Nareekan’s uncle Tony (Toi) was gracious enough to offer to drive us up to Ayutthaya and tour the ruins from the former capital of Siam.  The ride only took an hour and was nice to get out of the big city, our first stop was dubbed the funny temple.  It had lots of kitchy tourist stuff around small ruins.  We floated some candles and fed some crazed catfish, it was certainly an experience.

Our second stop was the faux floating market and elephant rides, we didn’t partake in the rides on the elephants.  Caroline will explain in her blog due on friday.  We did feed them though which was really quite an experience.  We took a little boat ride around the floating market but had to get off our boat to walk around to the stalls with food and other stuff to purchase, the market was more like a pond with shops around it.  We did try some new foods, including fruit snack like things, coconut pudding, quail eggs, thai tea, hair burritos, thai popsicles and a few other things that we couldn’t identify.  Ok, the hair burritos need a bit more explanation… they were this stringy sugary candy that looked like hair and melted like cotton candy, you put it in a crepe and you eat it.  It was quite strange and we laughed about our hair burritos the rest of the day.

We went to lunch next which was overlooking the river and was an amazing assortments of Thai favorites: frog legs, tom yon soup, green curry, pad thai.  Probably my favorite meal of the trip so far.

After lunch we visited the largest ruins, the former royal palace which was destroyed during a war with the Burmese in the 1760’s.  It was still amazingly spectacular, lots of intricate brick structures, remnants of some Buddha statues although most had been removed.  We also saw the famous Buddha head in the tree roots (first picture).  We only spent a couple hours but probably could have wandered around the ruins for 2 or 3 days, but other adventures await us.

After driving home and saying our fairwells to Nareekan, Tony and Pim Pim we met up with Maddy’s friend Amy and her husband and sister.  Maddy was friends with Amy from the Peace Corps.  We had a lovely dinner overlooking the city although the twins slept through dinner, I guess jet lag caught up with them.

First day in school in Thailand.  The first day is so not fun because my parents went easy on Mimi and Julie but not me but my mom told me that after this blog post I can be done with school.  We also named our school the Daddy A+ school.  The other suggestions were: Sauk Trail – Asia Extension; Daddy Fart School; Num Num Blegh – Asia Edition.

by Caroline Niebauer

Temples and Palaces and Floating Markets oh my…  Thailand has been amazing!  We arrived on January 1st and sailed through immigration and customs without much trouble.  We took a taxi to our airbnb condo situated in the downtown area.  Bangkok is located on a broad delta plain where the Chao Phraya River enters in the ocean.  The city contains 8 million people and is far more cosmopolitan than I expected.  There are lots of high rise building, interesting modern architecture and huge fancy shopping malls.

Our first day was filled with starting school, see the previous blog post, and then we visited with Maddy’s step sister Nareekan who was kind enough to drive us around the city to see some sights.   Our first stop after picking up Nareekan’s grandmother was the Wat Arun Ratchawararam Temple or the Temple of Dawn.

It was nice to have locals with us to show us our first temple and what respectful behavior is required, such as covering bare shoulders and knees; stepping over door thresholds; staying lower than statues of the buddha and never pointing your feet at the Buddha.

After wandering the temple for a bit we boarded a shuttle boat across the river to go see the Grand Palace, since it was still the New Years holiday in Thailand the Grand Palace was mobbed with people.  It was still very impressive, with lots of gold leaf and towering monuments.  The girls were running low on energy from the hot weather and walking around all day so we grabbed two tuk tuks and headed back to the condo for some pool time before heading out for dinner.

True we didn’t stay up until midnight for new years but we had just finished a 14 and half hour flight and deleted a day from existence due to crossing the international date line.  We did get an upgrade on our hotel room at the Sheraton, probably the fanciest room I’ve ever stay in.  Corner room with views of downtown Shanghai and two bathrooms.  It’s all downhill from here.

