Coming Home

After a last bout with biting insects and last-minute consumption of green curry, mangoes, and Thai iced tea, we are on our way to the airport for the long journey home. We have had a wonderful time and will miss so many parts of Thailand - especially some of the wonderful people we met here. We are very excited to get home and see the people we love who have been looking forward to our return. We should be back in our home by Friday. See you soon!

Island Paradise

Before taking off for good, our whole family took a week to fly down to the southern islands off the Thailand coast for some fun in the sun. We flew to the main island of Phuket (pronouced poo-ket') on the Indian Ocean side of Thailand and spent four nights on Koh Phi Phi (pronounced pee-pee') island and three nights at Kata Beach on Phuket. We hired a very beautiful and friendly island man named Rin to take us in his long-tail boat around to the nearby beaches and islands. We stopped a few times to snorkel. Wow, it was definitely the best we had ever experienced. Dan could not get enough snorkeling. It was like living the Finding Nemo movie with all of the fish characters swimming around your head. We saw long fish, short fish, red fish, blue fish, purple parrot fish, yellow angel fish, fish striped long ways, fish striped short ways, spotted fish, speckled fish, a puffer fish, and even a squid. At one point we got greedy looking for sharks but we got tangled up in the waves and cut up on a group of rocks (we all came out ok). When we weren't snorkeling, Rin took us to swim in the incredible, warm, clear, turquoise waters. We spent an afternoon frolicking on the beach made famous in the Leonardo DiCaprio movie "The Beach." It was quite heavenly. Back at our hotel on the island we got to see fire twirlers, beach bums, and other assorted locals hanging around and wondering when the next tourist rush was going to happen. That is because most everywhere we went, we were among the only ones there due to the low tourist season and the low world economy. It was mostly good for us as we got good deals on activities and didn't have to share things with too many other tourists. It was a little eerie at times, however, as more than once we found ourselves the only group in a restaurant with a bunch of Thais hovering over us trying to satisfy our every want and need. We learned that some times life is hard, but you just knuckle down and go with it.

On Kata Beach, Max and Anna bodysurfed to their hearts' content. They are now officially surf kids, if only they will be able to continue back in the cold waters of the California central coast. Kim, Ginger, and Dan snacked on fresh fruit and drinks while watching from the beach chairs, occasionally stepping into the water for a refreshing swim or surf. After seven days of this, we decided we better get back to reality before the kids suffer eternal "pruniness" of their fingers and toes or excessive sunburn of their cute little faces. We had a lot of fun on the islands. We learned some interesting island culture. We even trekked uphill to see the "Tsunami Village" on Koh Phi Phi (many were killed there in 2004). We caught a Monday flight back to Bangkok and checked in that night for our last couple of days, staying at the same University hotel where we had been for a month before we left.

College Students Are Not So Bad

During our last couple of weeks in Bangkok, Kim and Dan started to feel satisfied that they'd really gotten some quality time with Anna and Max. Fortunately, some of the Cal Poly students were ready to step in and spend some quality time with them themselves so that Kim and Dan could go out together. Anna and Max got to spend almost a full day with Annie and Josh, a couple of crazy engineering students that had started hanging out together during the trip. They took the kids out on a fun journey around the city, played games with them at the mall, and got them treats at the fancy doughnut shop. Kim and Dan got some work done, went for a massage (oh, we will miss the $6 massages), had some great grownup food, and visited the famous Oriental Hotel for a cocktail. The Oriental has housed some of the most famous European writers and travelers over the past century and it is a model of extravagant living. After our family got back together, we all went down to the National Puppet Theatre and saw The Birth of Ganesh, a mythological story about one of the major gods of Hinduism (though Buddhist in name, the Thais kind of like a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Animism - think animal spirits). Anyways, the puppet show was wondrous. The puppets are on sticks coordinated by actors (three to a puppet) who dance, gesture, and react in synch with the puppets themselves. A live orchestra with traditional Thai instruments accompanied the performance. Afterwards we were all able to "worship" Ganesh and try to get a little of his strength and ancient wisdom to seep into our selves. Oh, by the way, Ganesh has the head of an elephant - think of the teasing he must have had to put up with at school.
Monica, Shelley, and Emma all got to take turns watching the kids at some point as well. Kim adn Dan got some really fun time down at Kao San Road, the famed hippie hangout area in central Bangkok. They went to a cool rooftop hookah (water pipe) bar, got another message, and snuck in some more of that really spicy food that Anna and Max cannot deal with.
In our last week, we had a going away party from the college here and a going away river cruise on the Chao Praya River with all of the Cal Poly students. Both were really fun. Anna and Max spent the whole river cruise goofing off with the Cal Poly students. Kim, Dan, and Ginger loved the incredible view of the whole city going by as we ate. The college party was filled with slideshows, speeches, music, dancing, food, picture taking, and lots of silliness. The Thais bent over backwards as usual to make us feel loved and respected. The Cal Poly students had a nice farewell present for Dan and our family. Everyone agreed it was the best trip ever!

