First stop, Bangkok

Wow! I can't believe I have already been back for over a week.

Thailand was amazing. I loved every minute of my time there!

Bangkok was our first stop. We arrived super late on a Saturday night. I was exhausted, but so excited about being there. It was my first time and I just kept wondering what this place looked like in the daylight. We were picked up and driven to our hotel. Once we checked in, we passed out.

The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel and then got directions to the nearest Sky Train station. Our plan was to go to the Chatuchak Market. It is a weekend market that is the size of a small town. We hopped on the Sky Train and headed to the market. The place was very crowded. We started walking around the market and I felt so overwhelmed. I didn't know which way to go. They had just about anything you could ever want though, and the prices were amazing. I saw so many things I wanted to get, but they were too big for my suitcase or I had no idea what I would do with it once I got it home. It was hot and there were stalls after stalls after stalls. It's almost dizzying. We didn't stay very long, but we made sure we picked up some fruit on the way out.

After we left the market, we headed for the MBK Mall. We wanted to check out the mall, but the main reason we were going there was because I knew that the Hard Rock Cafe was near the MBK. As I mentioned before, I have a thing for the Hard Rock Cafe.

After a fabulous lunch, we headed for MBK Mall. I have to say that it was a little overwhelming when I first walked into the mall. It wasn't like any of the malls I have ever been to. There were stalls of vendors everywhere. It was like a flea market mall. I went up to the sixth floor and it was like a mini Chatuchak Market! Everyone was pretty tired though so we didn't spend a whole lot of time at the mall. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.

For the next two days we hired a driver and a guide. I wanted to see the Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha, Wat Arun, and the floating market. Those were on my list of things that I HAD to do while I was in Bangkok. If you don't have a whole lot of time, I suggest you skip the Grand Palace and just go to the Reclining Buddha and Wat Arun. Grand Palace is nice, but I absolutely loved the Reclining Buddha and Wat Arun. They were my favorites!

The floating market was also a very unique experience. If you go, you have to try the coconut pancakes.

I think for the Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha, and Wat Arun You probably don't have to have a guide. I'm glad we did because we had two children and when they got tired, they were able to rest in the van with the driver while we continued to look around. Our guide was also very good about pointing things out to us while we were driving around. So, for me, I would go with a guide and a driver. Especially if you have children. The floating market is pretty far out so it definitely made it easier to have a guide and a driver. The kids napped in the back on the way there and on the way back.

Also, be careful of the cabs. Make sure they turn their meter on. We just had our hotel call us one if we needed one. We didn't have any problems at all, but have heard many horror stories from other people who have had issues. Don't ever go anywhere in a cab during rush hour. We were told by quite a few people, but one of the hotel employees said we should take a cab and we told him we were concerned about the traffic. He said there would be some traffic, but it should still only take about 45 minutes to an hour. Ummmm.....no. It took over two hours. We finally got out of the cab and walked the rest of the way. We were super late for our dinner reservations, but luckily the restaurant wasn't fully booked for the evening. Oh, and it only took 25 minutes to get back to our hotel! Yup. Don't do it. Don't get in a cab during rush hour traffic.

This is the traffic during rush hour and it DOES NOT move. Really.

If you have time, you should also check out the Sky Bar. The drinks are kind of pricey, but you're paying for the view. And it's worth every baht! It's a little scary, but it was also so beautiful. Just don't look down.

Our time in Bangkok went by pretty quickly, but I was ready to go when it came time for us to head up to Chiang Mai. As much as I enjoyed Bangkok, I think once is enough for me. I couldn't wait to get to Chiang Mai! We had so many activities planned for Chiang Mai! You'll have to read about everything we did in my next post.

Preparing for our Thailand trip

Wow! It's been a while since I posted. I told myself I would post on a regular basis and keep this blog alive. Somehow, life always has a way of taking me away from my computer. Not exactly a bad thing I guess.

We are days away from leaving for Thailand, and I can hardly stand it. I'm so excited! My friends are probably sick of seeing my countdown posts on Facebook. In about 72 hours, we will be on our way to the airport.