The sunrise the next morning was beautiful, but it was unfortunately very smoggy out.  We checked out of our hotel and took the subway down to the Bund where there is a major warf/walking area at the confluence of two rivers in downtown Shanghai.  The views across the river are the iconic views of Shanghai.  We were getting tired and cranky by the end of the walk so we grabbed breakfast of hot soup dumplings and fruit, I have never seen the kids eat so much food.  Great first meal, hope this is sign for adventuresome eating in the future.

Surprisingly Shanghai seems somewhat spread out to me at least compared to NYC, although I think we have a somewhat skewed view of the city due to the new year’s holiday and the absence of mobs of people.  There were still people who took our photo wherever we went, seem a bit like being a celebrity.  We took a shuttle bus to the airport and boarded our flight to Bangkok.  See you later China.

No problems on our first day of travel, except for maybe the cold weather in Madison, not going to miss that. Hanna drove us to Chicago for our flight to Shanghai. Thanks Hanna! We are happy to be off and actually traveling, the lead up with packing the house, Christmas and saying goodbyes to everyone is very stressful on everybody. Not to mention the cold that we all shared with each other.

We only had one bag to check, my larger backpack, yep you heard that right we only have one pack for each of us for six months. So far so good. We boarded the plane around 2pm for the 14 1/2 hour flight. Actually the kids did quite well, a healthy dose of iPad and movies helps. I was actually quite pleased with Eastern China Airlines, they re-seated us together and everything. We were a bit worried because the tickets were so cheap, that we would be sitting in the cargo hold with chickens and goats or something.

Arriving in China was fine, customs was no problem, we easily got our temporary visas for the night as we head to Bangkok tomorrow. We grabbed a taxi to the hotel and got an upgrade to a really fancy suite, pretty nice for our first stop on the trip. Everyone crashed out pretty quick we didn’t even make it to midnight. Thailand Beacons after our 18 hour layover.

Merry Christmas everyone!  We are one week away from leaving on our trip to Asia.  We have rented our house and sold the Impala, all that is left is to pack up and leave.  Here is our updated itinerary.

Country	Arrival	Departure	Location
China	12/31/2017	1/1/2018	Shanghai
Thailand	January 1 through 14
	1/1/2018	1/6/2018	Bangkok
	1/6/2018	1/14/2018	Chang Mai
	1/14/2018	1/16/2018	Chang Rai
Laos	January 14 – 24
	1/16/2018	1/17/2018	Huag Xai
	1/17/2018	1/18/2017	boat trip – Pak Beng
	1/18/2017	1/22/2018	Luang Prabang
	1/22/2018	1/25/2018	Vang Viang
	1/25/2018	1/27/2018	Vientiane
Cambodia	January 25 through February 7
	1/27/2018	2/1/2018	Siem Reap – Ankor Wat
	2/1/2018	2/8/2018	Sihanouk/ islands
Vietnam	February 9 through February 28
	2/8/2018	2/11/2018	Ho Chi Min City (Saigon)
	2/11/2018	2/22/2018	Hoi An
	2/22/2018	2/24/2018	Hanoi
	2/24/2018	2/28/2018	Ha Long Bay
Thailand	February 28 through March 25
	2/28/2018	3/5/2018	Ko Samui, Ko Phangan
	3/5/2018	3/25/2018	Islands float down weastern coast
Malaysia	March 10 through April 1
	3/23/2018	3/25/2018	Panang
	3/25/2018	3/27/2017	Kuala Lampour
	3/27/2017	4/1/2018	Singapore
Bali/ indonesia	April 1 through May 18
	4/1/2018	4/28/2018	Bali – Canggu
	4/28/2018	5/3/2018	Gili Islands
	5/3/2018	5/18/2018	Borneo – kota kinablu & Mulu World Heritage
China	May 14- 31
	5/18/2018	5/25/2018	Hong Kong/Macau
	5/25/2018	5/31/2018	China
Japan	June 1 through July 1
	5/31/2018	6/7/2018	Tokyo
	6/7/2019	6/10/2019	Mt. Fuji
	6/7/2018	6/22/2018	kyoto
	6/22/2018	7/1/2018	Sapporo

 

After a being home for 6 months after our amazing trip through South America we were eager to travel more as a family. We weren’t sure, however, if now was the right moment for another trip. The kids, Maddy and I were getting readjusted back to life back at home.  At the end of the day, we finally decided that this is a really unique opportunity to show our kids the world, and it is rare to have the time, the flexibility, and the resources to pull it off. If we don’t go now, who knows if we would again in the near future.  Life is short and there are too many places to see!

