The Story of Our Trip to Thailand: Part 3

Ready, Set, Go

The trip was almost ready; we were weeks away from the flights, and everyone was excited. We started planning the final details. Two weeks before our flight, one of our family members wasn’t feeling well and had to be hospitalized. I got a private message from my brother-in-law: “We’re screwed; the vacation is gone.” I was more worried about our family member’s health than the vacation, though I knew everyone-especially the kids-would be deeply disappointed.

All the flights and hotels were booked, and some were non-refundable. If we didn't go, we were going to lose a lot of money. But we couldn't leave anyone behind and just go. It’s family.

Days went by and things improved; it seemed the vacation would happen as planned after all. Those were very tense days leading up to the flight, not just because of our sick family member, but because of what was happening in our country. It felt like every minute an “Operation Epic Fury” or “Operation Roaring Lion” was about to begin. I would only know for sure after landing in Thailand, but it was so close; everyone talked as if it could happen at any second. Every night that passed without an attack starting, I knew we were one step closer to our vacation.

TLV to BKK

The flight was scheduled to depart on 26/02/2026 at 21:30. The airport was almost empty when we arrived; I have never seen it so deserted. I’m used to waiting hours in line for every step of the way to the gate. I think it was the first time we finished check-in and security so quickly that we still had two hours to kill before our flight.

Time passed and we finally boarded the plane. We were all ready but tense; I couldn't believe we had actually made it this far. We sat and waited, but the plane didn't move. Then we heard the pilot say over the microphone, "Attention everyone," and I thought to myself, "That’s it. They’re taking us off the plane. The war has started."

Instead, the pilot continued, “We have a technical problem; it will take an hour and a half to fix.” My kids started to get worried. This was my son's first flight ever, and he started wondering what would happen if the plane had a technical problem in mid-air. I tried to calm him down, telling him they were fixing it now so we’d be safe in the sky. Two and a half hours later, the plane finally started to move. I couldn't believe it, but it was happening-we were in the air, on our way to Thailand.

The flight itself was great. Time flew by and we landed in Bangkok at 13:30 right on schedule. I don't know how the pilot made up the time-maybe he hit the gas pedal and made the plane fly faster! Either way, we landed in a hot Bangkok, ready to head to Pattaya.

Pattaya

We reached the hotel after a three-hour drive from Bangkok to Pattaya, but not before the driver stopped for a break and we entered our very first 7-Eleven. We were exhausted from the journey but still buzzing with adrenaline from the flight.

We arrived in the late afternoon, checked in, and agreed to meet in the lobby in 30 minutes to grab food at the night market outside the Terminal 21 mall. When we got there, I’ll be honest: I was personally overwhelmed. There were so many unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells that it didn't sit well with me at first. Maybe it was just the exhaustion. The kids wanted to buy every sweet thing they saw (partly because they’re kids and partly because they needed the sugar to stay awake). Some of us grabbed food from the stalls, while others stood on the side feeling overwhelmed (like me). My mother couldn't find anything she wanted to eat, so I helped her get McDonald’s next to the market-that was the only thing she agreed to eat that day.

That was Friday evening. We finished early; we all desperately needed a good night's sleep after the long trip.

Saturday: The Sanctuary of Truth and the War

How does it feel to be on vacation and know that a war has started in your country? We had mixed feelings. On one hand, you are worried about your loved ones and the friends you left behind. On the other hand, you are happy you made it out and that your children don’t have to deal with the war for once (we’ve had enough wars at home that even "once" is a relief). So, physically we were in Thailand, but in many ways, our hearts stayed in Israel.

You can see the look on my son's face - he clearly wanted to be in the swimming pool instead of here!

The Sanctuary of Truth was beautiful and huge. The entire place is always under construction, so when you enter, they give you a helmet for safety. It is a massive, intricately carved wooden castle. I was very excited to see it, but the kids-not so much. All they wanted to do was return to the hotel and go to the swimming pool.

I knew it was going to be hard to satisfy everyone. My oldest didn’t even enter the castle itself and stayed outside instead. I was a little disappointed, but I told myself that I knew this is how it would be. Not everyone is going to enjoy every single attraction, and that’s just part of traveling with a big family.

When we were done with the tour inside this great castle and had taken some photos, we went outside and grabbed a cool coconut shake. The kids kept saying they wanted to go back to the hotel, so that’s exactly what we did. We spent the next few hours in the pool resting and relaxing, but we always kept one ear on the news, constantly thinking of the people back home.

That was our first 24 hours in Thailand. In the next part of our journey, I will tell you about our trip to Koh Larn island and how my son forgot his phone there.