Looking back on the past few weeks, it’s fun to think about the trip as a whole. It’s hard to see the big picture when you are knee deep in the daily grind of sightseeing, packing, traveling, finding food, navigating maps, getting lost, etc. We learned a lot about what it’s like to travel with 2 kids while trying to keep your sanity. Oh, and of course, having fun as a family! ☺ We are blessed to have been able to do this trip, even if it felt a little crazy at times!
It seemed like it was sometimes challenging to have all 4 of us on the same page with energy levels, hunger, desire to go out and do things, etc. When we went to China in 2008 with Audrey, it was so much easier in so many ways. One thing while traveling with 2 kids, Joe and I were always ‘on.’ At home, we each get sporadic breaks & a chance at alone time. During the trip, this only happened a couple of time for each of us- when we got massages, during our cooking classes, a run for Joe and a swim for me and when I snuck off with Laurel for a bit and when Joe went to the rugby game with Brian. That was it for the entire time. And when we were trying to get certain things done every day, it was almost impossible to make sure we each got some frequent down time.
And I suspect Audrey had similar feelings. She is used to getting time away from us to tend to herself- when she goes to school she gets to run and play with friends and go to ‘work.’ I think this is part of why she had so much fun playing with baby Miles and her friend Chase. Even though we made sure she got to choose activities and that we did kid friendly stuff, it’s just not the same. Plus, Audrey seems to be going through an emotional time lately, so she has been extra fragile and has needed to be handled with care. I just think her brain and her body are growing rapidly right now and she’s trying to process it all.
And poor little Scarlett. She is rounding the corner to being 2 years old and all she wants is freedom to explore and do things all by herself. She wants to walk by herself without holding hands, she wants to jump, run and be hands on. She wants to (and tries to) do everything her big sister does. She needs to be constantly watched because she will just walk off the edge into a swimming pool or run out into traffic- she just doesn’t know any better yet, but we are working on it! And there was A LOT of time that she spent strapped into the Ergo carrier or just being carried. And 98% of the time, the weather was HOT and humid. So being strapped into the carrier was extra hard on her as she gets sweaty very quickly. And when we were moving through very busy airports or in crowded markets, it meant she just couldn’t be down on her own. She is such a free, independent little spirit this was trying on her little soul.
With all of that said, one thing we learned from our China trip that we implemented here was to make sure we took breaks from busy days packed with sightseeing and have some down time in there too. This is where the 5 days on the beach came into play. And that time was indeed special for that very reason. We chilled out, we sat and watched the sun set, we played in the water and we had fun. Ahhh…
We tried not to do TOO much, but it was a busy schedule that we kept. We tried to soak it all in. We learned that even when you have been sitting on the back of an elephant for an hour and it’s a bumpy, hot, steep ride down and you are just ready to be done- it’s important to stop and remember the incredible thing that you are part of at that very moment and soak it all in. When you get home, you won’t have the chance to go outside and say, “Let’s go ride an elephant today.” It’s not an option, so enjoy the moment now.
We had fun. We were challenged. We truly enjoyed everywhere we went, loved seeing our friends and exploring places we’ve never been to before. And yes, we are still suffering from getting over jetlag, but we’d do the trip again in a heartbeat. Where to next??
And of course thanks to my wonderful hubby for making it all possible. ☺ We used the airline miles from all of those years Joe traveled back and forth to Boston to go on the trip. We couldn’t have afforded to go otherwise.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The WORST Line in an Airport EVER Could be Found in HKG Today!
Sunday, May 1: Day 19:
So we got up this morning and had a yummy pancake breakfast with the Allbrittons, said our good byes and hopped in a cab at 8:00 am. Audrey was totally bummed to be leaving Chase- she felt like she didn’t get enough time with her friend and even said in the cab, “I wish this was just the very first day of our trip so we can do it all over again.” Very sweet! Thank you thank you thank you for hosting us B, L, C and M!!
We were at the airport and standing in a medium sized line by 8:50 am for our 11:30 flight. PLENTY of time! We are NEVER this early to the airport. (This is one reason I am looking forward to Scarlett moving up to having her own seat on flights- when you travel with a lap infant, you can’t check in online. You have to do it in the airport, especially when traveling internationally.)
So we are standing in line, then Scarlett wanted milk, so I decided to wander around looking for some for her. We were gone 10-15 minutes & when we got back to Joe and Audrey, they had only moved 1 or 2 spots in line. We left again to go to the bathroom and same thing happened, but now the line was huge. We stood, we stood and stood some more. One hour passed. We probably moved about 3 spots up & still had at least 8 people in front of us. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Now the line reached almost to the exit doors. And now it was 10:30 & we still had a few people in front of us. People were starting to get pissed & official United folks were running around. Part of the problem- yesterday’s San Francisco flight was cancelled, so now those folks were trying to get on our flight. Plus, today’s Chicago flight was cancelled, so those people were scrambling. It wouldn’t have been so bad but it seemed like today was every United employee’s first day on the job. I mean they were clueless! One guy a few spots behind us flagged someone down to ask how worried he should be about missing the flight and they gave him a sticker. A sticker! No explanation about what that sticker meant either, then she just ran off. Audrey was stoked to see that they were handing out stickers so she asked for one too.
Well, long story and a lot of mad people later, we FINALLY made it up to the counter around 11:00 and got checked in. Thankfully we were not checking any bags as they never would have made it! (We do our best to only carry on due to one too many lost bags in the past) Mind you we still had to go through security and customs plus make it out to the proper concourse. We were moving as fast as possible and still had to run to catch the flight. Thankfully (for their sakes really) United held the plane until everyone was onboard. Idiots.
The flight went pretty smooth. The girls settled in and took some decent naps. We played games, colored, watched movies, wandered the aisles and watched the sun set and rise again. I don’t know which is stranger- having it be day time all the way across or watching night move that quickly.
We made it to SFO pretty beat, but still kicking. We had a 2-3 hour layover and thankfully our flight’s gate was right next to the kid’s play area. This kept the monkeys occupied until take off again. If you are ever in SFO with a decent layover and you are traveling with kids, you should seek it out. It’s located near gate 87. (And if you are ever there WITHOUT kids, avoid the area around gate 87 like the plague!) Everyone napped on the flight again which was good, but Audrey and Scarlett got into that deep sleep zone and Scarlett was NOT happy when we landed in Denver. She did her breath holding, kicking, crying thing the whole way off the plane.