So we will be taking off and traveling around Asia from January through July.  We’ll start with a few months in Southeast Asia, then a month in Bali and onto China and Japan. I have attached our tentative travel itinerary below and would love to hear from anyone who has recommendation for that special beaches, a can’t-miss natural wonder or the best spot for Pho, also any areas to avoid due to smoke or smog (e.g., Chang Mai in March).  We also would love to meet up with any friends, and would gladly shift our itinerary to see you.

We aren’t going to be getting a car this time and will be essentially backpacking through Asia.  I can hear the whining already; can’t you?  We will be taking planes, trains, buses, boats and what ever else we can ride.  We will also be staying in places longer… last year we visited 5 countries, drove 13,600 miles and stayed in 46 different locations.  This year we are planning only around 25 stops and will likely do most of our long distance traveling by plane with 8 countries planned.

As for schooling we are going to change it up this time and do a e-school through our local district, we think it will help the kids stay on track with grade-appropriate curriculum. We look forward to Skype sessions with teachers and tutors and anyone else who wants to chat.

Itinerary

Thailand              January 1 through 15

1/1/2018            1/4/2018            Bangkok

1/4/2018            1/15/2018          Chang Mai

Cambodia           January 15 through February 1

1/15/2018          1/18/2018          Siem Reap – Ankor Wat

1/18/2018          1/20/2018          Phnom Penh

1/20/2018          1/28/2018          Sihanouk

1/28/2018          1/30/2018          Mekong River to Ho chi Min City

Vietnam              February 1 through February 20

1/30/2018          2/2/2018            Ho Chi Min City

2/2/2018            2/10/2018          Hoi An

2/10/2018          2/13/2018          Hanoi

2/13/2018          2/20/2018          Ha Long Bay

Laos      February 20 through March 1

2/20/2018          2/25/2018          Vang Vieng

2/25/2018          3/1/2018            Luang Prabang

Thailand              March 1 through March 20

3/1/2018            3/15/2018         Koh Lanta & other islands

Malaysia             March 20 through April 1

3/15/2018          3/24/2018          Langkawi

3/24/2018          3/28/2018          Kuala Lumpur

3/28/2018          4/1/2018            Singapore

Bali/ Indonesia  April 1 through May 14

4/1/2018            5/14/2018           Ubud & Canggu

China    May 14 through 31

5/14/2018          5/23/2018          Hong Kong/Macau

5/23/2018          6/1/2018            Beijing

Japan    June 1 through July 1

6/1/2018          6/10/2018            Tokyo

6/10/2018          6/22/2018          Osaka

6/22/2018          7/1/2018            Sapporo

Well we did it!!!  The trip was a complete success, hardly flawless but it was a pretty incredible trip.  I am very happy to be home and have been enjoying the comforts of our house and the thought that I don’t have to pack up in a few days and head off to the next destination.  I think the thing we missed most was Nana and our good friends, it seems like it has been a continuous series of seeing our friends and get togethers.  I also really find that I have missed the garden and the house and our spot overlooking Lake Medota.  Maddy seemed to not be as eager to head back home but I certainly need to recharge before the next adventure.

