Pictures Posted

Just posted a bunch of new pictures from Edmonton to Bangkok.

"Hellii Kopptter"

From our very arrival we started hearing a phrase that kept being repeated. It's definintely one of those "lost in translation" things. The curious thing was that everyone would be looking, pointing or fondling Levi as they repeated this strange phrase and laughing. It wasn't until a day later that we finally figured out what the big deal was. All the locals, especially the ladies, think Levi is the spitting image of Harry Potter. Must be the first movie.
Anyway - Levi is getting the lion share of the attention here in Bangkok. We thought Quinn with her blonde hair and blue eyes would draw the most attention - but then we realized we're in Asia where male progeny are just more important.
Levi's getting a little less disturbed by all the attention with every encounter. Poor guy - being mauled by all the Thai ladies.

One Bag of Tears

So we did it. We've cleared the first "true backpacking" test. We've made it to Bangkok after 36 hours of travel. The trip from our doorstep to the Edmonton airport was flawless. The 6 hour holdover in Vancouver turned into 8 hours with our delayed Air China connection. We passed the time with naps, cards, Nintendo DS and a lot of tag with Levi. The longest leg of the commute was the flight to Beijing. Thankfully the newer plane had some modern ammeniteis (aka individial movies) that helped us pass the time. I was really impressed with the food and service on Air China. This was the start of my "adventure eating" as the Pork with Rice was a very tasty load of what looked like bacon fat.

 

We arrived in a relatively empty Beijing airport and were hurried through the many protocols they have; including having our temperature taken by infrared camera. We hit the tarmak just in time to board the final leg to Bangkok.

 

Arriving in Bangkok went well other than Quinn's missing backpack. She was really shaken by this but I think we've convinced her that this is "normal" and that stuff like this is "all part of the adventure".

 

The kids have been real troopers and have made us very proud. We are just heading for our first breakfast - something they call "American Breakfast". The rest of the day will be spent getting to and finding a suitable guest house for the whole family - likely on Koh Sahn road.

 

Greg

Time to Go

It's 11:19 on November 24 and we've just laid our bags by the front door. The taxi will be here in a few hours and "I think" we're ready. More like "I hope" we're ready for a full-on backpacking, adventure tour, extravaganza.

I can't say that we are excited -yet. I'm pretty sure by the time we land in Beijing, on our way to Bangkok, the kids (Colby 12, Quinn 10, Levi 5) will understand that we're going some place a little different than familiar, St. Albert, Alberta.

We have our first night booked - and that's about it. We will bolt over to noisy Koh Sahn Road - where the hippest, and most rambunctious(read obnoxious)travellers hang out due to the abundance of cheap accomodation. While in Bangkok the plan is grab a visa or two and see a market or two. Our goal is to have silk sleeping sheets custom made in just a few days as a practical keepsake that will protect us from "koodies". That alone is sure to be an adventure.

As Thailand is wired from end to end - I'm sure I'll have another post later this week detailing the long flight that is the start of our 40 days in South East Asia.