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You know how there are those days that just go so perfectly and you wonder if they are real, they are just that fantastic? Well, this WAS NOT one of those days. In spite of it being our last day and packing looming on the very near horizon, I really wanted to do something as a family that looked “Thai”. Does that sound stupid? I wanted our son to have photos of himself in a place that looked like postcard Thailand. Not that every place we had gone with him wasn’t great, but you can see a zoo anywhere, sidewalks, gardens, ocean, etc. I wanted THAILAND. So, since we missed out on the Grand Palace the day that we were going to try to do 3 wats on our own pre-placement, I thought that it would be the perfect place. I can’t imagine anything that would just scream “THAILAND!!!” more. So that was the plan – one simple thing – make it to the Grand Palace on Tuesday.
Our morning was off to another bumpy start, but we slept a little bit longer and found out that we could facetime with Aaron’s parents, so that was great! We all headed down to breakfast, and before eating, we got to spend about 30 minutes with them almost as if they were right next to us instead of half a world away. Fantastic. Breakfast was good, but then we started getting around and ended up getting a later start than we had wanted. We left the hotel late, couldn’t find a taxi to save our lives, and then when we did find a taxi, he said that it would take too long via car, we should take a boat. Okay. He dropped us off at this pier and we thought it would all work itself out from there. Come to find out, he dropped us at a private pier that wanted to sell us a tour for far too much money. What we needed was a public pier. Okay. We met this nice couple from Serbia / Austria who were looking for the same thing, so we teamed up on our quest. The frustrating thing is that taxi drivers were surprisingly a nuisance today. The whole trip, they have been wonderful, but today, they were hagglers. So we’re walking down this tiny sidewalk (because Bangkok just doesn’t really have sidewalks) and this cab pulls over and asks if we want a ride. We tell him no, we’re almost there and that we will just walk. Rather than letting it go, he continues to pester, yelling something at me and Ty while the rest of the group keeps moving. I’m trying to walk and figure out what he is saying at the same time and I run face first into this huge pole at full speed with my kid in my arms. At this point, I am hot, it’s muggy, I have a heavy toddler I am carrying, and I just ran into a pole. I am no closer to the palace than when my day started and I’m starting to get a little frustrated (no permanent damage was done to my face but wow did it hurt.
Thankfully, we found the correct pier and made the jaunt down the river by a huge, very crowded boat (mid river, we actually ran into another boat). The cost for the whole trip was 20 baht (less than $1) and the other company wanted to charge us 1000 baht. We took a guess at the right pier to get off and walked for what seemed forever around this huge walled city. The wall seriously seemed to never end (and I’m still dripping with sweat, carrying a two year old, frustrated at that horrible taxi driver for giving me a headache). I’m not sure if it was because of its size or the morning that we had just had, but it seemed ginormous. We finally found the entrance and ohmygoodness – it was so worth every horrible thing that happened that morning. The place is everything I hoped it would be. We were pretty wat-ted out earlier in the week, but this one was completely different for me. The intricacies, the ornate decorations, the officialness? of it. Really amazing. There’s a mansion, and an Emerald Buddha (that is way smaller than you think it should be), and throne room, and just loveliness. We wandered around for quite a while, grabbing lots of photos and video so that Ty will have those to look back on someday. Loved it. Ty was amazing too, putting up with us dragging him all over the place. I think the highlight for him was probably chasing ants on the sidewalk rather than the ornate architecture and history that was surrounding him, but to each his own, I suppose. 🙂
The plan for the rest of the afternoon was nap, pool, pack. Seems simple enough, right? Not when you have a toddler who doesn’t think it is his nap time. For 3 – that’s right – T H R E E – hours, we tried to get that boy to take a nap with the hopes of a good rest before a crazy evening of travel, but he wouldn’t have it. So the nap got crossed off the agenda, as did pool time, and we got ourselves into packing mode. Our trip to Bangkok was slightly less than ideal. Every bag that we had was overweight and we were determined this time to get it right the first time, especially since we would have a two year old with us. Ty was absolutely wired, even with 0% nap-age. He was sitting in, climbing on, and exploring everything that we were trying to accomplish. Somehow we managed and all of our bags met their weight requirements!
The last thing we had to do was say goodbye to the other family who had become dear friends at this point. We met them in the hall as we were taking off, said our goodbyes, and for the first time on the trip, I got really emotional. Both of our families had worked so hard to get to this point and now we were going home, with 2 new kids, and fantastic new friendships, forged through some of the toughest and most rewarding days of our lives. We said goodbye to the doorman, and as I got in the taxi, the tears started flowing. I let people and places become home to me and while I missed home greatly, this place had become one for a few short weeks. Thailand is such a beautiful country, with an incredible history, and some of the kindest people you will ever meet. For nearly 3 weeks, we belonged there, and I felt it. There wasn’t a single moment where I felt displaced, or in danger, or out of sorts. It was very un-me, but I truly loved every moment that we had there. Hopefully it will be the first of many trips to the birthplace of our son. There is so much more to explore and we would love to do it with Ty when he gets a little bit older someday.
