An Australian woman has issued a warning to tourists visiting Thailand, urging caution while swimming at the country's beaches after a personal incident landed her in hospital. Angela Giakas said she contracted a bacterial infection after taking a dip in the waters of Thailand’s Monkey Bay.
Giakas accidentally ingested a bit of water while swimming in Monkey Bay. Less than 16 hours later, she was in the hospital with a drip in her arm.
“Just an FYI to anyone travelling and swimming around the shallow bays & beaches!! I only ingested a little bit of water in monkey bay but it gave me a bacterial infection,” the Australian travel vlogger warned on Instagram.
She even noted that what happened to her is not uncommon - “According to the doctors, this happens a lot in high season as there aren’t enough treatment plants around the Phi Phi islands to handle the tourism.”
A word of warning
Giakas said she was making a post on her experience because nobody warned her beforehand that this was a possibility. She also said her warning was not meant to discourage anyone from travelling to Thailand, and that she only wanted her fellow travelers to exercise caution while swimming in shallow bays.
{{/usCountry}}Giakas said she was making a post on her experience because nobody warned her beforehand that this was a possibility. She also said her warning was not meant to discourage anyone from travelling to Thailand, and that she only wanted her fellow travelers to exercise caution while swimming in shallow bays.
{{/usCountry}}“I wish someone warned me so I’m gonna be the one to warn you because I don’t want you to also end up like me,” she wrote. “Thailand is one of the most beautiful countries and I encourage everyone to visit. You should just always be cautious of any kind of water.”
Immune system to blame?
Her post drew mixed reactions on Instagram, where her video has gone viral with more than 20 million views. Many people expressed surprise, while others said her immune system was probably unused to the bacteria of Thailand.
“As someone who is Thai and has lived in Thailand my whole life, the locals have a different immune system so I can comfortably swim and eat whatever, but any of my friends that have come here ended up getting sick - the local bacteria isn’t harmful, most foreigners just don’t have the immune system for it,” wrote one Instagram user.
“As a Southeast Asian - It’s hilarious seeing all these white people get sick the moment they touch something, meanwhile our immune system is so used to it that we don’t even care,” another wrote.
“Avoid swimming in the water where they dock the boats, apart from that you'll be fine,” a user warned.