Do Things Outside your Comfortzone -Thailand Trip

I took some time off and we visited Thailand the week of October 7, 2024. As soon as we landed at the Bangkok airport in Thailand, I was not too sure how long the visa process or immigration would take. This was my first trip to the country. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a stamp on my Indian passport without applying for a visa (or an on-arrival visa). It was an exciting feeling as every time we visit a new country, I have to go through a cumbersome visa process. Thank you to Thailand for this gesture (However I also heard this is changing soon). 

The first few days of the trip, we spent at Phuket (a Southern province in Thailand). We had a 4-hour layover at the Bangkok airport before boarding the flight to Phuket. We decided to do something. We visited Wat Lan Boon (a Buddhist temple that is about 20 minutes or so from the airport). I enjoyed the Bangkok roads and visiting the Buddhist temple felt great. It was very peaceful and glad we used our time effectively. After spending 30 minutes or so at the temple, we returned to the Bangkok airport and boarded our flights to Phuket.

Phuket:

The first day at Phuket was simple – We visited  Karon View Point and Promthep Cape in a place close to Rawai (We had booked a place to stay here by mistake) so we had to make the drive. However, we ended up canceling the hotel, and got a full refund – However glad we were able to visit a few viewpoints close-by.

I also enjoyed some great coconut water in the streets of Phuket and it kept me going.

Doing Things Outside of My Comfort Zone:

In business, you read and practice to do things out-side of your comfort zone. We also say ‘Do not do the same good thing for too long even if you are very good at it’. This also applies to our personal lives as well. Though I did learn to swim as a kid, I was never great at it and was always scared to jump into the sea and more (even with a life jacket). One of our plans was to go scuba diving at Phi-Phi Island. This was a completely new experience for all of us. My kids love water and they are used to this. My wife is comfortable with new adventures like this. However, for me, I was a bit scared. However, I told myself, ‘Do things outside of your comfort zone’

We decided to do Scuba Diving at this place called The Adventure Club – Scuba Diving Phi Phi Island (My son found this place).  The instructors took great care. They played a movie on Scuba Diving Dos and Don’ts. The operator of this place is English, married to a Thai and settled here.  I was a little tense watching this video and was wondering if I would be able to pull it off. We were taken to the boat.

At the boat, they got us the gear and we were all dressed up. The instructor told us that as we go deep, ears will hurt and we need to breathe out of our nose to ensure the pressure on the ears are taken care of. I kind of learned how to do all this and prayed that I do it well underwater. The oxygen cylinders were put on our back, we got ready and I was asked to jump in the water. I decided to jump and I was floating- We were given practice drills and exercises to do Scuba Diving. Thankfully the Instructor was always with us.

We had two dives. On the first one, I partnered with my son. The first, obviously being the very first, I was scared. However, just followed the instructions of the Scuba Diving instructor, breathed as he asked us to. My ears hurt and tried to follow the instructions of the instructor. He gave us signs for ‘Are you ok’ and I had to respond with an ‘I am ok’ sign back under water. Finally we went deep and were able to see the sea life. It was a treat. However, I was scared. The first dive got over and we got back up. After the first dive, we had a break for 45 minutes to an hour. They gave us some lunch and I felt better. For the second dive, I was a little more prepared and felt more confident. We took the second dive (This time with my wife). It was an exciting experience going deep underwater and coming back safe on both the dives. The instructors being right next to us made it easy. Water went inside my goggles and had to learn to get it out. We got back on the boat after the second dive.

I am super thrilled and excited that I did try Scuba diving and also did things outside of my comfort zone. During this trip, I made it a point not to check any emails or Slack messages and did not take my laptop to Thailand. I hardly checked my phone. It was sad to learn when my daughter told me that ‘Rata Tata had died’.  He was such an empathetic leader and it took some time to take this in.  In one of the articles I read on BBC, it read ‘Tata was also a scuba diving enthusiast, a hobby that fizzled with age “as his ears could take the pressure no more”. – I could relate to this a bit and also felt thankful to have tried Scuba Diving.

The next day we went on a boat tour across different islands around Phi-Phi and this time, also tried Snorkeling though it was not on my list of things to do on this trip and also jumped and spent time on the sea (with a life jacket 🙂 Having done Scuba Diving, I felt more comfortable  with Snorkeling this time around. 

When you practice, you get used to things. This helped reiterate this learning. In scenarios like this, it is great to follow the instructions of the instructor (copy) and it just works. 

Thankful that I tried things outside of my comfort zone.