12.01.2009

An Awesome Thai'm

What a fantastic four days we had in Bangkok. Four way-too-short days. We managed a nice balance of relaxing and touring, eating and shopping, kids activities and adult entertainment (um... no, not THAT kind of entertainment).

We got back late Sunday night and have slowly been getting back into the swing of things. Of course, I already have a bevy of school and holiday activities on my plate, so I'm lagging a bit on photos, updates, return e-mails...

I couldn't possibly recap the entire trip, so I won't even begin to try. Instead, I'll give you the highlights as agreed upon by the girlies.

Friday we went to the Siam Center Mall where we took the girls to the Siam Ocean World Aquarium (conveniently located inside and underneath the mall). The girls had a blast ... seeing the myriad of sea life, taking a glass bottom boat ride, watching a shark feeding, and sticking their feet in the water and letting the fish nibble off the dead skin. Three hours well spent in the aquarium. Then onto the shopping!

The mall, in and of itself, was nothing short of fabulous. Granted, when you're used to malls anywhere else in the world, it's nothing special, but for us, we were pretty much in awe. The food court? Spec.tac.u.lar! Not only did they have an unbelievable Asian cuisine which left me paralyzed with choices, but the American restaurants had Matt and the girls giddy; Au Bon Pain, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Starbucks, Haagen Dazs, McDonald's, Swensens to name a few. To top it off there was a gourmet market in the back that the girls had to drag me out of... I could have stayed there all day. We walked around the six floors of the mall afterwards, looking at everything from the car dealerships selling Porsche's to Maserati's, to the Luxury Brand floors selling Cartier and Burberry. I was right at home! Our day wouldn't have been complete without a trip to Hard Rock Cafe where we all ate our body weight in more tasty, greasy, American foods. Awesome!

The highlight of the girls trip was taking the water taxis on Saturday to the Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha, about 45 minutes north of the hotel. They really didn't care about the Palace ... to them, it's just one more flashy temple outside in the hot sun. Nor did they enjoy the thirty minute walk from the Palace to the Buddha, where they whined, complained, and begged to take a tuk tuk the ENTIRE way. But once we got back to the dock where we waited for the water taxi, and subsequently had to smush our way onto one as it was entirely too crowded, they were just fine.

Our last day was spent by the pool, lounging around the lobby, and sending the kids to play in the Kids Club. We had a late check out, we leisurely made our way to the airport, checked-in, and walked around. The two hours flew right by, and soon enough we were on a flight back home. Back to the dog. Back to the grind. Back to the normal chaos.

The transition back to reality hit me about two hours into the flight when the guy next to me started letting out SBD's (silent but deadly farts). Welcome home Perlmans. Welcome home.





Ri and Sher in front of the spider crabs.
Matt and the girls having their toes nibbled by the fish.
The family at Hard Rock Cafe



Our hotel ... On the water taxi



The Grand Palace









A guy touching up the wall paintings at the Grand Palace.
The Reclining Buddha.



This is how Grady spent a majority of his trip to Bangkok.

16 comments:

Mom24 said...

I'm exceedingly jealous. It sounds wonderful. I'm very glad for you. You deserved a break.

The fish thing freaks me out a little to think about...too different for me.

How's the car doing? I'll assume that's what you were picked up in?

Robin said...

Sounds utterly fabulous. Well, other than the whole hors d'oeuvres for a fish thing. That's a bit creepy. The rest of it though sounds terrific. Great photos too.

Mommy, I'm Home said...

I'm laughing at you gushing over the mall. I guess it's something we take for granted here in the States...

Donna said...

Love the husband and wife statue pose. On a technical note, how in the heck do you get pictures to appear side-by-side? I can only manage to make one long, annoying column. And on a non-technical note, where did you stay? My husband is due to fam fire soon - we're thinking of trying to join him. But I'm reluctant to spend the money if it doesn't involve beach time.

Christy said...

Wow what great photos - the one of you and Matt posing like the statues is a keeper. Sounds like an awesome trip and I'm in awe that you did it with a baby too!

Michelle said...

I Love the pictures! Grady looks so relaxed ;o) You guys look like you had a blast! We love you!!!

Crystal said...

How fun!!! I hope the fish were gentle on everyone's toes : ) Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you had a great time away. SBD's, huh? You crack me up, Jill! I was laughing out loud~

Ramit Grover said...

Don't you have malls in your city? We have waaaaay too many in New Delhi! We also have one called Big Bazaar, its like a Safeway & Walmart put together in Indian standards & available space. Nice pictures. Fun trip!

Jen said...

Looks like an awesome trip! Glad you had a great time.

kismet said...

Big Bazaar is to be avoided at all costs, unless you like chaos! Every time I visit one of those stores, I swear I'm not going back. Especially when there's a promotion on! I can't write anything sensible because I'm snickering over the SBDs too. It's just soooo wrong to subject other passengers to that on a plane!!!

Sharell

Ramit Grover said...

I don't really shop at Big Bazaar myself, because the nearest one to my house is like an hour's drive away. I once had to go through SBD's on a 6 hour flight back home. That was baaaad!

OHmommy said...

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I want to travel now soooooo bad with the kids. Stupid economy. I will just enjoy watching you travel.

julicle said...

So glad you got some much needed R&R. Love the family photo, btw. You should use that for your holiday cards... screw the Taj Mahal!

anymommy said...

So much fun! I love the baby sleeping through it all. That is exactly how we roll (except in boring hometown, USA, not Bangkok.)

Unknown said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE your pictures... Y'all are too cute for words... sorry I have been MIA.. I'mmmm back.

Lisa said...

You go to Bangkok on vacation. I barely get to Target. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through your glamorous life :) Looks like it was a great trip!!!

Blog Designed by: NW Designs