Thailand - Bangkok and Phuket

Our trip to Thailand was probably a little to soon after the trip to China, we were only home for 4 days in-between. We were sort of worn out but we still had a really good time! Bangkok is an incredibly vibrant city. It pulses with life! The temperature was in the mid-90's and the humidity was  100%! Looking out from the windows from our hotel we could see skyscrapers stretching out as far as the eye could see, punctuated by swaths of greenery. Traffic was constantly congested. Bright pink cabs blew their horns at the motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic with white faced tourists clinging to the back. Tuk-tuks (three-wheeled, open sided cabs) rode underneath the utra-modern Skytrain tracks. Bangkok is riddled with rivers and canals, so boats are everywhere too.

Tuk Tuks waiting for passengers.

The country is rapidly developing and the contrasts between the rich and poor are very stark. 5 star hotels are next to tin roofed dwellings. Designer stores are on streets lined with food vendors. Pedestrian malls full of every kind of item you can imagine are staffed by barefoot young girls.

Food vendors line the streets. These vendors were in front of our hotel at 6:30 a.m.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the king is revered. We saw huge portraits of the king, framed in gold leaf  displayed every few blocks. This one was billboard size.

Thailand is also a very religious country. About 85% of the people are Buddist.The temples and palaces are decorated in intricate mosaics and gilt. Enormous golden statues of Buddah are major tourist attractions, but small spirit shrines are found on every block. These are intricately carved and decorated. People stop at them to leave offerings and ask for favors, providing gifts such as bananas or bottles of orange soda as offerings. Often the gilt of the shrines is in stark contrast to the surroundings. However, all of them, even in the poorest areas are extremely well cared for and maintained.

That being said, after our adventures in China, we made no attempt to see the cultural or historical sights of Thailand. We just didn't have enough time and demonstrations against the current Prime Minister were ongoing, so we didn't want to spend a lot of time in the city. Instead we took the kids to the Samphran Elephant Grounds and Zoo, about an hour drive away. I had read several reviews praising its cleanliness and care of the animals and the elephant show was supposed to be a highlight. The kids loved it but Matt and I found it kind of depressing. It was clean, but the cages were just that, small cages with no attempt at a natural habitat. Maybe in the States we're just kidding ourselves, but watching the monkeys in those tiny cages made me want to break them all out!

However, the elephants did seem well cared for and Laura, Katie and Matt got to go on a 20 minute elephant ride! Getting on was the scariest part for them. For me, it was the lack of any sort of safety belt! Being terrified of heights, I decided not to go. Nate thought about it, but changed his mind at the last minute.

The alligator show, the magic show and the elephant show were really good! The elephant show was my favorite part. Not only did they show off the elephants' physical abilities, but they also showed the ways that elephants have been used in Thai culture. In the past they were used in warfare and for transportation. More recently they've been used in logging. Today, tourism is their primary occupation. None of the kids approved of warring with elephants. We had to reassure them that it wasn't very common any more!

Our absolute favorite thing about Bangkok was our hotel pool! I've never seen such a pretty pool. The pictures don't really do it justice. It was a cool oasis in the middle of the heat, grime and energy of Bangkok.

After 2 nights in Bangkok, we headed further south to the beach. We went to Phuket, an island that is one of the most popular tourist beach areas in Thailand. Our resort was on one of the less crowded beaches and set in an area that had been a banana plantation. Walking to our cabin involved walking over wooden bridges through the jungle. The resort was decorated in traditional Thai style with lots of dark carved wood and subtle  gilt.

The plants were incredibly lush and gorgeous!

The pool area was fairly small and plain compared to some of the resorts we've seen, but the jungle setting was beautiful! The kids loved it, even though it didn't have any slides or play areas. It also didn't have any life guards, so Matt and I didn't get much lounge chair time.

The restaurant facing the pool where we had most of our meals.

We spent most of our time at the beach. Thailand's beaches are justifiably famous. The sand is powdery soft and make a perfect gradual descent into deeper waters. We also had several rock formations nearby. Nathan has discovered snorkeling and LOVES it. He's planning a career in marine biology so that he can snorkel all over the world.

