Lindsay and the kids standing on the main street of Chinatown
I remember searching for internet cafes, bringing our digital camera and USB cord, and only able to post things in areas with good internet...14 years later, I'm sitting in bed with my laptop while Lindsay searches Google on her phone "what is a planters wart?" for Juliet. Things are certainly different this time around!
We ended yesterday by heading back to the nearby mall to find dinner and grab some groceries. The mission was accomplished, but the kids were tired so we didn't last long with the mix of smells that bothered James and Juliet's complaining about her wart and a sore tummy. Speaking of Juliet, due to her ailments, we stopped at the pharmacy twice yesterday and had to buy her a new pair of socks! The only thing I'll say about travelling with kids is that everything takes longer to get to and then once you're there you leave much faster!
Today, we got rolling around 10:30am. We decided to try Grab--the Thai version of Uber or Lyft--for the first time and then proceeded to use it 3 more times. It's much cheaper and faster that even the metro lines when you have 4 people, so it's very worth it.
We started our day at the Golden Mount Temple, climbing to the top. We all enjoyed smoothies on the way up, and with the breeze, the temperature was actually quite nice, despite it being in the low-mid 30s while on the ground. The kids had a good attitude and seemed to enjoy the activity, although later in the day Juliet expressed that one of the statue scenes of dead bodies being eaten by vultures she didn't like (which I definitely understand!)
From there we took a Tuk Tuk to Khaosan Road. The kids REALLY wanted to take a Tuk Tuk, and although Juliet seemed to like it, James might not have as much. He was the eager beaver who wanted to go on one, but we're guessing he found it a little too "dangerous", much like the boat ride yesterday. We'll see if he's up for one another day.
At Khaosan Road we walked the streets and eventually grabbed lunch at a place that definitely was into selling weed (which is now legal...also different than 14 years ago). After an overpriced lunch, we went back to our apartment to cool down, slow down, and have some pool time. At 6pm, we then decided to head out to Chinatown, which Lindsay and I somehow missed when we were here before!
Chinatown is bustling! Lots of cars, lots of people, and lots of shops and stalls. We grabbed a little bit of street food before sitting down to eat, and spent some time wandering around. It was likely the combination of time of day (7ish), that the kids were up since 6am, and the business of the market, but again, we had to leave a bit sooner than we would have liked due to an overstimulation(?) of people and craziness. We know that Bangkok will be the busiest place we go while we are here so perhaps once we head on to Chiang Mai our kids will find things a bit more comfortable (in a social sense). We think this is a lot for them, but for their first cross-cultural experience, they are jumping in with two feet!
Tomorrow is supposed to rain, so we'll see how it goes and what we get up to - maybe it will be an "in-day" :)
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