Thailand Trip - Part V

Day 21 - 15 January
This morning I woke early to do some shopping. I went through the market as the stall holders were setting up and ventured to the shopping center to see what an Asian mall looks like. Basically, it looks like a bunch of stalls only there are set prices and a clean floor. Don called with the news that Jeff made it to the hotel after riding perhaps every mode of transportation from Ko Pha Ngan - a boat, bus, train, taxi, city bus, and tuk-tuk. In the afternoon I showed Jeff around and we came home to find the boys playing a new game on the beds.

For our last dinner in Thailand we went all out and tried several new dishes from our hotel restaurant and then saw our neighborhood all lit up with lights. First though Makoa needed to run around and get some energies out. We too a right down some alley and found an apartment complex with a car park underneath and the boys ran around and around and around. A group of school girls were giggling at the sight and asked me (in Thai!) what Makoa's name was, then they ran off to scare him by yelling his name behind a car. Makoa thought it was hilarious and then they all giggled and made faces and were silly together. I was ready to move on though so we said our goodbyes and off we went.

A tuk-tuk.

We stumbled upon a Chinese festival just one block from our hotel. There was music and two stages set up and there was a group who make human towers by standing on each other's shoulders. I had seen a video of this in Spain one time but it was amazing to see these men, boys, and a little girl who was maybe 4 getting higher and higher and higher.

A fantastic last night in Bangkok.

Day 22 - 16 January
Last day in Thailand. Don and are both a bit sad. We have enjoyed having so much time together as a family exploring Thailand. Sure there have been a few moments where we were ready to go back, but on the final day we seem to forget those times. I told him it is better to leave wanting then being over it. We don't fly out until the evening and we got late check out, so we are headed to Mission Hospital.

Don's grandfather, Donald Brown, was the CEO of the Adventist Hospital in Bangkok called Mission Hospital. We knew roughly when they lived here and we decided to take our chances to see if we could find a picture or someone who knew him or at least find a place to take a photo.

In the lobby we were greeted by a Thai woman who looked at us strangely when we said 'picture of administrators . . . " A woman walked up behind us and led us to an elevator. She is from Glendale, CA and has been living in Thailand for 6 years. Her husband is a surgeon and she spends time with the administrators. What are the chances? She led us to the right floor, right wing, to the right people with the right books. We spent over an hour holed up in the copy room looking at photos and books.

Unfortunately we didn't see any photos, but we did find grandpa's name in print.

After the hospital Jeff and I had a few minutes to do some last minute shopping, then final packing and back to the airport. We were at the airport hours early, but Jeff was going to try to get on today's flight instead of tomorrow's, and we didn't really feel like walking around with our bags and we had already had a busy day, so we were ready to eat and hang and sit. In real life this meant that one, maybe two could sit while the other chased Makoa around up and down escalators, elevators, and tunnels, which usually resulted in a bribe with juice to come back so we could tag another adult.

And one more group photo before leaving Jeff and Thailand.