The girls loved body surfing near the shore and digging in the sand.

We accidentally ended up at a resort frequented mostly by Europeans. That meant that despite Thai customs forbidding it, the beach goers were often topless or sporting Speedos! I was a little worried about Nathan's reaction. He never mentioned it and one day Laura asked me "Mommy, are girls supposed to wear tops to their bathing suits?" Nathan immediately responded "Of course Laura, that is a private area and girls always cover it up!" This was after two days at the beach....he really didn't notice! Matt claims that it was because there wasn't much to see!

There was a 2 year old elephant named Nadia that came to visit us at the resort. She was very cute and loved the bananas that the kids fed her. Nadia was trained to take money for the bananas in her trunk and hand it to her trainer. The trainer handed the kids a bag of bananas. Once it was empty, Nadia would pluck it out of their hands and give it back to the trainer. She was a very tidy elephant!

We really enjoyed our trip to Thailand, even though we didn't really see all of the things I would have liked to. The heat and humidity were intense after our snowy trip to China but it was really nice to spend some time in the sun!

Hiroshima and Miyajima

I wanted to let people know that we've taken the restrictions off the blog. You don't have to login or go through any extra steps any more and you can share it with other people if you like. The address is http://fitzpatricksinjapan.blogspot.com/  It is not supposed to show up in search engines though. So you won't be able to search Google for it.

Two weeks ago, while my parents were visiting, we took the opportunity to visit Hiroshima Peace Park and and island called Miyajima, which is located nearby. The Hiroshima Peace memorial was incredibly touching. It felt a little uncomfortable to be an American in such a place, surrounded by the consequences of our country's decision to drop the A-Bomb. However, that feeling was completely internal. The display, while incredibly graphic does not place blame or accuse. Instead it simply does its best to make the point that  something like this should never happen again.

The kids being paper cranes

The kids visited the museum with us, but having been warned by friends that the second floor of the museum was extremely graphic, I took the three kids outside once they'd seen the first floor. Just the small piece that they saw seemed to really affect them. None of them really new what a bomb was or the impact it could have on someone. They were appalled that our country had inflicted such devestation. I tried to explain some of the complex circumstances that led to the decision, but it was difficult.

While we were waiting for the others, several older Japanese  approached us. They were very kind, interested in where we were from and very polite. They attempted to teach us a little of the language and then told me I needed to take the children inside since the temperature had quickly dropped and it was getting chilly. 

I really wanted to see the rest of the park that surrounded the museum, so we started walking through it. The first thing we came to was the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims.Fresh flowers are still left here daily. This is L standing in front. Through it you can see Flame of Peace (which will be kept burning until all atomic bombs are gone from the Earth) and the Atomic Bomb Dome (one of the few buildings still standing after the bomb, everyone inside died instantly though).

The kids' favorite part of the park was the Children's Monument. This is a memorial to all of the children who died from the bomb or it's after effects. It was inspired by a little girl who was 2 yrs. old when the bomb fell. At age 11, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Based on an ancient Japanese legend, she believed that if she folded 10,000 origami paper cranes, she could be healed. She died before she reached 10,000. Her classmates finished the paper cranes for her. Today children from all over the world send paper cranes in various patterns as a pledge for peace. This is one of the displays that are in glass displays around the base of the monument. The top is a statue of a girl holding a paper crane.

When we left the memorial, all three kids started crying. People walking by were so touched. I saw them looking at the kids and almost crying themselves. I felt so ashamed...the kids were crying because they were cold...not because of the memorial! I made them press on to see the A-Bomb dome up close though. 

We met back up with Matt and mom and dad at the museum and headed back to the hotel.

The next day we headed to Miyajima. Miyajima was considered a holy island in the past and the Tori gate that marks the Shinto shrine, Itsukushima Shrine, was built out into the water. 

