Staying up late on a random night in 2016 I came across a documentary called Wild Thailand. I was in awe of the animals and beauty of the nature, and I decided that was one place I needed to go. I searched online and saw that majority of the footage from the episode was taken at Khao Yai National Park. I added this to the top of the list for my wife and my trip to southeast Asia in the summer of 2016.

Fast forward to the later part of our trip, around mid summer. We headed to Khao Yai by private taxi since that was our only option from the small border city of PoiPet, Cambodia. Many cities have buses you can take that are air conditioned and comfortable. This would be a much more budget friendly option. We did take a bus back to Bangkok later. My wife and I checked into our room, ran by a family and connected to their home. Everything seemed to be on one long road at the base of the mountain outside the park’s entrance in a valley. There were lots of buses full of tourists and locals on that main road. We took it easy after getting into the room. I actually walked right into a sliding glass door because I was lightheaded. Not thinking much of it, I shrugged it off and drank more water, thinking I was dehydrated. The climate is very hot and humid around 100 degrees fahrenheit.

We met with the owner of the hotel and booked a private tour of Khao Yai for the following day with a park ranger she knew. The hotel had its own restaurant, we met the cook/waiter who was extremely friendly, one of the best things about Thailand is how kind the people are. He spoke no English, or more accurately, we spoke no Thai, but communicated through smiles and gestures. We both ordered a cashew chicken dish that was absolutely amazing. While we ate the owner’s dogs who wandered around the property joined us for company and pets. We ate on the outdoor patio area. As the sun faded, lizards crawled the walls of the building. So many different types of species some were absolutely huge. They cook came out and pointed out different ones. Dinner and a show! Suddenly I became extremely light headed; something was wrong. I looked up at the lights on the patio, thousands of insects swarmed them. I looked down at my legs that were itching incredibly bad, only to see what I thought were small larvae crawling out of my mosquito bites from Cambodia. This perfect evening quickly turned into a nightmare. The cook got down on his hands and knees to inspect my legs he somehow communicated that we needed to get to a pharmacy. Overwhelmed and anxious we headed directly to where we checked in. The owners’ son met us and walked my wife and I to the pharmacy which was a few blocks away. As we walked into the pharmacy a few Thai people stopped and stared at my legs. The pharmacist quickly looked and stated “Bangkok!” My wife got really nervous, knowing Bangkok was a few hours away and it was a Sunday night. The young man saw my wife’s face and recognized her anxiety and through his broken English explained that Bangkok was the hospital in town located a few miles down the road.

The man ran ahead, explained the situation to his parents and picked us up at the pharmacy and took us to the hospital. I entered the hospital realizing I forgot to bring my passport, ID, and insurance card. The only thing we had was a few baht that we had grabbed to pay for dinner. The hospital admitted me anyway. My temperature was 102, which was kindly converted for us from the celsius reading. The nurse brought me to a small back room that was an emergency like room setting. She cleaned the bites on my legs, even in between my toes. Another man came and joined her looking me over to see if they could find one of the larvae. There was no English spoken as they look me over more. In came the doctor with a big smile, and I was relieved to hear him say hello. At this point I had so much anxiety it was almost like an out of body experience. He explained there were no signs of any more bugs, but they could have all came out. He thought it was an allergic reaction to the insect bites, but said it could be dengue fever or zika. Zika is just as common in southeast Asia as in South America, but it’s not as reported. I was then given an IV to help bring down my fever and reduce the swelling. The nurse was nervous and missed my vein two times before finding the vein. Their urgentness of care helped make me as comfortable as possible. At the same time, I was eager to get back to my doctor at home for more tests. I was given antibiotics, cream, and a tylenol equivalent for the remainder of the trip. This whole visit and medications only cost around 40 USD. The cost back home would have been thousands. We really need to change our healthcare system in the United States... My wife was so supportive but later would tell me she was going crazy as well. The young man drove us went back to the hotel, having waited for us at the hospital through this ordeal. I slept as best I could with worries clouding my mind.

The next morning they offered to cancel the trip, but I had come all this way.. I was going. I no longer had a fever so that was enough for my wife to clear me, but not let me out of sight. We met the park ranger. He drove a small pick up truck and we all climbed in and headed up the mountainside, riding in the bed. The park ranger has been at this park for over 30 years, but you wouldn't notice it by the look of him. This was his off day so the 100 dollars we were paying him must be good. He generally seemed to enjoy himself. Before we hit the trail, we headed to the welcome center to get our leech protection socks. Due to the rainforest climate, leeches can be abundant in the tall grasses. We actually tucked them into our shoes and use a drawstring to tie it around our knees. I hate leeches and was extra careful when tightening mine.

As we made our way down the trail, I felt like we had made the right decision with our guide. We were the only ones for miles there's no way we would have known where to go on our own. As the morning light filtered down through the rainforest trees, the sounds of birds were abundant. I consider myself an amateur birder. The one bird I saw in the documentary and wanted to see so badly was the Great Hornbill. Its yellow beak almost resembles an upside down banana. Its horn-like beak can actually be used to spar with others. It’s pretty much a living dinosaur. As we made our way through the forest, our guide was helpful, pointing out different species of trees and plants. As we quietly approached we could see colorful red birds. He was good; he knew the bird calls before we could even see them. The forest floor was filled with insects. He picked up a curled up type centipede and offered it to me to hold. I denied, and my wife accepted, not knowing what it was. She thought it was a type of nut. Her face was priceless when she noticed the slimy texture and legs.

Continuing on we came through trees that had bear claw marks ascending a tree, apparently a bear was climbing for honey as bees came out of the trees. Suddenly 15 yards ahead of us a huge hawk like raptor swooped downward. No time for a picture but I found a feather, one of the best souvenirs of the whole trip.

As we head down through the jungle, our guide actually showed us certain plants that were used for medications. The rainforest is a pharmacy. I hope these places remain wild and pure so we can cure more diseases.

Suddenly we heard the sounds of a loud flapping motion almost like a motorcycle. My head turned 180 degrees, just in time to see a Great Hornbill. I will always remember that moment; however brief, it was the most incredible birding experience of a lifetime. The sounds of its call is almost like a velociraptor. Completely satisfied we made our way to the grassland area. On a previous day our guide had spotted a wild herd of Asian elephants. We did not see any elephants this day, but we found their footprints and large droppings near the river. The clay salt soil is actually eaten by them and other animals for nutrients. It was a dark reddish brown in color. By this point in time it was early afternoon, in long pants and long sleeve shirts the humidity and heat is intense.

We made our way to towards a four story tall wooden observation tower overlooking the grassland. The view from the top was incredible. He showed us with binoculars the edge of a further away forest where tigers had been spotted just two weeks ago. Tigers are incredibly rare but conservation efforts are increasing in Thailand to save and protect the rare species. We looped around another trail and headed back to the truck. Heading to the park center we stopped at a cafe and ate delicious pad Thai. The park welcome center was similar to one in the USA. By this point in the day lots of people had arrived. Near the cafe a small pond with siamese crocodiles floated. Wild deer tame to humans walked around the walkways.

The last part of our trip at the park was spent checking out a large nearby waterfall. We took a few selfies and reflected on our amazing day. How crazy that less than 24 hours ago I was in the ER, abroad. Travel is not always easy, but most times it’s worth it. Since returning to the United States, I am completely healthy.