And once again, we have to give 2 (or should it be 8??) thumbs up to our neighbors Dave and Sally. Not only did they drop us off at the airport when we left Denver, but they also parked our car at the valet off site parking lot so it would be waiting for us upon landing. (They were out of town this weekend too) So we hopped in and made it home safely by mid afternoon. And what do you know? While we were gone, the Easter Bunny came and left (plastic) eggs in the front yard for the girls to find. AND Easter Baskets on the dining room table! Wasn’t that super of him? Audrey and Scarlett happily ran around the yard collecting eggs and Audrey exclaimed, “This is the BEST Easter day ever!”
We all were about ready to pass out, but wanted the girls to go to bed at a reasonably normal hour. They were down and out by 7:15 and now Joe and I are just relaxing on the couch.
Phew! What a long, yet oddly short, fabulous journey. We are indeed glad to be home though and look forward to processing it all over the next few weeks.
I’ll be adding photos tonight after I get them all downloaded.
Thank you for following us on our journey!
So we got up this morning and had a yummy pancake breakfast with the Allbrittons, said our good byes and hopped in a cab at 8:00 am. Audrey was totally bummed to be leaving Chase- she felt like she didn’t get enough time with her friend and even said in the cab, “I wish this was just the very first day of our trip so we can do it all over again.” Very sweet! Thank you thank you thank you for hosting us B, L, C and M!!
We were at the airport and standing in a medium sized line by 8:50 am for our 11:30 flight. PLENTY of time! We are NEVER this early to the airport. (This is one reason I am looking forward to Scarlett moving up to having her own seat on flights- when you travel with a lap infant, you can’t check in online. You have to do it in the airport, especially when traveling internationally.)
So we are standing in line, then Scarlett wanted milk, so I decided to wander around looking for some for her. We were gone 10-15 minutes & when we got back to Joe and Audrey, they had only moved 1 or 2 spots in line. We left again to go to the bathroom and same thing happened, but now the line was huge. We stood, we stood and stood some more. One hour passed. We probably moved about 3 spots up & still had at least 8 people in front of us. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Now the line reached almost to the exit doors. And now it was 10:30 & we still had a few people in front of us. People were starting to get pissed & official United folks were running around. Part of the problem- yesterday’s San Francisco flight was cancelled, so now those folks were trying to get on our flight. Plus, today’s Chicago flight was cancelled, so those people were scrambling. It wouldn’t have been so bad but it seemed like today was every United employee’s first day on the job. I mean they were clueless! One guy a few spots behind us flagged someone down to ask how worried he should be about missing the flight and they gave him a sticker. A sticker! No explanation about what that sticker meant either, then she just ran off. Audrey was stoked to see that they were handing out stickers so she asked for one too.
Well, long story and a lot of mad people later, we FINALLY made it up to the counter around 11:00 and got checked in. Thankfully we were not checking any bags as they never would have made it! (We do our best to only carry on due to one too many lost bags in the past) Mind you we still had to go through security and customs plus make it out to the proper concourse. We were moving as fast as possible and still had to run to catch the flight. Thankfully (for their sakes really) United held the plane until everyone was onboard. Idiots.
The flight went pretty smooth. The girls settled in and took some decent naps. We played games, colored, watched movies, wandered the aisles and watched the sun set and rise again. I don’t know which is stranger- having it be day time all the way across or watching night move that quickly.
We made it to SFO pretty beat, but still kicking. We had a 2-3 hour layover and thankfully our flight’s gate was right next to the kid’s play area. This kept the monkeys occupied until take off again. If you are ever in SFO with a decent layover and you are traveling with kids, you should seek it out. It’s located near gate 87. (And if you are ever there WITHOUT kids, avoid the area around gate 87 like the plague!) Everyone napped on the flight again which was good, but Audrey and Scarlett got into that deep sleep zone and Scarlett was NOT happy when we landed in Denver. She did her breath holding, kicking, crying thing the whole way off the plane.
And once again, we have to give 2 (or should it be 8??) thumbs up to our neighbors Dave and Sally. Not only did they drop us off at the airport when we left Denver, but they also parked our car at the valet off site parking lot so it would be waiting for us upon landing. (They were out of town this weekend too) So we hopped in and made it home safely by mid afternoon. And what do you know? While we were gone, the Easter Bunny came and left (plastic) eggs in the front yard for the girls to find. AND Easter Baskets on the dining room table! Wasn’t that super of him? Audrey and Scarlett happily ran around the yard collecting eggs and Audrey exclaimed, “This is the BEST Easter day ever!”
We all were about ready to pass out, but wanted the girls to go to bed at a reasonably normal hour. They were down and out by 7:15 and now Joe and I are just relaxing on the couch.
Phew! What a long, yet oddly short, fabulous journey. We are indeed glad to be home though and look forward to processing it all over the next few weeks.
I’ll be adding photos tonight after I get them all downloaded.
Thank you for following us on our journey!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Our One Full Day with the Allbrittons
Saturday, April 30: Day 18:
Since we leave tomorrow, today is our one full day with the Allbrittons in Hong Kong. They wanted to show us around Sai Kung town so we could get a feel for the place they enjoy living in. Sai Kung is part of the New Territories east of Hong Kong. Depending on traffic, they are about 30-60 minutes from Central Hong Kong. Sai Kung town is technically a fishing village with a little walkable downtown. We went into town for dim sum right near the water. The food was pretty tasty, which the girls ate with their new kiddy chopsticks that Langley bought for them. Scarlett enjoyed practicing by picking up her raisins with her chopsticks. It was raining again, so we didn’t really walk around town too much.
The other fun part of today was going to a kids’ fashion show in Central. At the last minute, Chase was invited to participate in it, so they jumped at the chance. We felt like we came rolling into Hong Kong on fumes yesterday, so we welcomed the chance to just do something low key. And since it was again raining and foggy, Victoria Peak was out. Unfortunately, Audrey got the impression that she was also going to get to put on make-up and a pretty dress for the show. When she discovered this was not the case, she was heartbroken and didn’t understand why she just couldn’t do it too. Langley and I tried to explain it to her, but it was a toughy. I realized how bad she felt, so I decided to take Audrey into the city and walk around a bit. She needed some special mommy time to bring her spirits back up. The rest of the gang came later right before the show started. Scarlett was able to get a much needed nap in while Joe and Brian hung out.
The fashion show was a total hoot. Chase did great and even won first place. Audrey enjoyed seeing her friend walk the catwalk and decided she would like to try it someday!
After the show, we went back to Sai Kung with the kids while Joe and Brian stayed behind and went to a rugby match. Hong Kong vs. Japan, with Japan winning. The guys had a great time and were back home for dinner. Once again JoJo made amazing meals for both kids and adults and we all had a great time chatting. Scarlett and Madoc played well together as did Audrey and Chase.
