Thailand

We had a fabulous time in Thailand!! We loved the people, the food and learning about a new country. Everyone loved our kids and were very friendly. It was a short and sweet trip. we had 4 full day trips planned. Unfortunately, Trent got the flu and we ended up cancelling 2 of our daytrips (crocodile farm and floating market/rose garden) and hanging out in the hotel for 2 days. BUT, the 2 days we were out and about in Bangkok, we absolutely loved. Here are our favorite things:

Ryan loved the Grand Palace, because there were so many awesome things to photograph. tons of statues, buildings, everything ornately decorated in gold.

The Bridge over the River Kwai--Ryan loves WWII stuff and this was really fun for him to visit. The Japanese rebuilt this bridge for the Thai people.

There were 2 bombs the Thai people had found in the river that hadn't exploded. They detonated them and put them at the start of the bridge. Jake thought it was cool.

Jill loved the elephants. if for nothing else, simply because it was so different than anything we've ever done before. that said, this picture below that our tour guide took, was a frequent scene between me and Ryan on this entire trip. I am freaking out and Ryan is calming me down. just breathe!!

First, we fed the elephants ears of corn. by both putting it directly in their mouth, or in the trunk.

Then, we did a ton of pictures. not too many of these, b/c I'm saving them for Christmas cards!

Then, we rode bareback through the jungle, down to the river. and on a side note, the ride was so bumpy! Both Ryan and I woke up the next day with very sore bums.

These stairs don't look like much, but it was so scary!! I thought we were going to fall off. Ryan and Trent were on one elephant, and Jake, Emily and me on the other. (with our guides)

Just had to throw this picture in as proof that for at least a brief moment, Trent was smiling!

into the river...where all havoc broke loose. At one point, all 3 kids were crying. I think, in my attempt to make sure they were having a true elephant experience (as opposed to a cheesy zoo where you ride the elephant around in a circle) we might have traumatized our kids. They were a bit too young for this. But hey, they'll never forget this.

The boys' elephant was named "diver" for obvious reasons.

Trent was dipped down into the water, started crying and so Ryan and Trent switched places, putting Ryan in the more "dangerous" spot.

meanwhile, back on the other elephant, there was a lot of this going on...way too scary for Jake. He lasted about 1 minute and got off.

our elephant was the splasher. Emily, pay attention! the water is coming!

Then, all 3 kids got off and Ryan and I had a turn.

I love Jake's feet poking out in this picture.

I also loved the orchids on our pillows each night at the hotel. Thailand is a leading exporter of orchids. Our tour guide said that people in Thailand even like to eat orchids, deep fried.

What I didn't like: stray dogs were everywhere, roaming the streets. When Emily asked our tour guide why there were dogs all over, she replied, "because we don't eat them, like they do in Vietnam!" So then we asked her what they eat in Thailand that others might think strange. and she said bugs. all kinds. cockroaches, cicadas. gross.

Emily loved feeding the wild monkeys!!! we fed them peanuts we had bought at a local fruit stand down the street. There were tons of monkeys coming out of the trees.

Trying new fruits--we sampled a lot of tropical fruits, some with names we had never heard of. Jack fruit, dragon fruit, papaya, etc.. Emily was always brave and tried everything. I loved this banana truck.

Jake is checking out the fruit stands

a visit to the tailor!!! In Thailand, both fabric and labor are cheap, so it's very popular to stop off at a tailor's (they are on every corner!) look through catalogs, point to a dress, have your measurements taken, pick some fabric off the wall and they will sew your dress in just a few days! it was amazing. I wish I could have spent the entire day there, alone, with no kids. everyone in our family got to have one thing made for them. Except, b/c it was Emily's birthday, she got to pick 2 things. I will be doing a separate post on this later, b/c Ryan is still working on editing the after pictures, but here's a sneak peak of Jake being fitted for his suit. so. cute.

Trent loved riding in a tuk tuk!!! I, however, thought it was one of the most dangerous things I've ever done and was praying we weren't going to die the entire time. seriously. 3 wheels, no sides. weaving fast, in and out of traffic, which by the way, was crazy!! no one seems to obey traffic laws. lanes mean nothing. a 2 lane road would have 3 cars driving down it. we rode in a tuk tuk 3 different times and Trent really thought it was cool.

Wat Arun!!! a temple made entirely out of china pieces. really interesting and most importantly, tons of stairs and levels where Trent could climb to his hearts content. only Ryan and Trent actually made it all the way up to the top.

cheesy pics outside the entrance. I love them!

as we were leaving, it was sunset.

these stairs were so steep!

the view from the top, you can see the grand palace across the river

Jacob loved...the hotel pool!!! all the kids, but especially Jake loved swimming in the pool, and b/c we ended up with 2 full days hanging out in the hotel, much of that time was spent with Trent, in the hotel room resting and Jake and Emily swimming. They swam their little hearts out and emily especially loved the swim up bar where you could order drinks in the pool. wish I would have gotten a picture of that...we stayed at the Marriott resort and spa, and I know this is a little silly, but the way we picked the hotel, was by going through the photo tours online and picking the hotel with the best pool. well. worth. it. It was so beautiful, right on the river, with lots of tropical flowers/plants everywhere. (this hotel has been renamed Anatara Riverside Bangkok Resort.)

River cruise!!! We rode in one of these "banana boats" and took a cruise up the river that goes through Bangkok. Since rainy season had just finished, there had been major flooding along the river. sad to see the homes.

There were ladies with fruit piled high in their canoes. they paddled over to us and we bought some bananas from one of them. little did I know that that would be the closest thing I would get to seeing the floating market.

TIGERS!! We stopped by the tiger temple, which is a buddist temple and also a tiger sanctuary. The monks, raise the tigers from cubs, so they are fairly docile. But we did see one tour guide who had recently had the tip of his finger bitten off. but the kids liked petting the tigers.

Unfortunately, right after we got there, Trent started feeling sick. we walked in, took some pictures, Trent threw up, then we walked out. We felt bad that there was a lot of other stuff to do there with the tigers, we had planned on staying a few hours, but the kids were happy enough to just pet them. and not too sad we left early. We had convinced Trent we needed at least one picture of him with a tiger before we could leave. so here he is...

I feel really sick, can we go back to hotel?

and then he leaned over and threw up! right next to the tiger. Trent thinks this is the funniest story (now that he's better) and loves to tell everyone about it.

and that was our fabulous trip!! is anyone still with me?? many people ask us why we didn't go to the beach, b/c Thailand is famous for beautiful beaches, but we always tell them that this was a cultural-experience another country-vacation, not a relaxing vacation. and I think we accomplished everything we wanted.