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Today has been a whirlwind and I am getting really sleepy, so please forgive me if at any point I become incoherent. Apology #2 – I normally journal when we are on big trips so that I remember everything from the highlights to the mundane. It is bogging me down a bit to try to journal and blog, so blogging has won out which means you might get the longer version of the stories of our days. If it gets to be too much, feel free to just enjoy the photos. 🙂
Day 5 was a ginormous success and so completely unexpected. Before we left home, a friend of Aaron’s told him about another friend that they had been in college with. She and her husband were living in Ayutthaya and had fairly recently started the adoption process. We wrote to see if they could get together and found out that they lived about 10 minutes from our hotel. We finalized arrangements for meeting up just a day or two ago, and I am so glad that it all worked out. Our day was so much richer, them having been a part of it.
We were up before the sun again this morning, but definitely got a good night’s rest. Breakfast was beautiful in the courtyard again, with new fresh fruits to try. I am seeing a completely different side of Aaron on this trip and it’s been really nice. He is normally a pretty typical Waggoner, which means a whole lot of being busy and not very much sitting back and taking things in. He is soaking on this trip and it is good to have him at a speed that is much closer to my own. After soaking in our surroundings at breakfast, we did a mini photo shoot. That’s how we roll. 🙂 We have spent years capturing other people’s lives and set about a half hour aside this morning to fit in one last time with just the two of us. We hope to make that the three of us in about a week and a half in Hua Hin.
9:30 rolled around, and with it, brand new friends, Brian & Bekah. You know how people become instant friends when you are in a new place and share the same state for a home? Today felt a little like that, but amplified as Bekah went to school with Aaron, spent a whole lot of time in our old home town, and they are actually adopting from Thailand. Time flew by as we chatted over Thai ice teas about life in Thailand, tips on language and pronunciation, adoption, and just life in general. Before we knew it, it was time for them to pick up their daughter from pre-school, so we tagged along. They took us to one of their favorite restaurants for lunch and we just sat back and relaxed as they did all of the ordering. Aaron got to have spring rolls (which he loves) and they got all kinds of different dishes for everyone to share. Our afternoon was spent hanging out in their home, playing games with their daughter, watching a ginormous water lizard swim by, learning about flowers you could eat, and meeting their brand new cat. Noon to 4:00 is the hottest part of the day, so we were able to keep cool in their living room with fans and passed the time with good conversation. It was so nice to just have an afternoon to completely relax with people who know this place far better than we ever could. Not only that, but they can see the world as we see it, plus translate it so it makes sense to us. Invaluable.
One of the things that wasn’t high on our priority list prior to traveling was a boat tour on the river, but a couple of people had recommended it, and Brian & Bekah did as well. I never would have been brave enough to do it on my own, but they took us down to the river and negotiated a private long tail boat ride for us (500 baht for all 4 of us – it’s 1000pp if you do it through our hotel). It was the most serene, surprising, incredible way to end our time together. We saw a completely new side of this city and it was beautiful. We saw kids swimming, men fishing, women bathing their babies. We wove in and out of other boats (whole lotta Chinese karoke going on and it’s not so pretty, but they seem to be having fun) and barges. There are wats (temples) old and new – houses for the very rich and very poor. All of it – B E A U T I F U L. We tried to soak it all in so that we can tell Ty about it someday, this incredible place where he was born.
The highlight of the boat ride though, was a pit stop we made. Highlight isn’t quite a good enough word for it though. Life changing – why we came here – gorgeous – breathtaking – seriously top 3 things we have ever seen… Wat Chaiwatthanaram. We were giddy, and I am sorry, Brian & Bekah, if no real words came out the whole time we were there. It’s that whole words aren’t good enough for the moment thing again, just a guteral groan of goodness. It’s this AMAZING ruined temple, but was so much more intact than the prior three we had seen. Lots of headless Buddhas, a couple of big Buddha’s, fresco details, manicured lawns… it just left us breathless and speechless and was all kinds of wonderful. Aaron even burst into song at one point with “I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love with a wonderful wat”. 🙂 It was fantastic. We were giddy. We only had about 15 minutes there, so we will be making our way back in the morning… maybe just to sit and stare at it for a few hours. We’ll see how warm it gets. 🙂
The boat meandered around the river and back to the dock just as the sun was going to sleep for the night. With the sun’s setting, the market nearby sprang to life with all of it’s lights and colors. Aaron was able to order some mango sticky rice and we were on our way home with happy hearts, and brand new friends. I was exhausted, so we opted for room service (sandwiches and fries in bed with our feet up – our ankles are still swollen). It was a fantastic day and is one that we will never forget.
The prayer request for today was for Aaron and he had asked that you pray for patience and that he could somehow be used by God on this trip. I can personally attest to his incredible patience as we are experiencing life in a completely different place and at a completely different pace, but I thought it was kind of amazing how today came together, specifically for his request. When we wrote the prayer calendar, we had no idea that we would be meeting friends today. As the day played out, I was reminded of our prayer request and I smiled as I realized that Aaron was able to renew an old friendship today. I think that he was able to be used to encourage Brian & Bekah with his presence as we talked about home and their adoption process. I know they were such an encouragement to us.
Happy, excited contentment – the emotions of the moment.
Brian & Bekah, it was great meeting you and we LOVED hanging out with you today! Thank you for your kindness, hospitality, and all of the great books for Ty!
A few extras to remember from the day…
We saw 2 monks today in two different places. One was getting ready to get on a long tail boat ride, the other standing on a pier. Hoping to see more today.
5:30 seems to be my natural time to wake up here. I don’t believe it exists on the other side of the world, but here, it is a very peaceful time of day when the sun has not yet come up, and I am wide awake.
There is a lizard in our room and he laughs at me at night. During the day, my logical self doesn’t mind him so much. In the middle of the night, when my mind isn’t working completely, he laughs and I imagine the scene from “The Parent Trap” play out when they are hiking up the mountain.
A little bit of nervousness crept in yesterday for seeing Ty for the first time. As we were going down the river, I saw a house that looked the same color as his and while I very much doubt that it was his, we know that he is nearby, and my heart lept into my throat for a second. Still hard to believe why we are here.
The people here are fantastic. Smiles abound and their English is astoundingly good. Communication isn’t great, but we are able to accomplish what we need and we are humbled by their eagerness to make us feel welcome and at ease through their kindness, smiles, and use of our language when possible.
I’m getting more words down with the help of the hotel staff and Brian & Bekah yesterday! I can order a bottle of water now! It was so good to have a couple of Americans yesterday help us figure out what exactly we were doing wrong. We don’t hear it naturally and we are so trying to use some Thai when we can.
On the way into the city the first day, we kept noticing all of these stores with bags in the window that looked like they were filled with all different colored noodles. Brian & Bekah brought us some yesterday and we found out that it was an Ayutthaya specialty. It is almost like cotton candy in taste and consistency, but it looks like twine and you eat it in this green crepe-y thing.
