Thailand 2009

hier eine Sendung für dich, es geht um Kinder in Thailand.

2010-01-18T01:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/hauptnavigation/nachrichten/#/beitrag/video/945914/Muss-denn-Thailand-Suende-sein/ine

This is a German program about kids in Thailand.

photos I think are good

2009-09-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

I took allot of photos in Thailand, mostly of my family. I think these photos of the man that rents horses on the beach, the kids swimming under water, and a lady gardener are extra special. I would love to own a good camera, and spend months or years taking photos in Thailand. It's such an interesting place. Maybe that's part of what I will do when I retire? If you click on the photo you can view it in it's detail.

In the pool

2009-09-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

We spent alot of time in the pool. Most of the time we had the pool to ourselves. What a gift that was. I will miss the pool!

The crab

2009-09-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

We found this dry crab on the beach. Juergen wanted to clean it out before we brought it home. In the end we packed it in a box, and now it is sitting in the green house getting cleaned out by the sun.

Some last day photos

2009-09-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

We thought we could spend all day in Hua Hin on our last day in Thailand. We eat breakfast, then went to the pool. Then we got a call from the booking agent saying we needed to check out. So then there was a rush to pack and get out. After that we eat lunch at the mall, then drove towards Bangkok. On the way we stopped to feed monkeys. The mean monkeys grabbed the bag of bananas from my hand, and really scared Sarah. She was angry at them, and would not feed them after that.

When we got to Bangkok we had a very nice dinner. Then Juergen got lost trying to find the airport. The GPS stopped working. Actually, it worked but only showed all the golf courses in Bangkok. It was pretty stressful, but I was a good girl and kept my big mouth shut. We got to the airport just in time, and I'm proud of Juergen and Nicole for finding it. Bangkok is a very big place...I saw it from the air. I asked the booking agent if we could stay late in Hua Hin, he said yes but I didn't get that in writing. My fault.

Last Post from Thailand

2009-09-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

We had a good swim this morning and then rushed to pack. We thought we could stay late today, but we were wrong. So our flight doesn't leave until 11:57 pm, and we are hanging out in thev mall for a few hours. I'm drinking Black Canyon Coffee and the kids are all playing video games. We will have a long lunch and do so last minute shopping before we drive to Bangkok.
Yesterday was our best day. We went to a National park. I will have to find the name for you later. I also have many great photo's and even a slide show I made. That will wait until I can use my fast internet in Germany. I cried yesterday as I looked across Dolphin Bay. We were sitting at lunch, and we have had such a great time. I really hate to leave. I will try to fill in the blanks when I get home. For now, please pray for our flight. Pray Jessica does ok, and that we are safe traveling home. I have to go, and the tears are close to my eyes...I love Thailand!

