Ao Nang Boat Tour & Unplanned Events

We booked to go on a four island boat tour but unfortunately the day did not go as planned. Instead, we managed a two island tour and a tour of the local hospital ward.

Our first stop on the tour was Railay beach. It was very pretty with some amazing rock formations but completely overcrowded with tourists which was a real shame. It was one of those places where you had to fight for a people-free shot, although this was made easier by our rather energetic photographer, bless her.

We then took a boat to another island with crystal clear water and white sandy beaches. Unfortunately, Jess started experiencing sharp, stabbing chest pains with pain in her shoulder blade and shortness of breath. Any movement was extremely uncomfortable. Only getting worse over the afternoon, we needed to get back to the mainland hospital for an urgent check over. Unfortunately we had to wait an hour and a half for a return boat before we could even think about getting to the hospital.

Luckily all tests and examinations came back clear so we're unsure what the actual cause was. Jess was treated immediately and sorted within an hour and a half, however we couldn’t be discharged until our insurance company had sent the guarantee of medical payment. This took four hours so we had a rather long wait in the waiting room - such a joke! The nurse who was dealing with our case had never experienced such a delay from an insurance company before and we were far from impressed at the long wait time. Interestingly but not surprisingly, the staff were medically attentive to Jess yet very financially attentive to myself ensuring we could pay the fee before they progress any significant treatment. There was a transport robot which kept whizzing past to keep us amused. Apparently the robot transports blood test samples to and from labs on different floors. Pretty cool although a big surprise to see this level of technology in a Thai hospital.

Fingers crossed that after a good night sleep Jess should feel better. Late night update: still some slight pain but a huge improvement compared to earlier! What a day, although really disappointed that our boat trip was cut short, but just one of those things to look back on.Read more