Nothing
is perfect in life, especially when you are traveling. It started out
as just a relaxing summer break in Thailand with my mom, my sister,
and my grandpa for a few days. We went to temples to take photos and
to enjoy the experience, since this was my first time going to a
temple. We also watched people doing cool shows with elephants,
riding them and doing tricks. My family and I took pictures with the
elephants and fed them bananas. I was surprised that it used its
trunk to eat and how big an elephant actually is in real life. When
we finished the show they let us ride on the elephants, and it was so
cool, mainly because I was so high up that it felt like I was on top
of a building. I had never ridden an elephant before.
We
also ate some amazing but spicy food, like coconut rice, spicy
noodles, and barbeque. They were all pretty traditional and very
tasty! There was a crowded night market nearby our hotel, withgoods
like bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. We saw beautiful things made
of wood and emerald. There was lots of food, mainly barbeque
type.
On
the second day in Thailand, my family and I went ziplining! I was
super excited but nervous at the same time, especially when I saw it
right in front of me. My heart started pounding because the zipline
was really high and really fast. When it was my turn I felt like I
was going to jump off a cliff, but I took a deep breath and leaped
off the platform like I was flying. After the first try I gained
confidence and ended up enjoying it so much that I wanted it to last
longer. It felt like flying. There were awesome views of the forest,
and I liked the wind that whipped past me when I zoomed through the
trees like a monkey.
On
my last day in Thailand, I was feeding pigeons in front of my hotel.
There were what seemed like 10,000 of them, and when I threw the food
out they all rushed in like hungry wolves tearing apart their prey. I
was really into it and I loved how they were coming in at the same
time. My mom was also taking pictures of me, and some pigeons perched
on my hands! My mom wanted to take a picture of me with a pigeon on
my shoulders like a parrot, so we decided to take the picture, and
the pigeon flew away but scratched me on the cheek in the process. At
first I was in shock. When my mom asked me if I was OK I said
yes,
so she didn’t give me a bandage or disinfect my wound.
When
we got to the airport, my head started to hurt and I felt nauseous.
My mom was worried that I might have a fever, but we didn’t
have a thermometer. When I got on the plane things started to heat
up. My head was warm and I was super annoyed and couldn’t get
the pain off, because riding on a plane is already not that
comfortable. That plus the pain of the fever equaled hell. When we
were in the air, my mom asked the flight attendants to grab some ice
to reduce the terrible pain I suffered from. And after a few hours,
we arrived in China at home again, and we went to the hospital as
soon as we could.
In
the end, I went to get my blood drawn to see what caused it. After a
day passed I got the result, that I got infected by some virus from
the pigeons that caused the fever. After we got the result we got the
medicine and I rested as much as I could at home, for a few days
until I recovered from the fever. Even though the trip ended in an
unexpected way, I still had a lot of fun and recovered in the end. As
the quote by Bill Hicks said “ Life is a roller coaster. It has
ups and downs. But it’s your choice to choose to scream or
enjoy the ride”.
Steven
Zhong is an 11 year old 6th grade student who lives in New York City.
He enjoys swimming, playing card games and hanging out with his
friends. His favorite food is pizza, and he likes to travel to
discover new things in the world.
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