Bangkok: No Helmet Required

Bangkok is one crazy, fabulous city. We love it all -- the crowded markets, the delicious food, the ever-present street vendors, the high-end malls, and all of the insane methods of transportation that people use. Motorbikes are one of the most common ways to get around, but they are not just for one person. We constantly see motorbikes with 2, 3, or even 4 people on them. Families are a common sight, with a mother on back holding an infant, a toddler in the front grabbing the handlebars, and/or an older sibling on the back who may be talking on a cell phone or sipping a beverage out of a plastic bag with a straw. A couple of days ago I saw a parent driving a motorbike with a younger child in front and an older child in the back eating a bowl of soup while they navigated the crowded Bangkok streets. Of course, if they aren't carrying children or enjoying a meal while driving, we often see Thai people carrying the most outlandish things while driving their motorbike -- furniture, equipment, building materials, etc. Yesterday Anna tried to take a picture of two people carrying a twin size mattress between them, but she couldn't snap it fast enough before they veered off into traffic. Every once in a while we even see someone riding a motorbike with a helmet on, but that's much less common than seeing someone carrying a table or chairs.

This week, in addition to seeing the sights of Bangkok, we took a day trip to Samut Prakan which is a park designed in the shape of Thailand with monuments positioned in their corresonding locations and scaled to about 1/10 their original size. It was fantastic. Kim also took the kids to the Crocodile Farm nearby, but we couldn't quite make it through the whole show. We all watched while the men put their hands in the crocodile's open mouth, but Anna had to leave when one of them put his head in. Kim made it through to the point where they reached in to take out the 20 Boht bills (money) that they had collected from audience members and placed on the crocodile's tongue, but then had to leave when a 12-year old boy came out to assist with the show. Instead, we wandered over to the walkway where you could "fish" for crocodiles, by paying 20 Boht for a long bamboo pole with a rope tied to the end. Attached to the bottom of the rope was a section of a small animal carcass, which we then dangled into the pit below. We all thought the rope would release the carcass a bit easier than it did. When the crocodile snapped, we had to pull with all of our strength to keep the bamboo pole up with us. At least it wasn't like the elephant park we visited last month, where the baby elephant wrapped his trunk around Max's leg and tried to pull him into the cage to play. At the crocodile farm, we decided that we would let the crocodiles have the bamboo pole if it came down to that.

So we are eating drinking, walking, and sightseeing as much as we can during our last few days in Bangkok. We leave tomorrow morning for the islands, and then we have a couple of nights back in Bangkok before flying home on the 18th. We're really in the homestretch now!

The Grand Palace and Royal Temples

On Monday after the visit from Mandy and Galen, our entire group went on our last field trip together. The University where we are staying had arranged a special tour of the Grand Palace, the historical and ceremonial home of the monarchy (i.e., the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand, namely Kings Rama I through Rama IX). It was beastly hot. But we endured through the incredible palace grounds. It is actually an interesting mix of traditional Thai architecture, ceremonial opulence, and European influence. Some of the coolest things were the King’s thrones, the King’s elephant mount (i.e., an ornate carriage fitted to the back of the Royal elephant for processions), and the royal portraits of past and present kings and queens.

Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho are the two famous royal temples near the Palace. One houses the “Emerald Buddha” carved from a large single ingot of Jade. The other houses the “Reclining Buddha” which relaxes over about 50 yards and includes feet the size of a man. Both were very cool. Both temples have a series of incredible wall murals depicting the life and times of Buddha as well as scenes from the creation mythology and from Thai history. The murals rival the amazing artwork in Italian cathedrals. And, oh, there are lots of other Buddha statues and opportunities to bless oneself or others (with lotus flowers and holy water, for example). Max loved the giant ogre warrior statues that guard all of the temple entrances. Dan and Anna felt like giants in front of the scale replica of Angkor Wat, the ancient ruined temple/city in Cambodia. Kim really dug getting to wear borrowed Thai clothes to go in to see the King’s private gallery and dining hall. Ginger tried to follow all of the stories on the wall murals. We all perspired greatly, but we felt the touch of history and the power of worship as we regretted not bringing another memory card for our digital cameras.

Visits from Family and Friends

Just after arriving in Bangkok, we got a visit from Bruce Klickstein, our world-traveling neighbor from San Luis Obispo. We caught up with Bruce and his business partner Sammy at one of the big hotels in the touristy Sukhumvit area of Bangkok. Sukhumvit is known for having lots of custom tailors, fancy hotels, British pubs, and some very shady bar areas. We enjoyed a fun evening walking around, getting caught up on what’s happening in SLO, and having some excellent martinis at the Marriott.
Just a few days later, Dan’s sister Mandy and her husband Galen arrived in town as part of their two-week Thailand vacation. Our mission with Mandy and Galen was to find some great food (oh, we did, we did), some good shopping (Galen got a cool fake Rolex, Mandy a great fake Prada purse), and one of those crazy Asian nightclubs. Our nightclub (with Max and Anna being tenderly supervised by Cal Poly students) was a space-shuttle shaped building called Bed’s Supperclub, complete with a second story lined with queen-sized beds for lounging with your drinks. They had a dance floor, and trendy drinks, and we indulged in pure pleasure. During one of our days together, we all trekked down to humongous Lumphini Park to ride the paddle boats and picnic on the grass. It was hard to relax while picnicking, however, since we kept seeing enormous monitor lizards – about the size of small alligators – running around freely and sizing up the tourists. Fortunately, no one was harmed. At the park, we even saw a small playground sponsored in part by the Rotary Club of Rockford, Illinois, Kim’s hometown. All together now, “It’s a small world, after all, . . .” Over all, we had a nice visit, and Mandy and Galen got to see a lot of interesting sights in Bangkok in addition to their fun times in Chiang Mai and on the coastal islands in the South.

Adventures in outpatient surgery

This week I finally got to talk to the doctor to find out that the results of a bioposy I had in Nong Khai were just fine. So now that I know it turned out all right, I'll briefly describe my adventures with outpatient surgery at the Nong Khai County Hospital.

As it is, we get stared at everywhere we go, since we are taller, fairer, and blonder than everyone else here. Oh, and some of us are considerably *wider* as well, and getting wider by the day. So when I had to spend a week with a big bandage on the middle of my nose, I was just about ready to hide in the guesthouse. Thankfully, there are few people who care less about their appearance than me, so I was able to manage. But living in small-town Nong Khai, I'm sure I was known as the farang with the big bandage on her nose.

It all started when I noticed that a bump on my nose was not only growing but actually bleeding. I've had this before, so I knew it was time to go straight to the doctor. Not knowing what else to do, I went to the Emergency Room in the morning, and did my best to help the nurse fill in the paperwork. My name was recorded as "Kimbefly Lonsway," however, and efforts to correct the spelling error never went very far.

After clarifying that the bump on my nose was not exactly an *emergency,* I finally understood that it was a holiday and I should come back tomorrow. Fortuantely, there was no charge for the visit. The next day, I reported to the main reception area, checked in, and settled in for about an hour-long wait with the rest of the Thai people -- mostly families, some elders, and of course a few monks. Finally, my name was called ... "Miss Kimbefly" ... and I used all the Thai phrases I had been practicing while I waited to describe my problem. I was also armed with the word "biopsy" written in Thai on a piece of paper, thanks to the host of our guesthouse. Yet the doctor spoke some English, and asked me simply "You want excision?" "Yes," I answered. So off I went to surgery.

I didn't wait at all in surgery, but climbed up on the table and tried not to think about movies on cable about health care in foreign countries. They covered my face with a cloth that had a hole for my nose, and I was grateful for the nurse who held my hand while the doctor gave me a shot of local anesthesia, sliced off the bump, and left me with three stitches. I then did my best to understand the follow-up instructions, picked up my prescription for pain medications, paid my bill, and headed back to the guesthouse. The next morning, I came back for a follow-up appointment with the nurse, who checked and cleaned the wound, and said that everything looked good. "Free," she said, "you no pay." A few days later I came back, and the same nurse checked and cleaned the wound, again reassuring me that everything looked good. It was 5pm on Saturday, and she apparently had come in on her day off. Again she said, "Free .. you no pay." A week after the surgery I again returned, and they took out the stitches so quickly and easily I was confused, because I thought they hadn't yet started. Yet again, "Free ... you no pay." I went to the bakery and brought the surgery staff two large cakes, which I think they appreciated.

Now, my wound has healed perfectly. Just a few weeks later, it's hard to even see where it was. Total cost for the whole experience (ER visit, triage at reception, outpatient surgery, pain medications, two follow-up appointments to clean the wound, a third appointment to remove the stitches, lab testing of the excision, and a phone consultation with the doctor about the biopsy results): 600 Boht, or about 18 dollars. Cost for the cakes: 500 Boht.