In fact, the entire shrine is surrounded by water at high tide. This way commoners could visit the shrine without profaning the sacred island. The red tori gate surrounded by water is one of the more famous images in Japan. The entire island was beautiful! The kids favorite parts of the experience were taking a high speed ferry to the island and the deer that roam free all over the island. There are signs everywhere warning not to feed or pet them, but they are fairly aggressive. We saw one take a chomp out of a tourist's shopping bag. Another tried to steal a plastic samurai sword from one of the tourist shops! L and K were especially enthusiastic about the deer and didn't want to leave.

I loved the statues of fantastical animals guarding the temple and the stone lanterns lining the way to the shrine. The tide slowly came in while we were there and we got to watch what seemed like an ordinary shrine slowly be surrounded by the waters of the bay. It was gorgeous!

Our Trip to Beijing, China

Beijing was nothing like I expected! It is a HUGE (and I do mean huge!) modern city with wide streets and lots of skyscrapers and buildings in all kinds of fanciful designs. There is more traditional architecture too. They've incorporated some of the traditional design elements into many buildings too. It gives it more of a Chinese feel. (In Japan, you rarely see this. Japanese cities look like they could be anywhere.) The first thing we saw when we got off the plane was the gorgeous, brand new airport terminal. It was really cool!

Beijing Airport

However, the things people say about the pollution are true too. The first day we were there the city was enveloped in a yellow fog. The air smelled like burning diesel fuel and you could feel it in the back of your throat. However, there was a wind storm that night and it blew it all away. The
next few days were much clearer. Traffic was insane too, especially during rush hour. The subway system was really nice though and only cost about 15 cents! It was jam packed though. They also really crack down on internet use. I never realized that Facebook was subversive until I realized it was banned in China!

Smog in Beijing

The kids and I just relaxed in the hotel pool the first day, but on Saturday the whole family drove to the Great Wall of China. It is about an hour drive from the city and built up on the ridges of the mountains. It is about 25 feet high and wide enough at the top for 6 or 7 people to walk next to each other. Also, because it follows the mountain ridge it has steep hills! Rather than hiking up the wall to the section we wanted to see, we decided to take the cable car. It scared the holy living crap out of both Matt and I! It was worth it though. 

Cable Car at the Great Wall...sometimes it goes almost vertical!

The Great Wall is truly amazing. I can't even imagine the labor that went into building it. It was fairly cold the day we were there but it was still packed! N started complaining about the cold immediately and people kept grabbing the girls and kissing them and posing for pictures with them. It was cute the first couple of times but given the crowds and the frequency, it started getting kind of scary. We didn't stay as long as I would have like to.

The Great Wall of China

Matt and I were too afraid to take the cable car back down. Instead we took something that looked like a roller coaster. The operator rode in the front car and used a hand break to bring us down the mountain. He went fairly slowly but there were no seat belts for the kids. Instead they just sat on our laps. It scared the bejeezus out of me!

Our roller coaster down

On our way back to Beijing from the Great Wall, we stopped at the Ming Tombs. This is a huge area where 13 of the Ming Dynasty emperors were . buried. It was so impressive and gorgeous! We only went to the biggest tomb. It belonged to Emperor Yongle and his wife. He was a very famous emperor who was responsible for a lot of building and public works. The tomb consisted of multiple gate walls and buildings. It was really beautiful.

Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty

One of the buildings in the complex at Emperor Yongle's tomb

On our way out of the park we saw a camel! Camels are indigenous to northern China. I think this one was just there to provide photo opportunities, but it was very cool to see. He was shorter than the camels I've seen in the movies and had two humps. I think this was the kids' favorite part of the whole experience!

Blurry image of the camel from the back window of our car

Our trip to the Forbidden City was definitely an adventure. Despite the warnings of the hotel staff, we ventured out in a snow storm. The cabbie decided to increase his fare by taking us to the furthest corner of the palace from our hotel. The taxi ride was scary. There were no seatbelts, sudden swerves and stomping on breaks, and even one very loud conversation/argument with another driver in the middle of traffic. Thankfully, after a while the windows in the back completely fogged over and we couldn't see the close calls anymore!

