Vacation Time

We just got back from a 5 day vacation to Bangkok.  Really, the primary reason for going was to get all set up at the hospital we plan to have baby #2 at, and have an ultrasound done to make sure everything is going well with baby.  We are happy to say that everything looks good, and the baby... A BOY... is moving constantly and growing just fine.

We've already done many of the tourist things in Bangkok already (our first visit to this city was in 2000), and so now when we go we don't feel the pressure to run around like crazy seeing the sights.  Instead we've found a few places that we just enjoy going to - where we can relax and let go of the stresses of Cambodia for awhile.

Now with Aiden in our lives vacationing has taken on a different look.  We plan things that he will enjoy...we plan around naps and plan for food that he can eat as well (maybe he'll like spicy Thai food when he's older).  

One thing we realized this trip is how much we miss being outdoors.  Here in Cambodia...especially in Phnom Penh there just aren't many places where you can go outside to relax and get some fresh air.  The 'parks' here are not really what Chris and I consider relaxing...

Thankfully Bangkok is FULL of beautiful, huge parks where you can sit in the GRASS and relax, go for a paddle boat ride, rent a bike and ride around for the afternoon and just simply enjoy God's creation (even though you are still in the middle of a HUGE city).

Needless to say except for the day we were at the hospital, we spent every morning of this vacation at a different park.  One morning at the zoo...which is really like a nice big park with animals on the side, one morning at the Queen's park where we rented bikes and went to the butterfly atrium (Aiden really likes butterflies), and another morning at a park where we fed the birds and just let Aiden explore what its like to walk in the grass.

We also enjoy going to the malls....more for the aircon and the food that's available, but this time we stopped by the aquarium that's located in one of the newer malls to see how much it would cost us to get in.  It was a bit too pricey for us, but we happened to time it perfect so that we caught a little dance show with these huge characters (a shark, mermaids, stingray, sea otters...) and Aiden thought that was the BEST thing ever (and we didn't have to pay a dime!).

It was a blessing to get out of Cambodia for a bit....here are a couple of the pics we took along the way.

practicing his Thai???

I'm pretty impressed with myself on this shot!  I was riding my bike in front of them and stuck the camera behind my back to get the shot...its crooked, but at least I got them in the picture!! ;o)

Aiden wasn't too sure about this large animal behind us...he didn't want to take his eyes off of it...lest it come and lick us!

one of the sea otters at the aquarium