With all of the things we have planned for us while we are in Thailand, I'm a little concerned about how exhausted we will all be when we get back. But then I quickly tell myself how ridiculous I am for worrying about such a thing. I mean. Come on. We're going to THAILAND. I have never been there, and who knows if I'll ever make it there again (I'd rather spend my money travelling to places I have yet to visit - and my list is very long). I have to see everything I can see while I am there. AND I have to take an insane number of pictures!

We will spend a few days in Bangkok before heading up to Chiang Mai. We plan on hitting the Chatuchak weekend market on our first day in Bangkok. The Grand Palace and Wat Arun are on the schedule for Monday. Then, on Monday night J and I have reservations for dinner at Sirocco. If you've seen Hangover II (hilarious movie!), then you've seen Sirocco. The view is absolutely amazing, and the famous Sky Bar is also located there. Hope the food is as good as the view because it is PRICEY. On Tuesday we will head to one of the floating markets (one of my requests). I don't know what my fascination with floating markets in Thailand is all about, but I always told myself that if I go to Thailand I HAVE to check out a floating market. We also plan on catching a movie while we are there (heard the movie theaters there are pretty awesome), and we have to hit the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner one night. I have this ridiculous love for Hard Rock Cafes. No matter where I go, if there is a Hard Rock Cafe, I have lunch or dinner there at least once. I have already checked out the Hard Rock Cafe in Bangkok, and I'm excited about having dinner there.

After a few days in Bangkok, we will board a plane (hopefully not a super tiny one) and head up to Chiang Mai. Now this is where my exhaustion concern is thrown into high gear. We have reservations to visit the Tiger Kingdom, do a zip line (all day) tour, visit an elephant home (all day), and possible do an ATV tour. I would also love to visit the famous Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai if I can squeeze it in somehow. Oh. And we are staying right by the Night Market so I'm sure we'll be out and about in the evenings too.

Once we have had as much fun as one could possibly have after four full days in Chiang Mai, we will begin our trek back to Japan. We have to leave Chiang Mai the day before our flight departs Bangkok because our flight to Japan departs at 6am. So we will spend one last night in Bangkok. Near the airport.

In preparation for this trip, I have purchased a camera backpack (ridiculously huge), a camera messenger bag (I refuse to haul the backpack every day), two extra memory cards (did I mention I have to take an INSANE number of pictures??), a small tripod (not sure if I will even use it...), an adapter so I can download my pics every night to my iPad, and I ordered a new camera strap (supposed to be more comfy than my stock Nikon strap). I don't think my camera strap will get here in time, but one can hope.

I think I'm all set for my trip. Passport. Camera. Camera accessories. Money. Excitement. Yep. I'm all set.

SO....what happened?

I guess I kinda left everything hanging. After a couple of sleepless nights for me, and maybe some thought for him....I think we are going to give it one more try. I know I need to understand Autism better and really let things roll off my back. Not always an easy thing for anyone to do, but I can certainly try my best. Things have been better in the home. I'm trying to be more understanding (and I am succeeding), and he has been nicer to me too. I see lots of good days in our future, and the best part...I'm not afraid of the bad days anymore.

We are still planning our Thailand trip and we are all super excited about it. I can't wait to use and abuse my camera! I am also looking forward to ten days away with J and his boys!! :)

Okay. Hopefully no more drama for a long time. :)

The bran muffins I made yesterday were a BIG hit with my parents and Corey. Corey ate one as soon as he got into my car and then.....he snuck another one while I was driving. That bugger! I told my dad on him though. Serves him right. Oh. Corey is my youngest child. I have two boys. Thomas is 24 and is in the Air Force. He lives in the states. Corey is 21 and he lives in Japan. Corey and I go to my parents on Sundays to have lunch with them a couple of times a month. I'm very fortunate to live so close to my parents, and to have my youngest still living in the area. Anyway, as soon as we to got to my parents I told my dad that Corey ate TWO of his muffins. I know. I'm horrible. I just like to get my dad going.

After three...or was it four??......days of rain and gloom, I woke up to beautiful blue skies and sunshine this morning! Woohoo!!! Ohhhhh Mr. Sun, how I've missed you. Could you please stick around for a little while? We are going to take the boys to the Aquas Aquarium in Hamada today and if time permits, we are going to check out Hamada Beach. Yes. I will be taking my camera with me. I think I will even try out my new polarizer filter.