain my situation, on this trip I chose to take a walking stick with me through the airport, I found that this helped make staff aware that I may need support. This also made security aware that I had a mobility condition, this made me more at ease when going through security this time as I needn't worry about being approached. The staff at Heathrow were so helpful, I had registered for wheelchair access, which I didn't use but was able to access at many points around Heathrow Airport.

I slept all the way to Bangkok and in what seemed like 2 minutes we were there! Bangkok Airport was crazy, I knew it'd be busy but never had I ever imagined it'd be that crowded!

Our trip was divided by 3 days in Bangkok, a week in Phuket and then another 4 days in Bangkok. My first experience of Bangkok airport was exceptional, everything was clearly signposted and it was fairly easy to navigate our way round. The walking stick came in particularly handy, meaning I could access shorter queues and I was offered help on numerous occasions.

When we finally reached our first hotel I knew I had already fallen in love with Thailand and couldn't wait to spend our first day exploring the Grand Palace. I was blinded by the reflection off the gold architectural masterpieces and was enchanted by the detail of each individual building, imagining the history and story behind each carefully constructed temple. That day involved a lot of walking, but we went at my pace, my mum and sister patiently encouraged me to take a break when they saw that I was struggling. The key to doing that day trip was staying hydrated, we also carried around some face spray which came in handy every half an hour when the heat became too much! There was a strict dress code for the Grand Palace, shoulders and legs were to be covered, I wore a long floaty skirt and a t shirt.

Bangkok was easy to navigate, the transport was excellent and wherever you turned there was a friendly face happy to help you out. We spent New Years in Bangkok which I won't forget in a hurry! We stopped beforehand to mark the last day of 2017 with some celebratory cocktails before hopping on the boat to cross the river to the Asiatique, a large shopping centre where we would spend our final hours of 2017. New Years in Bangkok is not for the faint hearted! I've never seen so many people congregated in such a relatively small space all at once! We could not move at all so found a space to watch the fireworks and stayed there until it was over.

The key to travelling with a condition, that being either mental or physical is that you go with people who you're comfortable with and that are aware of the difficulties you go through. For me, my mum and my sister are the perfect companions. By the third day of non-stop exploring my I was getting overwhelmingly fatigued, but that was okay; my mum and sister left me to nap and relax whilst they still enjoyed themselves wandering round Bangkok.
It's okay to accept help and admit when you can't keep up, you'll thank yourself later!

Phuket was incredible, our hotel was in the perfect in the perfect location, 10 minute walk from the beach and a half an hour bus ride into the beautiful scenic town of Phuket. Phuket was a bit trickier to navigate, pavements were uneven and narrow which I found difficult due to my condition.

When we returned to Bangkok, I got to live out dream of mine! We travelled to an elephant sanctuary. We got to walk, feed and wash the elephants. The company that were in charge of our trip are called WWTF; this company specialises in handling elephant with care, they rescue elephants from torturous and cruel environments, environments where owners exploit and harms and the elephants depriving them of food and water. places like these are where tourists go to ride elephants but little do they know these elephants have gone through detrimental training that will bring you to tears. WWTF were excellent and very accommodating, they gave us our own school as they knew about my mobility issues this meant that I didn’t have to worry about keeping up with a large group.

Just because you have a  condition they think you are completely limited. You can still take part in adventurous and fun activities, just take your time and don’t forget you shouldn’t feel bad for going at your own pace and putting yourself first.

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand