Last night in Bangkok

October 19th--Since we loved our apartment so much here in Bangkok and didn't know what our accommodations were going to be like over the next couple of weeks, we decided to take the opportunity to just hang out for the day. There are 3 televisions, so plenty for everyone to watch what they wanted to watch as well. Abby and I did a lot of schoolwork this morning before heading out to the pool. We spent several hours swimming at the pool before...you got it...it started raining. After going inside, we all hung out watching movies and packing up our suitcases. Mike and I had arranged for a babysitter for the night so that we could go enjoy our last night in Bangkok and some local Thai food. We had KFC delivered to the room for the kids before the babysitter arrived at 7:00. Mike and I left via taxi heading to Baan Klang Naam restaurant. It took our taxi driver a while to find the restaurant. He had to make many turn arounds and pull over to ask another taxi driver. But, we got there nonetheless. The restaurant is open air and right on the river. We were able to enjoy some wonderful Thai food including crab sushi, fried prawns & fruit salad and a spicy shrimp salad. They aren't kidding when they say spicy either. It was probably the hottest thing I've ever had. It was a nice night out. When we got back to the apartment, the babysitter had the place all cleaned up and had even got our laundry out of the dryer and hung it up. She also told us that she rubbed Austin's back to get him to go to sleep. She was wonderful! After she left, we went to check on the kids and saw the funniest thing. Austin was in his 18 month footed pajamas that he carries around as his "blanket". He couldn't even straighten out his legs from being so crammed in there. Mike and I had a good laugh thinking about what the babysitter must have thought as she crammed him in the pajamas. She probably thought it was time for us to get him some new pj's! Anyway, after taking a picture we changed him back into his normal pajamas and headed to bed.

Shopping in Bangkok

October 18th--Today, we would experience the two extremes of shopping in Bangkok. We headed out this morning for the Chatuchak Market, the huge weekend market in Bangkok. We tried to get there before it got too hot, but I don't think that there is any good time to avoid the heat and humidity. This market is by far the biggest outdoor market we have seen along the way. It was endless stalls combined together and there was everything from souvenirs to food to clothing. It is such an experience on your senses, both smell and sight. We actually enjoyed walking around because unlike in China, we were not bothered at all while shopping. No one pressured us into buying anything. It was nice to walk away from the market with a headband and dress for Abby for under $5.00. Now, I told her she better wear the dress before we wash it because it might fall apart after one wash, but she was happy with her new dress. After we left the market, we were going to let the kids play at the playground by the market, but it was covered in water from the rain so we headed back to the apartment. We went swimming for a little while this afternoon before the usual Bangkok afternoon rain came rolling in. So, we then just hung out for a couple of hours before deciding to go to Siam Paragon. Siam Paragon is 5 story, high tech shopping mall...very impressive and better than any shopping mall we have ever seen in the States. The ground floor has a huge food hall. It was here that Mike and I got to enjoy all the street vendor food, but safely. We had grilled bananas, crispy pancakes, chicken satay, and a traditional Thai sweet. We enjoyed all of this food while sitting with the kids in McDonald's. We still aren't able to get them to be too adventurous in their food. After dinner, we made our way up the escalators passing all the shops to the top floor where the movie theater and bowling alley is located. We were going bowling. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a wonderful time. It doesn't matter where you are in the world...bowling is still all the same!