We lost the Allbrittons again tonight to an early bedtime ☺, while Joe and I stayed up so I could get stuff packed for our departure tomorrow morning. It’s so weird that this is our last night! But I feel like we are all ready to head home.
Since we leave tomorrow, today is our one full day with the Allbrittons in Hong Kong. They wanted to show us around Sai Kung town so we could get a feel for the place they enjoy living in. Sai Kung is part of the New Territories east of Hong Kong. Depending on traffic, they are about 30-60 minutes from Central Hong Kong. Sai Kung town is technically a fishing village with a little walkable downtown. We went into town for dim sum right near the water. The food was pretty tasty, which the girls ate with their new kiddy chopsticks that Langley bought for them. Scarlett enjoyed practicing by picking up her raisins with her chopsticks. It was raining again, so we didn’t really walk around town too much.
The other fun part of today was going to a kids’ fashion show in Central. At the last minute, Chase was invited to participate in it, so they jumped at the chance. We felt like we came rolling into Hong Kong on fumes yesterday, so we welcomed the chance to just do something low key. And since it was again raining and foggy, Victoria Peak was out. Unfortunately, Audrey got the impression that she was also going to get to put on make-up and a pretty dress for the show. When she discovered this was not the case, she was heartbroken and didn’t understand why she just couldn’t do it too. Langley and I tried to explain it to her, but it was a toughy. I realized how bad she felt, so I decided to take Audrey into the city and walk around a bit. She needed some special mommy time to bring her spirits back up. The rest of the gang came later right before the show started. Scarlett was able to get a much needed nap in while Joe and Brian hung out.
The fashion show was a total hoot. Chase did great and even won first place. Audrey enjoyed seeing her friend walk the catwalk and decided she would like to try it someday!
After the show, we went back to Sai Kung with the kids while Joe and Brian stayed behind and went to a rugby match. Hong Kong vs. Japan, with Japan winning. The guys had a great time and were back home for dinner. Once again JoJo made amazing meals for both kids and adults and we all had a great time chatting. Scarlett and Madoc played well together as did Audrey and Chase.
We lost the Allbrittons again tonight to an early bedtime ☺, while Joe and I stayed up so I could get stuff packed for our departure tomorrow morning. It’s so weird that this is our last night! But I feel like we are all ready to head home.
Hello Hong Kong! Our Final Leg
Friday, April 29: Day 17:
So we arrived in Hong Kong at 10:15 am. We really just had this morning/ early afternoon in the city because we planned to go to our friends’, the Allbrittons, house in Sai Kung around 4:00 pm. We had to find food somewhere because we only had a small breakfast and everyone needed some sustenance. We also needed to figure out what to do with our bags while we explored. It had to be somewhere that made sense for us.
We took the train to the Kowloon station, which was in the lower level of a large shopping mall. We ate lunch at the mall and left our bags in a locker there. This worked great b/c we planned to go back to the station to catch a train out to Sai Kung.
Before we left on the trip, we got some kid friendly videos of the different cities we were visiting so Audrey could be inspired. One thing she saw on the Hong Kong video was that the world’s longest escalator was there. (see photo- we are at the beginning of the first section of the escalator)
That was her top choice for things to do. One thing we are doing while traveling to keep the kids engaged is making sure we do things they will enjoy. And even more importantly for Audrey is that we give her the power to choose activities (within reason of course). So escalator riding it is! And with the weather the way it was today, Joe’s first choice of Victoria Peak wasn’t possible.
We took the train a few stops across to central Hong Kong. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the escalators it was already 1:30 or so (due to a horribly annoying experience at the restaurant where they brought us the wrong foods, didn’t bring us the one thing I thought the girls would eat, ignored us, were rude, etc… I feel like this time it was more than just a language barrier.)
The escalator is divided into sections. Sometimes it was a block long, sometimes a couple of blocks. Sometimes it was a moving walkway and at others it was a standard escalator. We would have liked to stop along the way, pop off into the neighborhood and check things out. However, we were short on time and it was raining, so we kept riding. It was actually a great activity because most of the escalator route was covered and the weather limited us in what we could do.
The neighborhood was filled with interesting shops, a huge variety of restaurants, tons of people and apartment buildings. We stopped for a bit to take a rest and have a snack. It felt like a real slice of Hong Kong. If we had an extra day here, I would want to spend a little time exploring this neighborhood more.
We got back to the bags by 3:30 and asked the MRT guy how much time a train vs. cab would take to get to Sai Kung. If we just took a cab, we could get there pretty close to our estimated arrival time of 4:00. We got in the cab line, which took us a solid 15-20 minutes just to get a cab! Then once we got in, the cabbie didn’t know how to get to the Allbrittons’ house. The guy managing the cab line helped us help the driver, but it was annoying. We immediately thought maybe we should just take the next cab, but they insisted we stay and figure it out. It took at least another 20+ minutes to start moving! By this time it was 5:00 and rush hour! Argh. We were frustrated and since they didn’t eat much today, the girls were a little nutty.
We finally made it to Brian and Langley’s just before 6:00. We know these guys from Audrey’s class last year at Montview. Their daughter Chase was a friend of Audrey’s. The girls are very similar and hit it off right away when they met. They also have another daughter, Madoc who is 5 months older than Scarlett, so it was fun to see those 2 actually play together. They were just babies when B&L moved from Denver to Hong Kong last year.
Their helper JoJo made some lovely meals for the kids and us. She even hung out upstairs with the kids so the adults could have a relaxing dinner free of interruptions from the kids. Um, hello- how cool was that?! That was AMAZING! I would LOVE to have a JoJo of my very own. Not only for what she does, but how she does it and who she is. We only just met her and can sense what a great person she is. And Scarlett, who is usually very skeptical of anyone who doesn’t live in our house, took to JoJo right away. She even said “Hi JoJo.” And “Thank you JoJo.” ☺
The Allbrittons had just returned from the US 5 days before we arrived, so they were tired and we all went to bed early. We had a great time catching up tonight!
So we arrived in Hong Kong at 10:15 am. We really just had this morning/ early afternoon in the city because we planned to go to our friends’, the Allbrittons, house in Sai Kung around 4:00 pm. We had to find food somewhere because we only had a small breakfast and everyone needed some sustenance. We also needed to figure out what to do with our bags while we explored. It had to be somewhere that made sense for us.
We took the train to the Kowloon station, which was in the lower level of a large shopping mall. We ate lunch at the mall and left our bags in a locker there. This worked great b/c we planned to go back to the station to catch a train out to Sai Kung.
