Bustling Bangkok

A couple weeks ago we had, yes "had, must, it was absolutely necessary," to go to Bangkok. We had heard a lot about this city and this beautiful country and looked forward to taking in some sites while we waited on our paper work to be processed. What we didn't realize is that Bangkok has a few million more people in it than our city does and it is extremely crowded. Maybe some people enjoy literally "dragging" their kids through the crazy streets there. It was a little more stressful than  enjoyable weaving in and out of the crowds, but we did find some fun and relaxing things to do. Enjoy the few pictures we took during our travels.

I have always thought "Duty Free" was a funny phrase. You see it and hear it everywhere when traveling abroad. My quick witted husband made use of this duty free bag during our layover in Korea. No further caption needed.

This picture was taken while we were waiting on the water taxi our first morning in Bangkok. A friend had told us about these taxis and I had pictured someone driving a small boat gently down the river, stopping and waiting patiently while people got on and off the boat. I had also pictured a boat about 1/5th the size of this one. These boat taxis fly through the waterway. The one we got on didn't even stop. We were just tossing our kiddos over to strangers in the boat while we all tried to get on safely. That was the first and last time we made use of this mode of transportation. Maybe we will try it again in a few years when all the kids can handle themselves and I don't have to worry about them not being able to swim. 

  Speaking of swimming, this is one our family's favorite activities. We love the water! We had an amazing time at Fantasia Lagoon in Bangkok. It wasn't very expensive. It wasn't crowded at all and it was perfect for our kids' ages and swimming abilities. This water park is on top of a 7 story mall so the view is amazing when you climb the slide towers. We had so much fun we decided to go back and do the water park another day. We all had to wear these cute swimming hats but thankfully the kids didn't mind. Surprisingly they told Tim he didn't need one!

The guesthouse we stayed at in Bangkok was very quiet and well-suited for our family. There was an enclosed, grassy area with a small basketball court, some swings, riding toys, and something new to our kids- tether ball. The kids enjoyed running around in green grass and also enjoyed learning how to play tether ball. The city we live in is not very humid, compared to living in N.C., and our city is not humid at all compared to Thailand. Wow! We played outside a lot and sweated a lot. Returning home was nice in that you can walk outside and be fairly comfortable even at 90 degrees F.

Didi enjoying a the big swing all by himself.

Damaris and Ezekiel had a lot of fun playing this game. It brought back a lot of memories from my childhood, as well as some good Napoleon Dynamite quotes.

This is how we walked through the streets of Bangkok most of the time. It was so crowded that our family definitely couldn't spread out and I wanted to make sure we didn't lose anyone. The kids came up with this train idea so they all grabbed on to the person in front of them. It worked pretty well most of the time. 

Our last day in Thailand we decided to venture to a mall close by. They had some cool slides inside that the kids played on and a Toys R Us. We stumbled across this cute restaurant that mainly served waffles and milkshakes. It was so delicious. We haven't had waffles like this in a long time, maybe ever. They even came with a scoop of ice cream on the side. The service was a little slow, thankfully. Halfway through receiving our order we had to cancel some of our orders because the portions were so much larger than we expected.

A boy after my own heart. He and I LOVE chocolate!

Big chairs and teddy bears! What could be more fun! Haven't eaten in a restaurant like this before.

Thumbs up for this strawberry loving guy!