Friday, August 31, 2018

MY RECENT ENCOUNTER WITH JELLY FISH…… A BOX JELLYFISH AT THAT!


I planned for my holidays down to the minutest detail. Hotel with the best review, beaches which are most blogged and raved about.  I flew from Bangkok to perhaps the most beautiful airport, Koh Samui. The beauty of the landscape was breath taking.  It was a caravan car which taxies passengers from the landing strip to the arrival. I was getting ready for what I thought was going to be a once in a lifetime experience. In a way it turned out to be one!


Koh Samui is one of the picturesque islands in Thailand. It is serene and inviting, with waters that are calm and enticing. It was just like any other day of planned holidays to this beautiful island. A day to laze around, to do nothing and just hibernate either in the shadows of the umbrella to read or take that occasional swim in between pints of Singha & Chang beer.


I saw young kids in their floaters, guys and gals sunbathing while floating even in knee deep water. The sun was well hidden behind the clouds and that decided for me to leave my beach recliner and take a dip in the sea water of Choeng Mon. It was picture perfect.


As in any parts of Thailand, the waves are far from menacing. In fact, there were hardly any. It was more like still water of an indoor pool. Not exactly a great swimmer, I stopped at 5ft., started my customary forward strokes and floating with my face up. Then it happened!!!


Suddenly, I felt my body was burning especially in my chest and stomach area. The burning was so severe as if somebody was spraying me with acid or hot oil. It made no sense to me as I was floating in the ocean!


The realization that something is attacking me took some 5 seconds or so. Took few steps forward as I stood upright and saw I was engulfed with black slime around my chest and arms. It looked like blackish reaper which later I realised was tentacles of a beautiful creature called BOX JELLY FISH. I was unable to breath but brought myself to grab whatever I could that were stinging my chest, stomach, arm and threw them away.  I was stumbling and screaming at the kids and the grownups nearby to leave the water immediately. 


I was gasping for breath as my respiratory system was barely functional. I felt like the layers of my skin were being peeled off. An angel of a lady screamed for Vinegar and the hotel crew got two cans of vinegar and I was bathed in the areas where the tentacles were visible. The blessed lady scraped off the tentacles which were still stinging and injecting doses of venom.


By now it was already 4/5 minutes from the time of attack and I almost gave up breathing or rather I had no strength to breath. The massage lady made me take a whiff of camphor like substance, something like a balm that is applied for headache or cold in the Asian sub-continent. It was a task to breath, but I could manage to keep my lungs active inhaling in greater frequency than before. I kept asking for medical help and oxygen and the hotel crew called for the same and the ambulance arrived in 15 minutes. The nurse checked my vitals and fixed the oxygen mask which made me believe that surviving from this ghastly situation looked like a possibility. 


The drive to the hospital was some 15 odd minutes through the ring road of Koh Samui. The Doctor in his nonchalant way did say that he is yet to see a “live specimen” stung by Box Jelly fish as most come in coma state or have breathed their last. He gave me 12 hours to survive and then another 72 hours as deadline for the aftermath of venom in the body.   It was not exactly encouraging but it did help me prepare myself for the worst.


I was bathed again with Vinegar to remove the last shred of tentacles and then took a shower. I had regained some strength by then and eyed the pretty nurses around. It was then I realized that my mind was diverted to earthly aspects and smiled and muttered to myself that I am going to beat this.


Take away from this incidence is VINEGAR as the only antidote and a definite must for swimming in the sea of Thailand - STINGER SUIT.


This incident notwithstanding, I look forward to my next visit to Thailand. This time, I definitely want less excitement.

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