With two bags in tow once again, it was off to our apartment in Bangkok. And by now we had the system down pat: we had directions to the apartment, a phone number and SIM card to call, if necessary, as well as the downloaded map so we could follow the route the driver took – just in case. I had booked this apartment on airbnb as well. I never say much to the rest of the family about what our accommodations might look like because we have learned that it’s best not to have our expectations too high! Our hope is always that the place is clean & safe. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake! This apartment was supposed to have a pool, which we had found to be a huge help in the extreme heat and humidity of Thailand.

As we drove to the apartment, Caleb would point to a few run-down, grotty looking places, and say, “I’m hoping ours is just a little nicer than that, but we’ve managed in places like that before.” I was quite pleased that both boys were beginning to appreciate the privilege of staying in “nicer” places. We have had our share of pretty run-down spots, although I have to say that so far we have managed to fulfill the “safe” qualification for each of them. We have never felt that we were in an unsafe area. We always lock up one of our bags with any valuables, whenever we leave the room, but only has a precaution.

Our taxi started to make its way down a narrow street with several food stalls set up down each side. “We must be getting close,” said Connor. We passed a couple of very nice apartment complexes. “I don’t think we’ll be staying in one of those!” remarked Caleb. “They look really nice!” And then we pulled in……Here we were at our building and it was beautiful. There was a gate with a friendly security guard, a glassed-in foyer at the front of the building, a quiet reading area when you entered, a roof top pool, and we were greeted by a friendly Romanian woman who took us up to our apartment and explained everything we needed to know about the local area.

The apartment was very tiny – but we’re used to tiny! There was a bed, a pullout couch at the end of it, and a very small kitchenette area. It was spotlessly clean and we had the most amazing view of the roof top pool from our window. The boys were thrilled and so was I. Another airbnb winner!!

Our apartment had only been available for 4 nights so I had booked it for that. From the reading I had done a lot of people suggested not staying very long in Bangkok because it was such a busy, crowded city and time was better spent elsewhere. I’m not sure if it was because we had already spent a fair amount of time in extremely crowded places in China, or if it was because we were in such a central location, or maybe just because it was such a change from the places we’d recently visited, but we really enjoyed Bangkok. The people were so friendly, the public transit was easy to navigate, and you could escape the heat in a variety of air conditioned buildings. While there, people kept suggesting we visit the “Old Town” but we used our 4 days just to do some fun things with the boys. It was less about learning about the history of Bangkok and more about doing some neat things that we couldn’t do at home.

After checking out the local markets, figuring out the subway system, and getting a few groceries, we walked to the Bangkok Snake Farm at the Red Cross Institute, beside the hospital. I was interested in visiting this, since they showed you how snake venom is extracted for the use of anti-venom serum. The anti-venom serum is used in hospitals across Thailand. At the snake farm there is an area where you can see many of Thailand’s different venomous and non venomous snakes and there is also a theatre where they do a demonstration of venom extraction. It was very interesting, although somewhat difficult to understand. Fortunately the man spoke both Thai and English, however, he spoke so quickly and with such a strong accent that it was a real challenge to decipher him! There was also an exhibit hall which had been designed to educate the public about snakes. I thought it was extremely well done. We watched a couple of videos about the kinds of snakes, learned what happens if the venom gets into your system (not for the faint of heart!), the anatomy of a snake, snake reproduction, and so much more. A very educational stop. Highly recommend.  

After 4 wonderful, relaxing days enjoying the sun and surf at our villa south of Hua Hin, Thailand, it was time to board the train once again and head back to Bangkok. To lighten our load to the villa, we had left one of our bags (we carry 2 roller duffel bags) at what appeared to be a rather questionable luggage storage area in the train station in Bangkok. They call it the “Left Luggage” area and you pay a small fee for each day/hour you leave your bag. The young man behind the counter didn’t say a word to us but merely handed us a ticket. As we walked away we wondered if our bag would still be there, sitting in the middle of the floor, in exactly the same spot, when we returned a few days later.

“Do you think he’ll move it?” we asked ourselves. “Should we have moved it into a corner, out of the way?” Clay wondered.

We kept glancing back and decided it was best to go back and put our worries to rest! “Should I move the bag out of the way?” Clay asked the rather unkempt gent behind the desk. “No, is OK,” he reassured us. So, off we had walked, still quite uncertain as to whether we would have a bag at all when we returned. “What if someone comes in and takes ours?” asked Caleb – the greatest worrier of the four of us. “Then we lose the bag,” I replied. “There is nothing of huge value in there.” And off we walked……hoping for the best.

This has been a common theme running through our travels thus far: trust. When you are traveling in another country where you are unfamiliar with the customs, language, locations, etc there are many times you have to trust others. It is always a fine balance between doing your research, asking around, and then just praying that things will work out as you hope. So far, I must say we’ve been extremely fortunate. Our luggage was still there when we returned to the “left luggage” room. It had even been moved out of the way!” And on so many other occasions things have worked out for us as well. Often, it is thanks to the kindness of strangers. When we were in Laos, walking the 2 km from our guest house to town, in the baking sun, two women pulled up in a shiny new white car with leather interior (a rather stark contrast to us in our well-worn, sweat stained travel clothes!) and they stopped and asked, in broken English, if they could give us a lift somewhere. They very kindly took us to the end of our road (about 1 1/2 km), for which we were incredibly grateful. Perhaps traveling with children has helped, because people see the two boys and they feel more comfortable approaching us, but I have to say that my faith in humanity has been restored several times over! On many occasions we would not have been able to arrive at our destination, were it not for some kind soul taking pity on us! (This is not to say that we have not been approached by people trying to scam us, but we try to read up on the ‘common scams’ in the area so we can be aware of them.)