only a few more days

2009-08-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

I had trouble sleeping last night. The vacation is coming to an end. I wasn’t sure of the days. Last time we were here (2006) we missed our return flight by one day because we lost track of the days. I didn’t feel easy until I could pull out the airline tickets and check the calendar on my computer. I even changed the time on my computer clock so it’s set to Thai time. So we leave on Wednesday night and get back to Germany on Thursday morning. I’m not sure what we will do today. We will for sure swim a few times. The apartments had a few visitors from Bangkok this past weekend. Most of the apartments are owned by Thai families that come here on weekends and holidays. During the week we have the place pretty much to ourselves. Last night we were again alone in the pool. I’m sure it will be the same today. It feels like it’s going to rain today. So far the weather has been pretty good. When it rains, it’s just for a few hours. Then it’s sunny again. It’s hot and humid, but I like that. I can not say how sad I am we are leaving soon. Sarah was sitting on my lap in the Jacuzzi last night. She said she loved Thailand and never wanted to leave. I’m on board with her. I could easily see myself living here for long periods of time. But I would want to start a business of some kind. Something to help employ the people. People don’t seem so happy here. It’s very hard for the locals. 5 star hotels are taking over Hua Hin. There are” nice” restaurants every where replacing the family run Thai kitchens. We came to Hua Hin about 9 years ago. It was just a sleepy little place back then. The people didn’t have much, but they also didn’t need much. 10 baht could buy you a pretty good meal. Today you need 90 baht for a cup of coffee. They can make more money because of tourism, but everything cost more too. I guess the reason I loved Dolphin Bay so much is because it’s not overly developed. I also do not see enough tourists in Hua Hin to sustain this growth. We are here during the low season, but I can imagine this town only gets a few months of real crowds. Most of the population is under employed most of the year. I’m not sure what kind of business I could start to help employ a few families? Life is easy here if you have money. But with out money, it brings despair. I see hopelessness in too many faces. Too many tourists come here to use the people. I read that 90 % of the beach front is owned by foreigners. I feel like the government is not doing enough to protect the Thai population from being exploited. This also goes for the sex tourists. They should stop the whole exploitation of women and children in the sex “industry”. Thailand is a beautiful vacation spot. They should stop this whole sex tourist thing. It ruins the country. It robs the people. It only attacks those who would exploit and use these beautiful people. I never saw any sigh of a sex industry in Hua Hin before, but now there is a big night club here. It has a large sign out front with girls on it. Pretty sleazy looking. How sad! I hope they don’t go in that direction. This place was so clean before.
We can not find Sarah’s Mp3 player. It was in the kitchen before the maids cleaned our apartment. We searched everywhere. I’m sad to think it, but we think the maids took it. Today Juergen is going to ask them about it. We don’t want to ask the apartment manager because we don’t want to see anyone fired over a 40 dollar Mp3 player. I am writing this to say you need to be careful with your stuff. It’s a sad fact but they do have crime here. The last time we were here a women standing near us had her purse stolen. A couple on a motorcycle ripped it from her hands. It had her passport and airline ticket and everything in it. I never carry the important stuff with me. I hide it in a safe. I only carry a small amount of cash, and a copy of my passport. I also watch the motorcycles and hold tight to my bag. I don’t care so much about the Mp3 player. I only write this to warn travelers to be careful. Most Thai people are honest, but some are not.

A great day

2009-08-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

Today we took a trip down to Dolphin Bay, about one hour south of Hua Hin. We wanted to take a boat to Monkey Island, but we got started too late. We will try to do that on Tuesday. But we found a great restaurant on the beach. The food was I guess the best we have had in Thailand. Everything was 5 star. I know we want to eat at this place again on Tuesday. After our long late lunch we went to the beach. There are no jelly fish there. We didn't bring our swim suites, so we just swam in our cloths. My skin feels like a million dollars, all that good salt water and sun! I made Juergen promise we would stay in Thailand at least a month next trip. It's so sad we only have a few more days left. It has been great!

one more short post

2009-08-29T03:52:00.000-07:00

I'm at a internet cafe one more time. I only have a minute. We had lunch on the beach, and Juergen and I had a message. It was wonderful! The kids are waiting...got to go! Sorry, but I guess I'll post photos later!

Hi

2009-08-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am at an internet cafe but my family is waiting. We are having a great time. Today Sarah and Philip rode a horse, and I rode a jet ski on the ocean. I had to walk through a tide pool filled with jelly fish. I was afraid, I won't lie! It's raining a bit. I've also had problems with a sore foot. I just wanted to check in and say we are fine. Many greetings!

Update ...all is super! What would you expect?

2009-08-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day. We went swimming, out to lunch, and then for a ride on an elephant. After all that we went swimming again, and now the kids are watching a movie. The whole day was super! I have to say it was special to get a smile on Jessica’s face in the pool, and seeing Sarah on the elephant. I'll try to load a few photos. I think we will go to dolphin bay tomorrow. Nicole and I are listening to Huckleberry Finn. Too funny! It’s wonderful to be here.