Before we left on the trip, we got some kid friendly videos of the different cities we were visiting so Audrey could be inspired. One thing she saw on the Hong Kong video was that the world’s longest escalator was there. (see photo- we are at the beginning of the first section of the escalator)
That was her top choice for things to do. One thing we are doing while traveling to keep the kids engaged is making sure we do things they will enjoy. And even more importantly for Audrey is that we give her the power to choose activities (within reason of course). So escalator riding it is! And with the weather the way it was today, Joe’s first choice of Victoria Peak wasn’t possible.
We took the train a few stops across to central Hong Kong. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the escalators it was already 1:30 or so (due to a horribly annoying experience at the restaurant where they brought us the wrong foods, didn’t bring us the one thing I thought the girls would eat, ignored us, were rude, etc… I feel like this time it was more than just a language barrier.)
The escalator is divided into sections. Sometimes it was a block long, sometimes a couple of blocks. Sometimes it was a moving walkway and at others it was a standard escalator. We would have liked to stop along the way, pop off into the neighborhood and check things out. However, we were short on time and it was raining, so we kept riding. It was actually a great activity because most of the escalator route was covered and the weather limited us in what we could do.
The neighborhood was filled with interesting shops, a huge variety of restaurants, tons of people and apartment buildings. We stopped for a bit to take a rest and have a snack. It felt like a real slice of Hong Kong. If we had an extra day here, I would want to spend a little time exploring this neighborhood more.We got back to the bags by 3:30 and asked the MRT guy how much time a train vs. cab would take to get to Sai Kung. If we just took a cab, we could get there pretty close to our estimated arrival time of 4:00. We got in the cab line, which took us a solid 15-20 minutes just to get a cab! Then once we got in, the cabbie didn’t know how to get to the Allbrittons’ house. The guy managing the cab line helped us help the driver, but it was annoying. We immediately thought maybe we should just take the next cab, but they insisted we stay and figure it out. It took at least another 20+ minutes to start moving! By this time it was 5:00 and rush hour! Argh. We were frustrated and since they didn’t eat much today, the girls were a little nutty.
We finally made it to Brian and Langley’s just before 6:00. We know these guys from Audrey’s class last year at Montview. Their daughter Chase was a friend of Audrey’s. The girls are very similar and hit it off right away when they met. They also have another daughter, Madoc who is 5 months older than Scarlett, so it was fun to see those 2 actually play together. They were just babies when B&L moved from Denver to Hong Kong last year.
Their helper JoJo made some lovely meals for the kids and us. She even hung out upstairs with the kids so the adults could have a relaxing dinner free of interruptions from the kids. Um, hello- how cool was that?! That was AMAZING! I would LOVE to have a JoJo of my very own. Not only for what she does, but how she does it and who she is. We only just met her and can sense what a great person she is. And Scarlett, who is usually very skeptical of anyone who doesn’t live in our house, took to JoJo right away. She even said “Hi JoJo.” And “Thank you JoJo.” ☺
The Allbrittons had just returned from the US 5 days before we arrived, so they were tired and we all went to bed early. We had a great time catching up tonight!
Final Thoughts on Chiang Mai
We really liked Chiang Mai and feel that we could have spent a couple more days exploring the city and the surrounding area. We recommend going here if you get the chance. There are a couple of big, beautiful temples outside of the city that I really wanted to see, but we just didn’t have time. I have read about some amazing trekking that you can do in the mountains too, but that will have to wait. This just means we’ll have to go back. And while the hotel was nice and had some great features for traveling with kids, it was a bit too far out of town to easily explore the city. And there was really nothing else near the hotel. It will be nice to go back someday when the girls are quite a bit older so we can do more in the evenings and stay at one of the little boutique hotels in town. So many of the neighborhoods we walked through had great little bars, restaurants, hotels, markets, etc, all tucked into alleys and small windy streets, hidden from the busier streets.
Audrey’s favorite part was the elephants. And I think we all agreed!
Audrey’s favorite part was the elephants. And I think we all agreed!
Trying to Soak it All In
When we were on the shuttle from the Bangkok hotel to the airport at 4:00 am after only being there for approximately 11 hours, Audrey turned to me and said, "Mommy, why are leaving Bangkok so soon? I haven't had a chance to soak it all in yet."
Good Bye Chiang Mai & One Night in Bangkok
Thursday, April 28: Day 16:
Today I had my cooking class, which was loads of fun! We pounded our own spices and made curry from scratch. It was amazing how the spice of the curry cooking FILLED the room and made us all choke and cough. (more about it in the cooking class blog entry)
I took the Yellow Car into town at 8:00 am. I planned to take a motorbike tuk tuk to the neighborhood where the class was, but
I saw a bicycle tuk tuk guy parked across the street. Since it was just me this morning and not the whole Keeley gang, I could fit in his small carriage, so I decided to experience something a bit different. It was a great, slow 15 minute ride past temples, shops, and local people going about their day.
I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't find the kitchen since we took the wrong turn last night, but I did. I also discovered that when we got lost last night, we had veered right when we should have gone left and that we were only 3 blocks from a hotel where lots of cabs came. Doh!
Joe spent the morning with the girls at the hotel grounds feeding the gigantic fish and going to the playground. He finished our packing, checked us out of the hotel and caught the 11:00 free shuttle. They went shopping at a market a few blocks from the kitchen where Joe finally got himself a souvenir- a Chang Beer t-shirt. ☺
They had lunch together and Scarlett apparently gobbled up several breadsticks. Hey, at least she ate something!
After my class, Joe & the girls picked me up, we took a tuk tuk (which Scarlett now yells “Tuk Tuk!” whenever she sees one) and then took the yellow car back to the hotel. The hotel shuttle brought us to the airport for our 5:30 flight. We landed in Bangkok at 6:30 and the hotel there picked us up with a shuttle. It was a little annoying b/c we had to wait for about 20 minutes for other people to get on the shuttle, it was dinnertime and the girls were done.
We finally made it to the hotel and went to the restaurant to eat. The hotel is outside of the main city, but is close to the airport. Since we fly out at 6:30 am tomorrow, we tried to get as close as possible. The baby bed that they left for us was broken, they didn’t have one that wasn’t broken, so they gave us this baby bassinet that swung from side to side. Really? I had to squeeze it between our bed and a nightstand and tuck towels around it to hold it still so Scarlett wouldn’t get hurt by standing and flipping it over. Needless to say, I barely slept as I was too worried about her. We would have just put her in bed with us, but Audrey was already there.