Small pavilion in the gardens of the Forbidden City

Once we got there, we stepped out into slush with snow pouring down. Amazingly enough, despite the weather, there were still crowds of people. Thanks to our taxi driver, we ended up going backwards through the palace. It was amazing though! The Forbidden City is the former Chinese imperial palace. It has been turned into an enormous museum which is open to the public. It really is a city with buildings, temples, pavilions and gardens. The buildings themselves are gorgeous. Each is decorated and painted with gold leaf and vivid colors in intricate designs. Many of the buildings have their doors and windows open so that the public can view the rooms. The elaborate decoration continues inside. The ceilings were especially incredible. A few of the rooms included furniture that showed the original use of the room. The empresses’ bedroom was especially elaborate. Much to my disappointment we didn’t get to visit the other displays of precious objects though.

One of the Pavilions in the Forbidden City

Buildings in the Forbidden City

The Dragon Throne (the emperor's throne)

Unfortunately the snow had turned to ice on many of the steps, so the footing was treacherous in some spots. In other areas it was slush. Very quickly everyone's feet got wet and cold. By the time we were half way through, Nathan was crying in pain because his feet were so cold. That meant that the rest of our visit was a rapid march, going through what seemed like endless beautiful pavilions, searching for a place to warm up! Eventually we came across a restaurant located in the outer ring of the palace walls. We took off the kids’ shoes and socks and wrapped them in our gloves and hats. Matt ordered white rice and roasted chicken and we ate it with our fingers in this little dive of a restaurant. Eventually we had to put the wet socks and shoes back on and venture back out into the snow.

Miserable kids in the Forbidden City

All three kids started crying almost immediately. We finally got out of the Forbidden City, going out the last gate (which had enormous picture of Mao on it) and over a bridge lined with Chinese soldiers dressed in rain gear. 

The Gate of Heavenly Peace with Mao's picture. It stands between the Forbidden Palace and Tian'an Men Square

We had a fleeting glimpse of Tiananmen Square, lined with Chinese flags bright red against the falling snow, before we ducked into a convenient subway station. (Tiananmen Square is surrounded by gates and taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers there).

Tian'an Men Square with the Monument to the Peoples Heroes in the middle and Mao's Mausoleum in the background

Luckily, the subway system is brand new, clean and very easy to follow. English is everywhere and it was very easy to figure out. The station was deserted but the trains were packed. We're used to crowded trains, but this was a whole new level!


We finally made it back to the hotel and after a hot bath, dry socks and an hour of TV, everyone had fully recovered!


The next day Matt had to go back to work. I had planned on doing some touring with the kids but I was a bit gun shy at this point! The enthusiasm of the Chinese for the kids was amazing. It was like being there with movie stars. People chased us down the street, grabbed the kids, picked them up and kissed them, filmed us surreptitiously...and this didn't just happen once or twice. It happened at least 30 times! I was afraid to take them to a crowded place by myself. We also had to worry about theft. We had a few small things stolen over the course of the week. This is the first time we've ever really had to worry about it.


The one other touristy place that we went was the Night Market. It is a bunch of stalls that stretches about 2 blocks. It is only open at night and they sell every kind of food you can imagine. We didn't try any of it, especially after we saw the snakes on sticks! It was definitely something
we'll remember though!

Snakes for sale (to eat!) at the Night Market in Beijing

All in all, I would like to go back, but not with the kids! I'm also very glad that we currently live in Japan. The pollution, restrictions on freedom of speech (Facebook, twitter and blogger are all banned there!), government presence everywhere, and social chaos would make it a kind of scary place to raise kids! We did get to see a more suburban area and it was very nice. I just don't think I would ever be able to relax my guard in China!

Chinese soldier on guard in the Forbidden City

Hinamatsuri

Today was Hinamaturi. It is the Japanese Doll Festival or Girl's Day, in Japan. The decorations consist of platforms covered with a red carpet displaying a set of  dolls representing the Emperor and Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress. The display is seen as a way of wishing the girls healthy growth and future happiness. However, it is taken down quickly afterwards, otherwise the girls may have to wait a long time to get married! 