The time is speeding by too fast

2009-08-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Ah! Life is good!!!I listened to monkeys in the trees as I fell asleep last night. After breakfast I watched Sarah and Philip swim. The whole family walked towards our favorite Thai hole in the wall place for lunch. Unfortunately it isn’t there. They build a new hotel there instead. Hua Hin is growing! So we caught a ride on a truck taxi. Jess loved that! She is in an amazing mood. If we are going out, she is up for it. I don’t think she has ever been so good! We drove to the fish market. They have a out door restaurant. The food was great. Philip got his shrimp. My dad would have loved this place. Nicole and I even eat the eyes of the fish. Fish eyes are much harder then I though. It taste like bone. We walked around the Hua Hin old town. It was super hot so we took tuk tuks home. My camera ran out of power. Too bad, because Sarah was so cute on her first tuk tuk ride. Sarah has been super good on this trip. She loves Thailand! Thomas is the only one that just seems out of sink. Maybe you can pray for him. He needs to be more flexible and adventures. He wants to eat only at Mc Donald’s, and he would be happy if he could build Lego all day. He seems genuinely culture shocked. Just pray for him. So everyone is going swimming. As you can probably tell, we are having a good time. Love from Hua Hin.

It's taking too long to load photos. I'll add more when I can.

We are here and doing well

2009-08-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

It's taking 3 mins to load one photo on the Internet here. Sorry but I'm only going to post a few until I can make it to an Internet cafe. We got to Hua Hin in good time. The weather is great. The apartment is less then great. We are ironing out the problems with the manager. We would move to another location, but that's not too easy. The good side is we have the place to ourselves. Our favorite pool is closed (the apartment has 3 other pools). The ocean is full of red jelly fish, so we have to stay out of the water. Still the beach is beautiful. We will build sand castles and ride horses. Thomas is learning to play chess, Jessica is in a great mood. We have eaten great food. The sunshine is wonderful! Many greetings.

PS: I will not SKYP from here because it's way too slow.

Off to Hua Hin

2009-08-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

We are packing up and leaving for Hua Hin today. After breakfast I wanted to talk with the boys. We have driven all over Bangkok in the past few days. We have been to rich places, and poor places. I wondered if they had thought much about their birth families. Thomas was born in Bangkok. Maybe one of these people are from his birth family. But they both said they didn't think about the birth family. We wanted them to know first that they would always be a part of our family. We are not going away. But we would not feel bad if they ever wanted to look for their birth family. There is very little information, and it maybe impossible to find the families, but we would support them if they just wanted to find them. We then prayed with the boys, and also prayed for the birth families. It didn't seem to be something that they were thinking about, but we wanted to give them a chance to express it...just in case. I guess it was a clear signal that they can talk about this kind of stuff. We wouldn't feel badly and they shouldn't either. Does that make any since?

OK, I've got to pack. Juergen wants to get going.

Our apartment

2009-08-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Before we leave Bangkok I should say something about the place we are staying. It's called The Thompson Residence. It is a service apartment. It is sort of hard to find. They do not have room service and a restaurant like River Front Residence an apartment we stayed in before. We rented this place because it has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The space has been great! The swimming pool is small but nice. They also have this incredible message chair in the master bedroom. I don't know how I could leave Thailand without one of these chairs. It is amazing! If you have a large group I would highly recommend Thompson residence. If you only need 2 bedrooms River front residence is nicer ( great room service). We are able to order breakfast here. The breakfast comes hot, and it's pretty good. You get toast, eggs, fresh juice, instant coffee, and ham. Not bad for about 2 dollars. You can also order pizza and Chinese/Thai food. The apartment also has a full kitchen and a washer and dryer.

The Rain in Bangkok tonight

2009-08-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

2009-08-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

I can not see my blog. I can not figure it out. I'll try to post this for my parents to see. I love you Mom & Dad!

