Some thoughts on our travels

Hello all

Recently I sent an email to someone who will be travelling to Thailand to to pick up their child in a couple weeks. I thought since other people who will be travelling read our blog that I would post the contents of the email. These are only a few of my thoughts that were written rather quickly. Other people may have other experiences. If you do feel free to comment so that others can benefit from your experience.

Hope this helps some people:

Chiang Mai
Night BizarreThe night bizarre is right downtown; every cab driver will know how to get there. It starts at 5:00. It is full of shopping, music and restaurants. There are all kinds of crafts, souvenirs, clothes, and “designer” accessories such as purses. Many things were quite inexpensive, although you must be prepared to barter. I am not typically good at this but I was told to first offer half of what they initially tell you the price is and go from there. Some travel books and websites have advice on how to barter. I would recommend bringing a calculator with you so you can calculate the exchange. We went right after 5 and were there for a couple hours. After that it gets really busy and because of the narrow streets it is fairly difficult to shop with a toddler.
Elephant Parkwe went to the elephant park in the morning. Before you go find out when the shows are. I believe when we were there the morning show was 9:45. The show was really neat the elephants paint pictures, play soccer, stack logs and it’s all mixed with humour. Someone from gentle nest was nice enough to call a taxi for us and make arrangements for us to be picked up at a specified time. The cab driver then waited at the park for us and met us at the gate when we were ready to leave. I believe this cost about $1200baht. The cab ride was probably about 45 mins.
Thipanet Marketthis is a market you can go to during the day. It has lots of crafts, painting and furniture. There is a restaurant right acrossed from the market that was delicious, although I forget the name of it. If you are looking to buy this sort of stuff it will be much cheaper here than in Bangkok. We bought a little statue which was hand painted, a light with an elephant on it and a few little toys for Kanya. I found it pretty easy to travel around this market with a toddler.
Parksafter taking Kanya to the Dr. We wanted to do something fun since that was a bit of a traumatic experience. I wish I could remember the name of it but there is a park right on the river we went to. You can rent little mats to sit on by the river, feed the fish, and walk around the nice gardens. I found parks to be a great getaway when you are in a busy city. Plus there is always good food you can get from a stand on your travels. The food is really good, and cheap. All 3 of us could eat for the equivalent of $5-$10 Canadian Dollars.
General informationwe found it pretty easy to get around Chiang Mai. I would recommend you always have the address of where you are staying written in Thai with you. We did get lost once b/c we thought we knew where we were going and could direct our taxi. When all the signs are in Thai it is easy to get mixed up. Most hotels will have someone who can write out addresses for you. You do have to barter with taxis for fare.
There are lots of bank machines so it is not necessary to bring a lot of cash with you. You will need to keep cash on you b/c many restaurants, shops and cabs except cash only.
We found it easy to get most amenities you would find here, perhaps different brands. Wipes are expensive there so you may want to pack some extra ones. I would recommend bringing medicine especially if you do not have a contact who can speak Thai simply b/c the pharmacist may not speak English and the directions will be in Thai and since many of the brands are different we did not recognize any of the bottles. That being said if you do need medicine (such as medication for colds, stomach or headache) it is accessible and much of it is cheaper than it is here. There are department stores as well as markets for groceries. Groceries items are really cheap especially produce. We found their apple juice particularly good. In fact our daughter drank it all the time there but will not touch our apple juice here.
We loved Chiang Mai. The city has lots to see. I wish we had time to do more things and I look forward to returning there someday. I would have liked to have seen the night safari so that may also be something for you to consider doing while there.
Bangkok
FFACwe went to the FFAC the day before our hearing. It was very interesting to meet the staff there and hear about their work. We probably spent about an hour and a half there. Kanya was starting to get uncomfortable there so we had to leave.
DSDWLike everyone we were very worried about the hearing. Although we had been told not to worry we of course still did. For any of you that are thinking about your hearing it honestly is nothing to worry about. We arrived about an hour ahead of time. It was interesting to see people from all over the world who were adopting. There were so many stories. Some had older children, some younger, one couple was finishing a relative adoption. There was one couple who had adopted a 6 year old who did not speak English and they did not speak Thai. It was really neat watching how much people can communicate without using language. The dress code is formal, however once you are seated it become a fairly relaxed meeting. There were several people at the hearing (probably around 10) however only 3 asked questions. There were toys for Kanya to play with and the board members smiled and laughed when they spoke with us. It lasted probably about 20 minutes and then we were off to the Canadian embassy with a signed certificate from the board.
Bangkok Zoowe spent a few hours at the Bangkok zoo. It was a great bonding experience for a new family. Our daughter loves animals so there were lots to see and do. The zoo also has a train the runs through most of it. I can’t remember the price of the zoo but I remember thinking this is much cheaper than the Toronto zoo.
Limpingh ParkThis Park is located in the centre of the city. It is a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. The gardens are beautiful and there are several playgrounds for children. The paths were nice and wide so it was easy to push a stroller. They have a little river where you can rent a paddle boat. If you or your child are feeling overwhelmed by the Bangkok this is a nice break.
Ocean Wonders in Siam Squarewe found this place by accident. Someone at the hotel recommended Siam Square for shopping telling us it is Bangkok’s best shopping. The mall is beautiful. I have never seen a mall so clean, it almost sparkles. The downside is I couldn’t afford a lot of things in the mall. It is full of designer stores (Gucci, Prada, Coach, Burberry, Chanel Etc.) and fine dining restaurants that I did not think were family friendly. However on the bottom floor we saw a sign leading us to Ocean Wonders. We thought even if there are a few fish it will be fun. It was so much more than we could have expected. It was beautiful. There were several large aquariums with all kinds of fish, sharks, eels I could go on and on. There were penguin’s sea otters everything that you could imagine. They had glass bottom boat rides, shark feedings and a huge tunnel aquarium where it seemed like you were walking through the ocean. I would recommend checking it out.
That is probably all we did in Bangkok. I can’t really remember any restaurant we ate at as we just would be walking and stop and get some food wherever.
Bangkok is a great city. It has great food and shopping. It is however a little difficult to get around with a toddler. The traffic is really crazy and there are not many crosswalks so when you have a stroller and a little one you cross your fingers everytime you cross several lanes of busy traffic. I must say the people of Bangkok have an amazing ability to cross any street. The sidewalks are narrow and are not well kept and they are often packed. This means you will be carrying your toddler a lot.
Taxis in Bangkok should have a meter. If a taxi driver will not use a meter get out and get another cab as they are trying to take advantage of you. There are several taxis so you would have no problem getting another one. They also have tuk tuks just like they do in Chiang Mai. Tuk Tuks are little blue motorized three wheeled vehicles. Although we took tuk tuks in Chiang Mai we did not take them in Bangkok. We were going to once but the driver offered a better price if we could make a stop on the way which is a sure sign they are sketchy. There is a monorail and bus system in Bangkok. We heard good things about it but we did not use it ourselves.