In the short time we are staying in this hotel, we feel like we’ve gotten a lot of the “Uh huh. Yes. We understand. No problem. Consider it done,” attitude from the hotel staff, when in fact they don’t understand and don’t do anything we ask. Definitely just a language barrier problem, but I just wish they would just say, “I don’t understand. Please explain in another way.” That would be way less annoying.
We have to get up at 3:45 am to catch the 4:00 shuttle to make it to the airport on time for our flight to Hong Kong, so early bed time for us tonight. The city of Bangkok will have to wait until another trip when we can really explore it.
Hong Kong, here we come!
Today I had my cooking class, which was loads of fun! We pounded our own spices and made curry from scratch. It was amazing how the spice of the curry cooking FILLED the room and made us all choke and cough. (more about it in the cooking class blog entry)
I took the Yellow Car into town at 8:00 am. I planned to take a motorbike tuk tuk to the neighborhood where the class was, but
I saw a bicycle tuk tuk guy parked across the street. Since it was just me this morning and not the whole Keeley gang, I could fit in his small carriage, so I decided to experience something a bit different. It was a great, slow 15 minute ride past temples, shops, and local people going about their day.
I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't find the kitchen since we took the wrong turn last night, but I did. I also discovered that when we got lost last night, we had veered right when we should have gone left and that we were only 3 blocks from a hotel where lots of cabs came. Doh!
Joe spent the morning with the girls at the hotel grounds feeding the gigantic fish and going to the playground. He finished our packing, checked us out of the hotel and caught the 11:00 free shuttle. They went shopping at a market a few blocks from the kitchen where Joe finally got himself a souvenir- a Chang Beer t-shirt. ☺
They had lunch together and Scarlett apparently gobbled up several breadsticks. Hey, at least she ate something!
After my class, Joe & the girls picked me up, we took a tuk tuk (which Scarlett now yells “Tuk Tuk!” whenever she sees one) and then took the yellow car back to the hotel. The hotel shuttle brought us to the airport for our 5:30 flight. We landed in Bangkok at 6:30 and the hotel there picked us up with a shuttle. It was a little annoying b/c we had to wait for about 20 minutes for other people to get on the shuttle, it was dinnertime and the girls were done.
We finally made it to the hotel and went to the restaurant to eat. The hotel is outside of the main city, but is close to the airport. Since we fly out at 6:30 am tomorrow, we tried to get as close as possible. The baby bed that they left for us was broken, they didn’t have one that wasn’t broken, so they gave us this baby bassinet that swung from side to side. Really? I had to squeeze it between our bed and a nightstand and tuck towels around it to hold it still so Scarlett wouldn’t get hurt by standing and flipping it over. Needless to say, I barely slept as I was too worried about her. We would have just put her in bed with us, but Audrey was already there.
In the short time we are staying in this hotel, we feel like we’ve gotten a lot of the “Uh huh. Yes. We understand. No problem. Consider it done,” attitude from the hotel staff, when in fact they don’t understand and don’t do anything we ask. Definitely just a language barrier problem, but I just wish they would just say, “I don’t understand. Please explain in another way.” That would be way less annoying.
We have to get up at 3:45 am to catch the 4:00 shuttle to make it to the airport on time for our flight to Hong Kong, so early bed time for us tonight. The city of Bangkok will have to wait until another trip when we can really explore it.
Hong Kong, here we come!
Asia Scenic Thai Cooking Class
The cooking classes began with a tour of the homeowner’s herb garden, then a walk down the street to the local food market to introduce some of the ingredients Thai people use in their cooking. 
For the 1/2 day class that we signed up for, you make 3 dishes from different categories. (a full day class does all 5 categories) You can choose from Appetizer, Noodle, Stir Fried, Soup, or Dessert. Then you have to make a curry paste and a curry. The class agrees as a whole on 3 categories, then you can choose individually what you want to make. Joe made Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, Spicy Basil Stir Fry and red curry. I made the Papaya Salad, Pad See Uw, Sticky Rice with Mango and Penang Curry.
It was all so fun and easy to make! The classes were about 8-10 people from all walks of life, which made for fun atmospheres for Joe and I. He began chatting with the girl next to him and as it turned out, she also was from Denver and lives in the Wash Park neighborhood, just 4 blocks away from some friends of ours! Too funny!
Joe and I both look forward to cooking Thai food at home now that we know how. And I have discovered a new thing to do while traveling! Or even while at home. Cooking classes are loads of fun! And this particular one was 700 Baht (about $23). The full day class was only 900 Baht, but we didn’t have the time for it unfortunately. We were not only sent home with the skills, but we also got a great little cookbook to keep.
For the 1/2 day class that we signed up for, you make 3 dishes from different categories. (a full day class does all 5 categories) You can choose from Appetizer, Noodle, Stir Fried, Soup, or Dessert. Then you have to make a curry paste and a curry. The class agrees as a whole on 3 categories, then you can choose individually what you want to make. Joe made Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, Spicy Basil Stir Fry and red curry. I made the Papaya Salad, Pad See Uw, Sticky Rice with Mango and Penang Curry.
It was all so fun and easy to make! The classes were about 8-10 people from all walks of life, which made for fun atmospheres for Joe and I. He began chatting with the girl next to him and as it turned out, she also was from Denver and lives in the Wash Park neighborhood, just 4 blocks away from some friends of ours! Too funny!
Joe and I both look forward to cooking Thai food at home now that we know how. And I have discovered a new thing to do while traveling! Or even while at home. Cooking classes are loads of fun! And this particular one was 700 Baht (about $23). The full day class was only 900 Baht, but we didn’t have the time for it unfortunately. We were not only sent home with the skills, but we also got a great little cookbook to keep.
Elephants!
Wednesday, April 27: Day 15:
I intended to book an elephant camp excursion before we left for the trip, but things were NUTS! Then I fully intended to book it sometime before getting to Thailand, but the internet access was spotty at best. So needless to say the 2 camps that had been recommended to me by friends were totally booked. But I did find one, called Maesa Elephant Camp, that had room for this morning. So we went! The hotel booked a taxi to bring us out there, wait for us, and then bring us back to the hotel. This was about 5-6 hours of service for 1200 Baht ($40). We arrived at 8:00 just in time for the elephant show. Now honestly, for this adventure, I was imagining more of a hands on experience- getting into the river with the elephants, bathing and feeding them and experiencing what it would be like to be an elephant handler for one day. The other camps do indeed do this. Joe however was glad that this camp was less hands-on and more of a sit back and watch some elephants do stuff. Joe's not really an animal guy.
So we watched the 1 hour show (that the children also enjoyed) which included elephants playing soccer, pulling and piling logs, painting, etc... and then we went to ride an elephant.