We had a good day. We basically stayed in Bangkok. I wanted to go to a new park , The Rama 9 park. It was built for the Queens 60th birthday. It was very hot outside. Hotter then we expected. I was sweating so much my eyes hurt. I got a few nice photos. I loved the giant water lily’s. Most of the orchids were already out of flower. We didn't spend much time in the park. It was just too hot to be anywhere but the mall. We went to a Mall for lunch. The place was crowded and loud. We all still have jet lag. Everyone was dragging. I took the kids to Toys R Us. The Lego cost more then in Germany. Thomas was disappointed. There was a group of kids dancing. If I can load the video you can see them. The boys were pretty good.
We were going to take a boat ride, but we are just too tired! Tomorrow we go to Hua Hin. I'll personally be happy to leave Bangkok. It is so loud and busy and dirty here. I am too tired to be here with the kids. The kids need a good pool, and someplace quieter. I think Bangkok would be great without my kids. It is especially too busy for Jessica (she has autism). So hopefully we will have more fun in Hua Hin. It's been ok here...but kind of stressful.

2009-08-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

First, I can not write enough about how good our flight was. Jessica is in such a sweet mood. She is so happy to be here. Generally it takes her a week or so to get her to relax. What a big smile she had on her face this morning. She was so calm and good today. I praise God for her good behavior.
We had breakfast in our room. They deliver a good hot American breakfast for about 2 US dollars per person. What service! Then we drove across town to see the social workers at the adoption center. They wanted to see Thomas and Philip, and find out how the boys are doing. Then we drove towards the babies home. We had a 2 hour lunch at Sizzler first. The restaurant staff kept filling the glasses of coke. We aren't use to that in Germany. Philip drank so much coke he couldn't eat his shrimp when it arrived at the table.
At the babies home we had to wear masks. They didn't let us near the kids. This was a huge disappointment to Sarah. She wanted to play with the kids and give them candy. She was heart broken. Everyone remembered Thomas. A half dozen nannies hugged him and wanted a picture with him. Know one seemed to remember Philip. That hurt Philips feelings. Finally we were able to take pictures of one waiting girl...she has a family waiting to travel. The babies home is made up of a dozen buildings. It is beautiful and peaceful. This isn't the same home Philip and Thomas lived in. That home was torn down and is now being replaced with a hospital. This new babies home is peaceful and well maintained. There is even one house for HIV children. This HIV house has 50 kids. I was impressed by how well cared for and cheerful this place is. I witnessed the staff playing with the kids. It is very nice for an orphanage.
The drive was also an event. Our GPS is not working so Juergen and Nicole had to navigate Bangkok with a pretty poor map. All I can say is they did it! We got to where we wanted to go. Good job!!!

babies home

2009-08-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

Our GPS isn't working so it took hours for us to find the Social Services Office first, and then the babies home. I'll write more later but here are some photos of a special girl who is waiting for her parents to come. I gave her a doll. She is very sweet and well behaved. She wasn't shy at all. We could not hold her because they are worried about the flu...more about that later. She is a doll! You lucky family!!! I have a video too.

We are here

2009-08-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sure people were praying for us. The flight went really well. I have to find the photo of Jessica on the plane. She spent the first 3 hours watching videos on her new mini lap top. She had noise blocking earphones. She was just fine. Then when the battery on the computer went dead, she wanted to leave! Juergen took her for a walk around the cabin (a short walk). She ended up falling asleep on the floor near the bathrooms at the back of the plane. The airline staff all agreed to let her sleep. She stretched out on the floor with 4 pillows, and a business class blanket. Very nice!
When we arrived in Bangkok, we got our van. It has GPS, but the GPS didn't work. Juergen got as close to the hotel as he could, then flagged down a taxi. We followed the cab to the hotel!

The hotel is great! I'm very tired, and we need to go to the orphanage in the morning. I'll write more details tomorrow (God willing). Bangkok is a loud and dirty city. The kids were all super on the flight but now the are so hyper. I hope they will sleep tonight, I’m wiped out!

