We went to Thailand

In case you missed the news, two weeks ago our family went to Thailand to visit friends and be tourists for a bit. I wrote these posts as they were happening, but didn't post them because I'm not fond of people knowing when I'm not at home. We are now home and I'll be posting about one post a day until they are done. Hope you don't get too bored. =)

I’m writing this through a haze of jet lag, but I wanted to write down our experiences in Thailand as they happened instead of waiting until we get home and life gets busy again. Also considering my memory it might be a good idea to write it down while the memory is clear.

We drove to Nashville to spend the night so we didn’t have to worry about traffic and so we could leave our vehicle at the hotel and save on the cost of long term parking at the airport. Turns out that a new law was passed a few days before we got there prohibiting that. So we will still have to pay for parking. Oh well.  We left as soon as Jon got off work so we could eat at one of my favorite restaurants in Mt. Juliet (Which Wich) and get the kids into bed early. Early ended up being 10pm. They were both so excited that they couldn’t sleep. Then Dominic’s cough worsened and he ended up throwing up from the sinus drainage. Not the way to begin our trip.

The next morning we headed to the airport. The kids do so well with travel. It’s usually us parents that have the issues. I’d been gleefully telling everyone that it was going to be a 25-35 hour trip there without thinking that this meant 21 hours in a plane. Not getting on, getting off, or driving – actual flight time. Wow! What was I thinking?! The trip from Detroit to Tokyo was approx. 13 hours. We had a light that kept flashing above our seats. So the stewardess asked us if we wanted to move up to another row of seats. We chose to keep both. So during that flight we could take turns sleeping or taking a break from the kids. It worked really well. Jon and I didn’t sleep very much, if at all. But the kids were able to get some sleep. The layover in Tokyo wasn’t long enough to get food. We walked to our plane and almost immediately boarded. But while there, Caitlin and I had some fun with the toilets. Did you know that they can come with flushing sounds? I’m not sure why this would be necessary or needed when you are hopefully getting ready to flush anyway, but. . .

The next flight was almost 7 hours. We were all seated together this time and had less room to spread out, but I think we slept a bit more. After we landed we met our friend Laura and began the 2 hour trip to their house on the campus of Asia Pacific International University. We have taken it easy today.

Went to a presentation that Katherine and Lia were giving at their school

Spent some time riding the bike around campus
 

Sat staring off into space
(Dominic still wasn't feeling well-poor baby.)

I was the only one who took a nap. I would probably still be napping if it wasn’t for Laura. She told me she needed my help and that helped me get up and moving.
 
During Friday night worship I fell asleep again.
But despite the long trip and the utter exhaustion, we are excited to begin our visit with friends and exploring.