All 4 of us sat in a seat (much like what you find on a ferris wheel at the fair) on the elephant's back while the trainer sat behind the elephant's head. We rode for an hour on a path that went up and down hills at a pretty steep grade, making our way to a village in the hills. The elephant moved slowly, stopping to eat, pee and poo whenever his heart desired or needed. At one point, Audrey felt a bug on her ankle, so she kicked her shoe off to scare it away. The trainer had to get down to retrieve it before it got squished into elephant poop and left behind. He was very kind and gave us an umbrella to shade the girls, stopped to take our photos for us (a service they were charging 200 Baht for back at the camp) and he chatted with us occasionally in his broken, yet reasonably good, English.
We made it to this village in the hills where the Longneck People live. Now it obviously caters to tourists on a certain level as the women have their goods for sale in front of their houses and they are all decked out in their colorful outfits, jewelry and make-up. 
However, it is indeed a working village where people live, farm and make their woven goods. (from the internet: Long Neck people are a unique hill tribe in Thailand as some of the women choose to wear a brass coil that over time elongates the neck as much as double. Originating in Burma (Union of Myanmar) these unique peoples are a small minority of the Karennin or Red Karen people of Burma. There is much speculation about why the rings are worn by the women of this tribe but, when asked, most of these gentle and proud ladies will tell you it is simply tradition.) It was pretty interesting actually, but it was also getting very hot. The driver met us there and brought us back to the hotel around lunchtime.
We had lunch, put Scarlett down for a nap and relaxed in the room for a bit while it rained. Chiang Mai is positioned up against a mountain range much like the Denver/ Boulder area is. It also seems to have a similar weather pattern as Denver does during the summer with a regular afternoon rain shower.
We got Scarlett up and caught a Yellow Car around 3:00 so Joe could be in town for his cooking class. We booked Thai Cooking Classes through a place called Asia Scenic. I have one tomorrow morning. Unfortunately we had to split up so one of us could be with the girls while the other was cooking. The girls and I wandered around until his class ended around 8:00 pm. We had dinner at this place called The Riva, mostly because I could order pancakes for dinner, which is the one food we can almost guarantee Scarlett will eat on this trip. She has been unbelievably difficult with the food situation. I plan to stage a food intervention when we get home to get her eating properly again. But for now, it's pancakes for dinner.
We then took a tuk tuk to the Night Market, which opens at 7:00 pm. This is just a handful of blocks of people selling trinkets, tourist stuff, junk, and art. The girls REALLY liked this tuk tuk ride. Scarlett was woo hoo-ing and screaming happily as we bumped along the streets. Audrey loved checking out the sights and sounds and looked like she could be 19, holding onto the hand grip, her hair blowing in the breeze and soaking it all in.
We then went to pick up Joe. He really enjoyed the class! (See next entry for details) As we left the kitchen, we accidentally took a wrong turn and instead of walking 3 blocks before getting to a good spot to hail a cab, we walked a LONG way, carrying the 2 tired girls. (I have been telling myself that even though I have not been able to keep up with official workouts on this trip, carrying a 25 or 36 pound child around everywhere must count for something!). We saw NO cabs and couldn't quite figure out which direction we were walking in. A tuk tuk driver pulled over and said he would take us for free to a spot where we could find cabs. He drove us for about 4-5 minutes, found the cabs and got out to talk to the driver to make sure he knew where to take us. This is just a good example of the truly kind people we have run into on this trip. That man did not have to do any of that, but i think he saw us carrying the girls down a dark street and took pity. How nice! We are so grateful to his kindness and did of course tip him. There was some discussion between the tuk tuk guy, the cabbie and this lady who appeared out of nowhere. She insisted that it should cost 5oo Baht to get to the hotel, but I assured her it was 400. More discussion, but of course we agreed to 500, as it was late and we just needed to get the girls to bed. We got to the hotel and the cabbie realized it wasn't as far away as he thought it was. Joe handed him a 500 and he gave us 100 back. (Again an example of kindness) He didn't have to be honest, but he was. He even chatted with us a bit as we got out of the cab, helped us with our bags and showed us pictures of his baby girl. Kids down and lights out for me after midnight as I had to get the bags mostly packed for our departure to Hong Kong tomorrow.
I intended to book an elephant camp excursion before we left for the trip, but things were NUTS! Then I fully intended to book it sometime before getting to Thailand, but the internet access was spotty at best. So needless to say the 2 camps that had been recommended to me by friends were totally booked. But I did find one, called Maesa Elephant Camp, that had room for this morning. So we went! The hotel booked a taxi to bring us out there, wait for us, and then bring us back to the hotel. This was about 5-6 hours of service for 1200 Baht ($40). We arrived at 8:00 just in time for the elephant show. Now honestly, for this adventure, I was imagining more of a hands on experience- getting into the river with the elephants, bathing and feeding them and experiencing what it would be like to be an elephant handler for one day. The other camps do indeed do this. Joe however was glad that this camp was less hands-on and more of a sit back and watch some elephants do stuff. Joe's not really an animal guy.
So we watched the 1 hour show (that the children also enjoyed) which included elephants playing soccer, pulling and piling logs, painting, etc... and then we went to ride an elephant.
All 4 of us sat in a seat (much like what you find on a ferris wheel at the fair) on the elephant's back while the trainer sat behind the elephant's head. We rode for an hour on a path that went up and down hills at a pretty steep grade, making our way to a village in the hills. The elephant moved slowly, stopping to eat, pee and poo whenever his heart desired or needed. At one point, Audrey felt a bug on her ankle, so she kicked her shoe off to scare it away. The trainer had to get down to retrieve it before it got squished into elephant poop and left behind. He was very kind and gave us an umbrella to shade the girls, stopped to take our photos for us (a service they were charging 200 Baht for back at the camp) and he chatted with us occasionally in his broken, yet reasonably good, English. 
We made it to this village in the hills where the Longneck People live. Now it obviously caters to tourists on a certain level as the women have their goods for sale in front of their houses and they are all decked out in their colorful outfits, jewelry and make-up. 
However, it is indeed a working village where people live, farm and make their woven goods. (from the internet: Long Neck people are a unique hill tribe in Thailand as some of the women choose to wear a brass coil that over time elongates the neck as much as double. Originating in Burma (Union of Myanmar) these unique peoples are a small minority of the Karennin or Red Karen people of Burma. There is much speculation about why the rings are worn by the women of this tribe but, when asked, most of these gentle and proud ladies will tell you it is simply tradition.) It was pretty interesting actually, but it was also getting very hot. The driver met us there and brought us back to the hotel around lunchtime.