I have found it hard to describe the trip with our friends, in the normal flow of conversation probably because we did such an amazing breadth of activities.  There are the normal effusive adjectives… Amazing, Incredible, Once in a lifetime (I hate this one, mostly because we are going to do it again next year), and I can talk about parts of the trip like my favorite places but it is hard to describe the trip as a whole.  So it is nice to have this blog to look back on; I had totally forgotten what we did 5 months ago.  If anyone wants any information on where we stayed or how we navigated certain parts of the trip please feel free to contact Maddy or I.  Without further ado here it are some final statistics from the trip including the final map although the mileage on the map does not include our return to Rio de Janerio or my trip back to Montevideo.  The map isn’t totally accurate either, I blame google for that.

Distance traveled by car: 21,600 kilometers (13,600 miles)

Countries: 5 (6 if you include my trip into Peru to purchase the car)

Days: 156 (5 1/2 months)

Stops: 46 (so on average we moved every 3.4 days)

Ferries: 7

Plane rides: 5

Boat rides: 5 (scenic or pleasure boat rides)

Telefericos: 10

Funiculars: 5

Beaches visited: 32

Pools: 13

Hot springs: 4

Volcanoes Climbed: 1 – Volcano Villarica

Islands: 5

Flat tires: 4

Car breakdowns: 0

Adult breakdowns: only a couple

Kid breakdowns: many

Furthest South: Torres del Paine, Patagonia Chile

Furthest North: Salvador de Bahia, Brazil

Wine regions: 2 (Colchagua valley and Mendoza)

Oscar Niemeyer buildings: 4

Waterfalls: too many to count; seems like there was one around every bend in Patagonia

Glaciers: 5

Fjords: 4

Salt pans: 1 but it was the largest in the world!

Anyway some quick observations from being home for 2 weeks:

The politics in the US is still really awful (although Brazil is close behind); I have noticed that even in normally polite Wisconsin people have been quite rude and really for no reason.  It makes me think that the awful tone and behavior of our president is rubbing off on people in Wisconsin.  Maybe it was just that the people in South America were so helpful and welcoming.

Another startling thing is that there are no bees here in Wisconsin, everywhere we went in Brazil and Argentina there were bees buzzing around us you couldn’t get rid of them but here in Madison I haven’t seen many at all.

We enjoyed the food in South America.  There were a few standouts, Salvador de Bahia and Buenos Aires had amazing food.  The meat in Argentina and Uruguay was fantastic and the fish was also very good.  The buffets in Brazil were also very good and quite ubiquitous.  Juice in South America is also actually from fresh fruit and is on every corner and very delicious.  Otherwise normal restaurants all had hamburgers, chicken and other typical American foods.

As this is the end of our trip I will probably not be blogging very often in the next six months but check in during the fall as we will be planning the next expedition.  Asia anyone? Anyway signing off for Travel-Trotter.  Salud for now.

I got back in Rio on Saturday afternoon and we went out to the Feira de Sao Cristovao, a permanent market with music and food and all sorts of kitsch for sale.  We finished up our souvenir hunting, ate dinner and then headed back home before it got too dark.

The next day we perused another market and then sat on Ipanema beach for the rest of the day for our last full day in Rio and in South America.

On Monday I needed to receive additional money for the sale of the car which took most of the morning and then headed to the airport after packing.  Our plane to Miami was having mechanical trouble so they rerouted us to NYC, which the girls were ecstatic about and we also got to go and see Priya, one of Maddy’s good friends due to a 9 hour layover.  The overnight flight to NYC was uneventful and we grabbed a taxi and met with Priya and ate breakfast at her office, in the Trump tower of course.  Priya calls it the Temple of Doom.  We were in lower Manhattan on wall street so we walked to the Statue of liberty tour boat, and we saw the stock market, the first capitol of the US, where George Washington was inaugurated.  Trinity church, the freedom tower, the fearless girl and then the statue of Liberty.

We had lunch again with Priya and then headed to the airport for our flight to Chicago.  The girls watch movies and played on ipads and were well behaved.

We arrived at 7 in the windy city and Hannah our old nanny picked us up in our minivan from home and two hours later we were home sweet home.  Nana was there to meet us at our house and stock our fridge with breakfast for us.  Thanks Nana!