Sleepless

2009-08-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

I had trouble sleeping last night. I always get anxious before a big trip. I also woke up at 5:30 am...crazy! I could have slept until 10am. I will probably not get any sleep on the plane tonight. I will be taking care of Jessica. Jess is almost 18 years old and has autism. She is deathly afraid of flying. She loves Thailand but it's very stressful getting there. I could use your prayers. Some of the best days of my life were spent in Thailand. Jessica was so healthy because of days and days of sunshine and swimming. She comes out of her hiding place and is with us. I guess only another parent of an autistic child can really understand what a gift this is...to have your child with you. It is so hard getting her there, but so worth the trip when she finally interacts with the whole family. We are looking forward to these days of bonding. We will eat every meal together, and swim everyday together. We will read books together, and play cards. Vacations are not just rest, vacations are serious work. A vacation can build up a family. We want our family to be strong. These days are very important and I'm very grateful for this opportunity. I just pray for peace. Our flight leaves at 11pm, and it's a direct over night flight. I'm pretty sure most of the family will sleep. I would give Jessica something to help her sleep, but that has only had an opposite effect on her in the past. So I will hold her hand literally the entire fight (10 1/2 hours). She has special head phones that block noise. She has her new laptop computer with all her favorite movies on it. We will get through it. I will probably have an easy time getting over the jet lag because of my lack of sleep. I will probably post from Bangkok. Until then thank you for your prayers.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

Thailand facts

2009-08-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Thailand is slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming, and it has 3,219 km of Coastline.

last min everything

2009-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

We dropped Mickey off at the dog hotel. I cleaned out the fish tank (wouldn't want our fish to die). We cleaned Jessica’s room, the bathroom, kitchen, Nicole's room, and Sarah's room. I only need to finish my room and 2 loads of laundry. Juergen is home. He is taking the kids to buy new Mp3 players. We are also burning about 10 kids audible book CD's to put on the Mp3 players. Instead of videos we want the kids listening to books (it's good for their German). I stuck a package in the mail for my dad's birthday. I must say, I am really starting to relax. We are almost ready to go and hopefully it's going to be wonderful! Not every day is special. Many days are just work and stress. But I feel like I'm stepping into another zone. The next few weeks (God willing) will be in a bubble. I will be traveling with my dearly loved family, and I'll hopefully be away from all cares. You can not leave your cares behind you forever...but for this golden time I hope I can leave it all behind me. Even Jessica is excited to go. Oh how wonderful!!!

coke

2009-08-15T15:25:00.001-07:00

this is sad and heart warming

2009-08-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm freaked!

2009-08-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it happens, but I freak out right before we go on a big trip. I have all the bases covered (I think)...but I'm so stressed! Why do I put this crazy pressure on myself? I need to laugh. I'm going to look for funny stuff on you tube.

Show time

2009-08-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

I looked, and our in flight movies should be Monsters vs Aliens on the way to Bangkok, and Night at the Museum 2 and Hannah Montana: The Movie on the way home. Cool! Good kid movies.

shop and drop

2009-08-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the days are passing quickly. We leave in a few days. I took my girls shopping today. My feet hurt. We took advantage of the summer sales. I got cute shirts, shorts, swim suites etc for like 80% off the regular price. I know most everyone in America is thinking "back to school"...but we are thinking beach. Yes, beach!!! Ahh yes!

learning to cook thai

2009-08-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

2009-08-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Siam Ocean World - maybe something for Jessica

2009-08-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

HERE is the website. Our autistic daughter Jessica loves fish.

packing

2009-08-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

So we leave (God willing) for Thailand in 7 days. Sarah helped me dust off a suitcase, and collect her cloths. 5 t-shirts, 2 swim suits, 4 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of long pants, sandals, sun glasses, etc... She is totally packed. Now I pack Jessica and the boys and myself. Nicole has her own list. Juergen will pack himself (probably next Wednesday an hour before we go). I made a special calendar for Sarah to help count down the days. Each morning she puts a sticker on the calendar. We will take the calendar with us to Thailand so she can keep track of the days. On our last trip we actually lost track of the days and missed our return flight. That's pretty easy to do when you are having such a great time! We have a washing machine in our apartment in Bangkok, and laundry service in the apartment in Hua Hin. There is no need to pack too many cloths. Most Asian hotels have laundry service, but not all do. When my mom and I where in China we could not find anyone who could do our laundry. We had to wash underwear in the bathroom. We wore cloths that were stinky and dirty…it was not ideal. You just have to check.

