GOING HOME
March 5 continued
Back at awesome hotel. Welcome drink of fresh juice, no mosquitos, real spa, laundry detergent that doesn't smell a little like vomit, a dryer, no more roadside food (although favorite treat was from one--sweet, creamy coconut sticky rice with chocolate--must find again and learn to make), DVD player that reads our foreign DVDs (who knew DVDS are not universal?).
Last night got a real Thai massage. Massage is serious misnomer. It was a yoga/stretching session with a little torture mixed in. Done on a pad on the floor. Given size M scrubs-like outfit. I am not a size M, obviously. Squeeze in, but made wise choice of getting back in my clothes. First contorting, seam would have busted. Little Thai between my legs pulling hard and pushing inner thigh with feet. Elbows digging in legs, general pretzel making, etc. Repeat softer about 100 times during 90 minutes of "massage". Wake up this morning and amazed that did not sustain soft tissue damage or any hyperextended joints. Only pain is slight crushed feeling in feet and sore lower back. Might try again in a few years. Peter and I cuddling in bed and Eva (1) run up and punch his butt. He got a taste of my massage last night.
Almost done packing for next two days of travel home. Plan on spending day playing board games, relaxing, and getting another relaxing massage. This trip has been fabulous. Tomorrow we won't have internet until we get home.
Love and miss you all,
Florence
(Can you tell it is my last one? You get a proper farewell.) ;)
PS-Rachel just asked, "Did I grow up?" I said, "Yes." and then she says, "No, first I have to be a mom and learn how to make yummy food." What a cutie. She just tasted the shrimp sticks we were given. Actually munching away! Says, "Not gross for my mouth. Only gross for my nose."
Eva commandeered Peter's wallet when she realized a picture of me is in it. She kept kissing my picture and closing the wallet while saying, "Good night." and singing it a lullaby. Open and repeat. I love being a Mama.
5 days of driving, +850 km, ~22 hours driving with 5 children = insanity awesome adventure
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| On our last day in Thailand, we finally opened up the roasted shrimp sticks |
Eating the roasted shrimp sticks
Smelling the roasted shrimp sticks
Eva playing with Peter's wallet & Rachel sings
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| Adorable paper-mache giraffe chairs bought on the streets of Bangkok |
Rachel insists gifts must be wrapped
Eva watches the trains pass by our hotel
Rachel plays with giraffe chairs
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Thailand, but after over 2 weeks of being on the road we were happy to be going back home. I will miss all some of the massages, the friendly Thais, great hotels, and being called Madame {with a great accent} . I hate being called M'am. It makes me feel old. However, Madame sounds sophisticated and makes me feel revered. You laughing at the thought of me being sophisticated? I could be if I didn't have 5 kids hanging on me I wore a bra more often I wanted to.
Of course, before you can go home you have the dreaded job of packing.
Packing Antics
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| Peter stuffed in the duffle bag |
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| Boys pretending to pick up Peter |
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| If the hotel had a king bed, we would have the four older children share it and Peter & I would take the double bed. There was some discussion about who was the biggest blanket thief, bed hog, etc. The last night we got some documented proof of at least one bed hog. |
Our last night in Bangkok started out great.
Kids sleeping. check
Relaxing massage. check
Bags packed by midnight. check
Then:
Eva wakes up at 12:25 am and proceeds for the next TWO HOURS to scream, cry, sing, babble, kick, nurse, eat yogurt, and scream some more. We then had to get up at 3:30 am to start our journey home. For those of you struggling with math, that is a total of ONE hour of sleep for Peter & I.
On our drive to the airport Josiah said he was cold, so Rachel put a pillow over him. She then sweetly asked, "Is that nice?" to see if he felt better. When we arrived at the airport 45 minutes later, Rachel turns to Josiah and kindly says, "Wake up Josiah. Did you have a nice sleep?" When my children are pleasant to each other it warms my heart, but when they are thoughtful at 4 in the morning, amid the chaos of traveling, my heart melts.
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| Japan had awesome play areas for the children. See me trying to get some sleep after an almost sleepless night. |
Rachel was a little intimidated with all the attention she received in Thailand. When strangers would touch her or ask her a question, I told her to be friendly and smile. I explained they weren't use to people with blonde hair and blue eyes and they just thought she was beautiful. By the end she had become quite the beauty pageant queen. As we boarded each flight home, she waved and smiled at each person she passed and then she turned to me and stated, "They just think I'm beautiful."
If only Eva had been as agreeable. For over an hour on the Japan flight she screamed like a banshee and was completely inconsolable, because she was overly tired. I had strangers offering help, giving unwanted advice, compassionate nods, and crusty stares---yeah, we were those people. Thankfully, the next flight went much smoother.
Rachel sings to Eva & is confused that I would suggest
"Jingle Bells" isn't a good lullaby
"Jingle Bells" isn't a good lullaby
Eva finally falls asleep
Aside from Eva's hysterical Japan flight, the two days of travel went pretty smooth. We still had plenty of starbursts (Rachel called them Star Wars) for their ears and Eva finally gave in and slept. Passing through Guam on our way back, we were amazed at the expense of everything. On the way to Thailand we didn't think much of the cost, but after being in Thailand where your money can get you a lot, it was painful to hand over a wad of cash for what felt like nothing. A five minute taxi ride for a family of seven cost $35. For that price, in Thailand we could have had a taxi for at least half a day or gotten a 2 hour massage.
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| The lone survivor |
We grabbed two water bottles for our trip and planned on replenishing them with new ones along our journey. Unfortunately, we were not able to find any water bottles similar to this in Thailand. Because the lids are so child friendly, we hung onto these the whole trip. Every day was the same refrain, "Don't forget the water bottles." On the last flight, one of the bottles slipped to the floor during take-off and slowly slid down the aisle. Peter and I gasped simultaneously and looked at each other with wide-eyes. Good-bye treasured bottle, I know you look like trash, but you made our trip so much better.
When we got home, not only had my watch battery arrived (after two months of waiting and then going through a whole watch battery fiasco in Thailand), but we were greeted with these:
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| Yuck! The result of tomatoes sitting at room temperature for over 2 weeks. Note to self: check counters thoroughly next time. |
The children still talk about our trip, but it seems to have left the biggest impression with Rachel. Before going we spoke to the children about respecting the Buddha and that they couldn't climb or touch any of the Buddha statues. Just recently I heard Rachel playing with her animals and she said, "Don't touch any Buddhas!" slight pause and then, "Did you touch any Buddhas?" She still tells me, "Mom, I didn't touch any Buddhas."
A Sample of our Thailand Souvenirs
These are hanging in our living room and I love the lighting they give while I nurse Eva to sleep in the evening. Every night and I mean every night, Eva pulls off my breast and points up with a smile and says, "Light ball," before continuing to nurse.
I bought 8 of these coconut candle holders and have them hanging outside on the patio.
Reality Check:
When I started my Thailand posts I was naive enough to think I could finish them before the end of March. I can be so delusional sometimes. It has been 3 months since returning from Thailand and I am finally done! Phew. It has been fun to do, but I am ready to write about other things.