We had lunch, put Scarlett down for a nap and relaxed in the room for a bit while it rained. Chiang Mai is positioned up against a mountain range much like the Denver/ Boulder area is. It also seems to have a similar weather pattern as Denver does during the summer with a regular afternoon rain shower.
We got Scarlett up and caught a Yellow Car around 3:00 so Joe could be in town for his cooking class. We booked Thai Cooking Classes through a place called Asia Scenic. I have one tomorrow morning. Unfortunately we had to split up so one of us could be with the girls while the other was cooking. The girls and I wandered around until his class ended around 8:00 pm. We had dinner at this place called The Riva, mostly because I could order pancakes for dinner, which is the one food we can almost guarantee Scarlett will eat on this trip. She has been unbelievably difficult with the food situation. I plan to stage a food intervention when we get home to get her eating properly again. But for now, it's pancakes for dinner.
We then took a tuk tuk to the Night Market, which opens at 7:00 pm. This is just a handful of blocks of people selling trinkets, tourist stuff, junk, and art. The girls REALLY liked this tuk tuk ride. Scarlett was woo hoo-ing and screaming happily as we bumped along the streets. Audrey loved checking out the sights and sounds and looked like she could be 19, holding onto the hand grip, her hair blowing in the breeze and soaking it all in.
We then went to pick up Joe. He really enjoyed the class! (See next entry for details) As we left the kitchen, we accidentally took a wrong turn and instead of walking 3 blocks before getting to a good spot to hail a cab, we walked a LONG way, carrying the 2 tired girls. (I have been telling myself that even though I have not been able to keep up with official workouts on this trip, carrying a 25 or 36 pound child around everywhere must count for something!). We saw NO cabs and couldn't quite figure out which direction we were walking in. A tuk tuk driver pulled over and said he would take us for free to a spot where we could find cabs. He drove us for about 4-5 minutes, found the cabs and got out to talk to the driver to make sure he knew where to take us. This is just a good example of the truly kind people we have run into on this trip. That man did not have to do any of that, but i think he saw us carrying the girls down a dark street and took pity. How nice! We are so grateful to his kindness and did of course tip him. There was some discussion between the tuk tuk guy, the cabbie and this lady who appeared out of nowhere. She insisted that it should cost 5oo Baht to get to the hotel, but I assured her it was 400. More discussion, but of course we agreed to 500, as it was late and we just needed to get the girls to bed. We got to the hotel and the cabbie realized it wasn't as far away as he thought it was. Joe handed him a 500 and he gave us 100 back. (Again an example of kindness) He didn't have to be honest, but he was. He even chatted with us a bit as we got out of the cab, helped us with our bags and showed us pictures of his baby girl. Kids down and lights out for me after midnight as I had to get the bags mostly packed for our departure to Hong Kong tomorrow.
Ouch! That Hurt
Tuesday, April 26: Day 14
Well, it was bound to happen eventually. How could it not, really? When you take a trip like this with 2 small children, you expect it. You anticipate it. You feel it's looming presence and you dread its arrival. The anticipation is almost worse than when it does finally come, almost. What do I speak of? The horrifying Day of Devil Children. Today was the day that our travel angels turned into travel demons, testing us at every turn, whining, crying, screaming, kicking, tantrums, complaining... making you want to set them down and walk away. And believe me, today Joe and I were tempted to do exactly that.
Today we planned to visit some of the many lovely Buddhist Temples all over the city of Chiang Mai. And each and every one we visited had welcoming steps that I'm quite certain our children would have been safe on as we abandoned them. I'm equally as certain that the monks would have taken good care of them and quite possibly raised them better than we are raising them.
Ahh... that almost feels better just typing it! So what exactly happened today that made me want to leave my children with Buddhist monks?
We started with a fairly uneventful breakfast, but one in which Scarlett would barely eat anything.
We went to the petting zoo, fed the animals, did the playground, then went into town. We then wandered around the gardens at the hotel until 11:00 when the free shuttle went into the city. There was lots of whining from #1 as we walked around about all of the things we were doing that she didn't care to do. And mind you, she was being carried around by yours truly.
We had the driver stop at the first temple, Wat Phra Sing where we were mobbed by tons of taxi drivers who wanted to drive us around the city checking out temples. The girls were grumpy, so we decided to get a snack across the street at a coffee shop before bringing our highly spirited children into the sanctuary of the temple.
The whole time while having the snack Audrey complained and moaned at us about how we never buy her anything (mind you, the child has been getting souvenirs in every city so far), she didn't like this, didn't like that, we were horrible and mean (all while she's munching on a piece of Dutch Apple pie that SHE picked out) and Scarlett is hitting us, NOT eating (again), doing her best 'backbends of rebellion' as if she were being judged on precision of motions, screams and tears. Joe was having an epic battle with her, so I took her outside and gave her a time out. This relaxed her a bit, so we took our chances on the temple.
It was lovely, the children cooperated and we exited unscathed.
We decided that we needed to stop and find lunch b/c Scarlett really needed to eat something. We found this fantastic little place about 1 block from the temple. It was a small restaurant attached to a guest house and was super quaint and relaxing (or should have been). We ordered a sweet & sour veggie, a chicken noodle dish and some sticky rice with mango. Surely she would eat something -NOT! Scarlett continued to be a mad child while Audrey went back to her diatribe about how we weren't doing anything for her and we were so mean. Scarlett continued with her Olympic quality performance of "I'm almost 2 tantrums" and not eating. Joe and I shoveled in bites as fast as we could and continued onto the next temple, which was across the street.
There was more of the same for both children and I tried to bring myself to some place mentally where I didn't want to either slit my own wrists (I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen often outside the doors of centuries old Buddhist temples!) or abandon my children.
I did manage to bring Audrey down a bit from her crazy train, but it was obvious that both children were just plain exhausted. A storm had slowly started moving in from the mountains and was now dropping some rain.
From being accosted by tuk tuk drivers earlier, we knew that we could get one to drive us around the city sightseeing for 60 Baht. We decided to do this to encourage naps and get out of the rain. I argued a bit with one guy who insisted on bringing us out to this "village" with streets lined with shops filled with silks, jewelry, umbrellas, etc.. All of which he ASSURED me our kids would really enjoy walking around seeing. Meanwhile, I'm standing there holding Audrey whose eyes were crossed from being so tired and Joe had Scarlett who was again revving up into her next performance. He obviously was not paying ANY attention to our kids' behavior, but we suspect he got some kind of financial kickback for bringing people out to this shopping district and that's why he was so hell bent on bringing us there. We walked away, tried another guy who said there was no way he could drive us around for an hour for 60 Baht and insisted on taking no less than 100. (He obviously WAS paying attention to the kids' behavior and was like, "There's no way in hell I am spending 1 hour with those devil kids and only getting paid 60 Baht! You people are nuts.") And yes, I realize this is only a difference of roughly $1.30.