Girls are also given special treats and many mothers also cook a special meal for their daughters on this day. (I took mine out to their favorite local restaurant!) The girls also made special dolls in their Japanese class. Nathan is very jealous. He thinks Boys' day should be first!


Here is a picture of Laura and Katie in front of the Hinamatsuri display in our lobby.

Traveling to Tokyo

We spent last weekend in Tokyo for the Tokyo Marathon. (Matt ran the marathon and did really well, but I'll leave that story for him to tell.) The weather was rather chilly and it rained most of the weekend. However, we still did our best to see the city!

We took the Shinkansen, or bullet train, to Tokyo from Kobe. It is super fast and quiet and doesn't require reservations or security. However, it is more expensive than flying. The two girls are still free though, so we decided it was worth it!

The Hyatt that we stayed in had a beautiful lobby. The girls were obsessed with the chandeliers. The rooms were small but huge by Japanese standards!

We spent the first afternoon wandering the streets near our hotel. We found this sign. I'm not sure we were all feeling it at the time though. We were tired, cold and wet!

About 2/5 of Tokyo was burned to the ground during WWII. The city has been completely rebuilt over the years and the architecture is definitely whimsical! Here are a few of our favorite buildings:

This is the Asahi Beer Company building. That is supposed to be a golden flame to the right, not quite what it looked like to us!

The Big Sight building where the finish line for the marathon was located.

The Rocket Ship!

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, building where the marathon started.

We also took a tour of a traditional Japanese garden, located in the heart of the city and went on a boat ride down the Sumida-gawa river. 

My favorite spot was the Senso-ji Buddist temple. The front entrance was a long street filled with vendors of every kind. I was a little scared that I'd lose the kids, but we managed to hold on to them! The temple itself was gorgeous! Here are some pictures of the outside.

However, according the the girls, the most important thing that we saw while we were in Tokyo were the gates to the Imperial Palace. The Japanese Emperor and his family still live in the palace and it is opened to the public only two times a year. However, a real, alive, 8 year old princess lives there!!!! (We've seen a number of Japanese castles and they've been very disappointed that no one lives in them any more. We looked at pictures of Princess Aiko online. They didn't really approve of the fact that she often wears regular clothes. Apparently they think princesses should wear ball gowns at all times! 

The real highlight of the weekend was Matt's marathon on Sunday. Despite the cold and the rain, it was a very cool event to watch (especially from the comfort of our hotel room...the room overlooked the starting line!)

Monday morning we headed back to Kobe. Despite all of our experiences, I think we are all very glad to be back! 

Kindergarten Travel Agents

Now that we've finally started blogging again, we're going to try to do a few posts each week. Let me know if it gets to be too much!

Last Thursday, Laura's class had the final project for their unit on Journeys. (Every few weeks they do a new unit and the reading/writing/math/science etc. that they do in class is tied to that Unit of Inquiry. It's really a cool way to get the kids interested in what they are learning.) The unit started with each of the kids writing a story about where they went over Christmas break. It was kind of amazing to see all of the different places, from a local park to India/Thailand/China/Phillipines/Korea/Europe and even crazy far places like the United States! They did a bunch of different activities related to Journeys and traveling.

For the final project, they set up a travel agency in the cafeteria. Each child had a desk to sit at and a chair for their clients. They each created brochures for the places that they recommended for travelers and a computer that they created from paper and string (Laura's even had a mouse!)

About 10 teachers/staff members and 5 parent volunteers acted as tourists visiting the travel agency. We were each assigned 4 children to evaluate  on 4 different criteria. After that we just got to wander the room and visit whoever looked interesting. It was so much fun! The kids were adorable and I was so impressed that so many faculty and staff donated their time (many even dressed up!) to a kindergarten project.

Mom and dad arrived in Japan the night before, so I dragged them along too. I think they enjoyed it even more than I did!




Here is a picture of our favorite travel agent!