Well it has been an interesting and busy month of September! While it is really only 2 events, a 2 week holiday to Thailand and Daniel's birthday, the time has flown by and the combination of time zones and daylight saving starting has meant a bit of that time flew by while we were sleeping.
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| Travelling Thai style |
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| Checking out the markets in Chiang Mai |
At the beginning of the month we left a very wet and cold Kaikoura to drove down to an even colder Christchurch in order to be up at 2am for our flights to Thailand. The heat of Thailand after the cold of New Zealand took some getting used to and Daniel even asked 'Do they have a heater on' as we left Bangkok airport ;). It was a great holiday though and an awesome learning experience for both of the kids. By the end of the trip we were able to take an hour and a half 3rd class (no air con) train trip without a murmur of a complaint .... well apart from when a monk was intent on stroking Daniel's hair and trying to set him up with another child travelling!! In fact Daniel and his hair were a definite favourite of many a Thai adult .... I think we could of earned a pretty penny if we had stood somewhere for photos. ;)
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| This pretty much sums up us trying to get a family photo! |
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| Trying another Thai mode of transport! |
The big request when we left New Zealand was too visit some elephants in the wild. While this is a little tricky without going into the jungle for days on end we did manage to book a half day trip where we were able to feed, walk and wash the elephants. These elephants had been returned to the hilltribe village where they were from (couldn't quite get an answer about how they got there in the first place) after being leased out to other companies for tourists to ride on. I think that if we had just feed them and left Daniel would have been well pleased as it was a little too remote and jungle like in the village for himself .... Jasmine on the other hand would of happily lived there I think. ;) Hopefully he'll remember it fondly later.
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| Walking with the elephants |
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| Feeding the elephants |
It was such a different experience that we really did need the two weeks for themselves to adjust. The heat, the new smells, the noise, the language, the food, the animals and the traffic was all an eye opener for them and it was great seeing their inquisitiveness and openness about it all. They soon had their favourites in the market stalls and were able to say hello and thank you in Thai by the time we went. It was great also for Liam and I to re-discover some places we had been before and discover new places in Thailand. We ended up (accidentally that is) staying in the same guest house and the same room in Chiang Mai as we stayed in 13 years ago! The kids thought that was really awesome. The highlight of the trip though would have to be a stay in Phrae (in the North East) where we were given the whole place to look after when we asked to stay. The owner was just about to leave for a trip and so let us use her whole house for a couple of days .... it was a great experience as it was a traditional wooden Thai house with no air con and a sprawling garden where the kids could collect their own mango to eat for breakfast. The whole of Phrae was like this, trusting, helpful and friendly, and it was such a breath of fresh air to be off the tourist trail. It really did feel like we were seeing the 'real' Thailand or at least how it was before all the farang started bombarding through.
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| Train travel |
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| Our traditional Thai house for a few days |
Once back in NZ we had planned to spend Daniel's birthday weekend over on the West Coast but unfortunately the weather closed the roads on the Friday we were to leave which meant that we had to stay put. I think it may have been a blessing in disguise though as in the end Kaikoura put on a fantastically hot and sunny weekend while the coast had rain. Since we still have the postponed 'party' over on the coast ahead of us we had a relaxed day around the bus before heading out to tea at the Pier hotel ... as requested by himself. So now are parked up in a paddock with the sunshine coming in, enjoying the extended daylight and slowly getting back into a rhythm after 3 weeks of excitement.
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| Himself with his pooh zum zum cake |
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| Back on the farm |
Hope this finds you all well until next time.
Arohanui
Y