But the next guy agreed to it, so we jumped in just as the rain was really starting to come down. Scarlett was asleep within 2 blocks and Audrey enjoyed the ride for a bit, but was out about 15 minutes later. Joe and I (finally) enjoyed a moment of peace, snuggling our (again lovely & sleeping) children, shielding them from the chilly rain in the back of a tuk tuk as we drove around seeing the city of Chiang Mai.
About an hour later, the driver dropped us off at Wosret Market, which is their Chinatown. We wandered around a bit then looked for a Yellow Car to take back to the hotel. To take a taxi back out, it costs 400 Baht. The yellow car is really more of a little truck with a topper on it. It has a padded bench on each side of the truck's bed and seats about 10 people. The back has an open doorway that you just pop into. There's also a little platform with ladders on the back of the truck that can fit a couple more people and 2 more can fit in the front seat with the driver. There are no organized stops, you just push a buzzer to let the driver know you want off, and then you pay him the fare. We paid about 60 Baht for the 4 of us to go the 10+ Km.
We had intended on staying in the city for dinner, but at this point, Joe and I felt like we had been through battle and just wanted to call it a day. It was dinner and early lights out for all.
Phew.
Well, it was bound to happen eventually. How could it not, really? When you take a trip like this with 2 small children, you expect it. You anticipate it. You feel it's looming presence and you dread its arrival. The anticipation is almost worse than when it does finally come, almost. What do I speak of? The horrifying Day of Devil Children. Today was the day that our travel angels turned into travel demons, testing us at every turn, whining, crying, screaming, kicking, tantrums, complaining... making you want to set them down and walk away. And believe me, today Joe and I were tempted to do exactly that. Today we planned to visit some of the many lovely Buddhist Temples all over the city of Chiang Mai. And each and every one we visited had welcoming steps that I'm quite certain our children would have been safe on as we abandoned them. I'm equally as certain that the monks would have taken good care of them and quite possibly raised them better than we are raising them.
Ahh... that almost feels better just typing it! So what exactly happened today that made me want to leave my children with Buddhist monks? We started with a fairly uneventful breakfast, but one in which Scarlett would barely eat anything.
We went to the petting zoo, fed the animals, did the playground, then went into town. We then wandered around the gardens at the hotel until 11:00 when the free shuttle went into the city. There was lots of whining from #1 as we walked around about all of the things we were doing that she didn't care to do. And mind you, she was being carried around by yours truly. We had the driver stop at the first temple, Wat Phra Sing where we were mobbed by tons of taxi drivers who wanted to drive us around the city checking out temples. The girls were grumpy, so we decided to get a snack across the street at a coffee shop before bringing our highly spirited children into the sanctuary of the temple.
The whole time while having the snack Audrey complained and moaned at us about how we never buy her anything (mind you, the child has been getting souvenirs in every city so far), she didn't like this, didn't like that, we were horrible and mean (all while she's munching on a piece of Dutch Apple pie that SHE picked out) and Scarlett is hitting us, NOT eating (again), doing her best 'backbends of rebellion' as if she were being judged on precision of motions, screams and tears. Joe was having an epic battle with her, so I took her outside and gave her a time out. This relaxed her a bit, so we took our chances on the temple.
It was lovely, the children cooperated and we exited unscathed.
We decided that we needed to stop and find lunch b/c Scarlett really needed to eat something. We found this fantastic little place about 1 block from the temple. It was a small restaurant attached to a guest house and was super quaint and relaxing (or should have been). We ordered a sweet & sour veggie, a chicken noodle dish and some sticky rice with mango. Surely she would eat something -NOT! Scarlett continued to be a mad child while Audrey went back to her diatribe about how we weren't doing anything for her and we were so mean. Scarlett continued with her Olympic quality performance of "I'm almost 2 tantrums" and not eating. Joe and I shoveled in bites as fast as we could and continued onto the next temple, which was across the street.
There was more of the same for both children and I tried to bring myself to some place mentally where I didn't want to either slit my own wrists (I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen often outside the doors of centuries old Buddhist temples!) or abandon my children. 
I did manage to bring Audrey down a bit from her crazy train, but it was obvious that both children were just plain exhausted. A storm had slowly started moving in from the mountains and was now dropping some rain.From being accosted by tuk tuk drivers earlier, we knew that we could get one to drive us around the city sightseeing for 60 Baht. We decided to do this to encourage naps and get out of the rain. I argued a bit with one guy who insisted on bringing us out to this "village" with streets lined with shops filled with silks, jewelry, umbrellas, etc.. All of which he ASSURED me our kids would really enjoy walking around seeing. Meanwhile, I'm standing there holding Audrey whose eyes were crossed from being so tired and Joe had Scarlett who was again revving up into her next performance. He obviously was not paying ANY attention to our kids' behavior, but we suspect he got some kind of financial kickback for bringing people out to this shopping district and that's why he was so hell bent on bringing us there. We walked away, tried another guy who said there was no way he could drive us around for an hour for 60 Baht and insisted on taking no less than 100. (He obviously WAS paying attention to the kids' behavior and was like, "There's no way in hell I am spending 1 hour with those devil kids and only getting paid 60 Baht! You people are nuts.") And yes, I realize this is only a difference of roughly $1.30.
But the next guy agreed to it, so we jumped in just as the rain was really starting to come down. Scarlett was asleep within 2 blocks and Audrey enjoyed the ride for a bit, but was out about 15 minutes later. Joe and I (finally) enjoyed a moment of peace, snuggling our (again lovely & sleeping) children, shielding them from the chilly rain in the back of a tuk tuk as we drove around seeing the city of Chiang Mai. About an hour later, the driver dropped us off at Wosret Market, which is their Chinatown. We wandered around a bit then looked for a Yellow Car to take back to the hotel. To take a taxi back out, it costs 400 Baht. The yellow car is really more of a little truck with a topper on it. It has a padded bench on each side of the truck's bed and seats about 10 people. The back has an open doorway that you just pop into. There's also a little platform with ladders on the back of the truck that can fit a couple more people and 2 more can fit in the front seat with the driver. There are no organized stops, you just push a buzzer to let the driver know you want off, and then you pay him the fare. We paid about 60 Baht for the 4 of us to go the 10+ Km.
We had intended on staying in the city for dinner, but at this point, Joe and I felt like we had been through battle and just wanted to call it a day. It was dinner and early lights out for all.
Phew.
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