Thailand

We got back from Thailand last night, and I have so much to share. I have been trying to decide how to tackle telling you all about it, and I think I'll do so topically, not chronologically. Here goes!

Our trip began with a 2-night stop in LA/San Diego to visit the Murry family. It was so good to see them. We got to spend Halloween with them - Frankie and Hannah were much more aware of what was going on than the last time they went trick-or-treating together 2 years ago!

Thailand was amazing. It was my first time to Asia, and everything just felt so new and different. One of the biggest things that struck me was how beautiful Thailand is. Even in the smallest of shops the presentation of simple things was made beautiful in it's arrangement, or with a few added flowers. The Grand Palace and the Wats (temples) that we went to were breathtakingly ornate.\

When we got to Thailand we met up with the Zivan's - Jon, Oil, Zippy, and Zaccheaus, who were traveling there at the same time. Oil is from Thailand, and they were spending 3 weeks there. Our kids loved getting to see Zippy and Zaccheaus at various points throughout our trip.

We didn't had any trouble with the language - we were always able to find someone who spoke enough English, and found the Thai people very helpful and kind. They LOVED the children. We all become accustomed to the way they came up and touched their hair, or their cheeks. Chris actually had a Japanese couple stop him one morning and finally figured out that no, they did not want him to take their picture, they wanted him to take their picture with our children. Both kids learned how to greet people in Thai, and say Thank you. This got an enthusiastic response.

We remained healthy until the end. Dex caught some sort of stomach bug in the last 24 hours of our trip, which made the trip home rather unpleasant for him. I took him to our doctor's office today, and they said they thought he was fine to ride it out.

We were able to find plenty of food that we like, and Chris and I really enjoyed getting to taste what some of our favorite Thai dishes "really" taste like. The Thai food we get here in the states is actually pretty close to the real thing, but you just can't get the same ingredients in the states, like Thai Basil. There is food EVERYWHERE. We were joking with Jon that there is probably a "right to bear snacks" clause in the Thai constitution.

We spent the first 4 nights in Bangkok, then went to Phi Phi (pronounced Pee-Pee; this got lots of giggles from Frankie) for 4 nights. Such a difference! Bangkok is noisy and bursting with people (think New York), and Phi Phi was quiet and full of wild life (think Acadia, except with a beach like Aruba). We went back to Bangkok for 2 more nights and battled the insane outdoor markets for some gifts to bring back home.

We are so glad we went. It was hard, at points, traveling with 2 small children who didn't sleep great at night, got bored on the flights, and got tired of walking right at the point we needed them to. But there was so much good stuff too - the family time that you can't put a price on and seeing so much of God's beautiful world with them. We learned a lot on this trip, and that is one of the main reasons we went.