I wish!

2009-08-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

It's really very quite around here! I guess I am missing my boys! Sarah (our 6 year old adopted from China) surprised us last night when she told us she wants to adopt a Thai sister. I said are you sure you don't mean a Chinese sister? She said no. Thailand has elephants, and she can also ride a horse on the beach. She wants a Thai sister. I wish it was as simple as going to Thailand, and just bringing a sister home? Too bad we didn't order ahead!

The photo is Philip and Thomas , Hua Hin in 2004 when we adopted Thomas.

Thai food

2009-08-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

The boys left for summer camp. It sure is quite around here. Juergen took us girls out to dinner. We had Thai food. It was wonderful but pretty expensive! The Euro is pretty high against the baht. I think it's 1 to 50. We can feed our family of 7 very well for so much less in Thailand. In Germany a coke cost 2-5 Euros with no free refills. Imagine what that's like with 5 kids. They all get their drinks, and you have to say...slow down. Don't drink too fast...you are not getting another drink!!! But in Thailand they can have almost anything they want, and as much as they want. Silly what makes a mom happy!!!

Super parent

2009-08-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a book called Super parenting for ADD. Both my boys have ADHD. One of the best things you can do for an ADHD child is to help them feel connected. Family, and family traditions help a child feel connected. I think this is especially important for a child that has been adopted internationally. When I think of this up coming trip to Thailand I get a picture of a bridge. I feel like taking the boys back, taking them to the orphanage, and then to our favorite family spot Hua Hin, helps them have a strong memory of their past. This clear bridge is there. I don't want them to live in the past, but I don't want them to be uncomfortable with it either. Next year they may travel to the USA (a bridge to their future...maybe). They are complex people. These connections need to be there. It is the "roots" needed before the wings. What is so special is our entire families connection with Thailand. This will be the 4th trip for all of us (except Sarah). We jointly love this country. Our families best times are spent here. I think this is good for the boys.

packing

2009-08-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

We travel to Thailand in 11 days (God willing). Today I made a long list of what we "must take". We do not travel light. I've got two big bags of stuff for the orphanage, and a big bag of diapers for Jessica. We are always heavy on technology. I will bring my laptop, and so will Juergen, and we will also bring Jessica’s new computer. OK we are crazy! Why do we need 3 computers? Well, I've got my notes, books and stuff on my laptop, Juergen has his own stuff, and Jess has totally other stuff. We also tend to use the computers at the same time (say a slow time after lunch). This is what works for us. We have cameras, and Mp3 players, and one I-pod. It's ridiculous! And then we have a few special things like lactose free milk for Thomas, and a coffee filter and German coffee for me. The cookies in Thailand are not very good, and we love cookies and tea in the afternoon (it is vacation). So I have to bring some special snacks I know we can not get there. Do I spoil my family? You bet I do! We don't need any of this stuff, but it makes it nice. This is our vacation. There are many things in Thailand we love...and the few things we love from home will also be there just to make things wonderful!!! Today I bought the shampoo, sun screen, and some new tooth brushes. Monday I’m going to start to pack. After everything is packed I’m going to clean my house. I need to clean out the refrigerator, and empty out the cupboards . We have a problem with moths in the flour and cereal. All that sort of stuff has to go! I am also thinking of going to toys r us for some surprise Lego for the boys. I thought they would enjoy building something new when we get to Bangkok. When the kids are happy, and busy it gives Juergen and I the break we want. I think new Lego will buy us hours of amazing peace…it’s better then paying for a babysitter!