April 14, 2013

16 and Pregnant


At 11 weeks pregnant my 16 year old sister and I decided to go on a holiday to Phuket Thailand! I took it as a compliment that Paige would want to travel with me considering I’d been such a beast in the lead up. She must have been really desperate to go. Dr Yared gave me the go ahead so we booked. I thought it was a bit adventurous to travel somewhere like Thailand pregnant so I madly researched blogs and forums to seek wisdom from anyone who'd gone before me. No inspiration. Miraculously my morning sickness seemed to subside the day we took off. Note to self: Morning sickness remedy= holiday. We packed lots of snacks. Special K, Milk, crackers, apple sauce, Maggie noodles and vegemite just to name a few. We would use the new found room in our suitcase for shopping!



Paige and I discussed the fact this wouldn’t be an “action packed” style holiday. I was reluctant to rent a scooter, firstly because Paige is really tall which means she's really heavy and secondly and most importantly I’d never ridden one before. Nek minnit I find myself on a scooter with Paige on the back. We did a few test laps around our local area then decided we were ready for the main roads. Seeing as Phuket is a relatively small place we didn’t bother with a map. Bad idea. One minute we were riding along on a road then we found ourselves flying down a steep dirt path.. then Paige noticed the engine had stopped. I’d envisioned having to leap off the bike and commando roll to safety…. luckily though, the brakes still worked so we eased our way to the bottom. Again LUCKILY there was civilisation down there and a nice man restarted our bike and gave us the unfortunate news that the only way out was back UP. We found a map after that and made sure we stayed ON the beaten track! After that little incident we thought “How much worse could it get” and gained confidence to ride all around the island.  The only downer about the scooter idea is that the fumes on the roads a pretty thick. So if you are concerned about fumes and the like don’t rent one. Same goes for boat rides out to the islands. When you’re pregnant they make you sit at the back of the boat which is more stable…. BUT you cop the potent smoke from the motors.


I made sure to tell the massage ladies I was pregnant because apparently there are certain issues regarding circulation and you don't want to develop a blood clot in a foreign country... or ideally.. anywhere!! I half regretted telling them sometimes because they were pretty light on and one masseuse even spent the whole time doing a really weird hairstyle on me. I'm too embarrassed to share the photo. I looked like a dinosaur. 

Paige and I made a deal.. she would go parasailing if I returned home with a full head of braids like most Australian tourist do. I piked and only got 4. #killjoy #vain









We had tons of fun and I loved every minute with my little sis. Even when she took an hour to get ready every day only to destroy all her hard work by jumping in the ocean straight away. We'd go back in a heart beat! 

Here’s a few tips for anyone looking to travel to a hot Asian country while pregnant-

  • BYO snacks from home for comfort.
  • Stay hydrated with bottled water.
  • All the ice in tourist areas is good so don’t freak out.
  • Don’t overheat. Avoid spas/hot tubs or overheating in the sun or getting burnt!
  • Consider day trips bring the risk of boating mishaps and fume/smoke inhalation.
  • Not the time nor place to be adventurous with food..I went vegetarian, just in case.
  • Hand sanitizer is always a must.
  • Go to Sabai Sabai in Patong and enjoy a green curry. 
  • Renting a bike is handy but tuk tuks are probably safer.
  • Buy some sea sick wrist bands as pregnant people shouldn't take sea sick tablets.
  • Enjoy the beautiful fresh fruit and smoothies on the beach!
  • Make the most of the cheap massages... you might even get a bonus hair-do ;)

Sawadee!






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