Packing For Home

Gabe and Jen's time in Thailand is finished and it's now time to jam everything into the bags, check the schedules and prepare the boys for another long journey. Such a difference 3 months makes in these young lives. On this end, they have packed their backpacks themselves, they understand how they will travel and know how to clear a security checkpoint in the airport. Their passports have numerous stamps already and they understand that money is useful. They look forward to the airport as a playground--lots of escalators and moving walkways, cardboard cutouts to tip over, drinking fountains to play in, and, best of all, airplanes to watch. Ted and I won't know how to eat a meal anymore if we don't have to bolt our food in 5 minutes. Our hotel in Bangkok was perfect for children with cupboards to explore, an entire room that we used as our "private" dining room so as not to disturb other guests with racing children and flying food. The hotel staff joined the boys in their antics and frequently encouraged them to greater adventures. They have learned to recognize their floor numbers from the elevator and can find their way thru a maze of hotel corridors. The location near the Sky Train and river ferries allowed us several ways of exploring the city. Carrying two strollers and hanging onto two kids as we climbed 82 steps to the train and then repeated it back down again gave us new respect for the handicap access in the US. We've ended our time together with lasts minute trips to the Palace, river trips, shopping mall adventures to cool ourselves down favorite foods., enjoying favorite foods, and saying good-by to friends (the ticket takers, tuk-tuk drivers, hotel staff and the fish at the wat across the street).