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destination unknown, start November of 2010
1st Nov - 2nd Dec 10we got the whole world at our feet.
off to a good start: THAILAND!
yep, we are returning! we came, we experienced, we fell in love. this time we are going to the Rayong area, renting a house in BanPhe for the month, visiting the islands of Samet and Chang.
We sold our house, packed all the stuff up and put it in a freight container, freeing ourselves from strings and attachments, at least for a bit. Next to escaping the cold oncoming winter in Sweden, we are hoping to unwind, enjoy our own company and get a break between life chapters, gearing up for the great future to come!
hope to share some moments on mytripbook.com, yet again. ;)
puss och kram
swe-bacas
22 October 10, 10 days and counting
one more week in town, 10 days until departure. and still no hotel booked, and still no idea of where to go. We will spend… » more
one more week in town, 10 days until departure. and still no hotel booked, and still no idea of where to go. We will spend 2 nights in BKK, then two nights aruond Kanchanaburi to visit river Kwai and more, then head down to ???? to relax for three weeks before off to KL. Hmmm... I was quite set on Koh Tao, but now I realize it is monsoon season and it takes 8 hours to get there from BKK... not appealing with three lil kids. so now I'm back at looking at Koh Chang and Koh Samet. » less
28 October 10, Hello freedom!
The last few days have been hectic beyond description. Packing, cleaning, freating, managing kids, back to house, get ready, get set, get going! today we… » more
The last few days have been hectic beyond description. Packing, cleaning, freating, managing kids, back to house, get ready, get set, get going!
today we are leaving Aspa and Nyköping. bittersweet feeling as we are forced to part from people we care about and love. You will all be greatly missed by all of us.
On the other hand we are very excited to get started our adventure. as of yesterday we are not responsible for more than three suitcases, a purse and a backpack. that's freedom!
The girls and I (Jannika) are on our way to Malmö for a last weekend with family before Monday's departure. The picture is of Matilda in the restaurant, very excited about having pancakes for dinner on a train. afterwards they watched a kid show on streaming internet on my laptop and then slept.
On the trip booking... I managed to pull myself together and book all but the last few days in BKK and KL. *phew* that was in 11th hour! We will spend most part of the vacation in one place, Samed Villa www.samedvilla.com on Koh Samet.
More to come, stay tuned in! :) » less
1 November 10, iiihhh, early morning
4.30 am... painfully early! today is the day! after having gone to bed at 8 pm with the best intentions on rest for everyone I… » more
4.30 am... painfully early! today is the day! after having gone to bed at 8 pm with the best intentions on rest for everyone I wake up tired and sore... the kids seemed to be taking turns waking me up. Matilda has major astma issues after the weekend with two dogs, Luke was his normal stirry self and Feliz was talking in her sleep. Mix in my own worrysome sleep and we have a tired start.
Here we go though, second time this calendar year! Next to some early morning tiredness, I feel excited and free!! I look forward to see our future evolve and unravel.
Well, flight is at 8.40 on the other side of the swedish/danish bridge, so I'd better get going.
Take care all! » less
2 November 10, Jet-lag, shopping, eating, enjoying
Copenhagen – Bangkok The trip with Aerosvit airline went well, with the exception of Matilda having astma problems and needing her medicine every few hours.… » more
Copenhagen – Bangkok
The trip with Aerosvit airline went well, with the exception of Matilda having astma problems and needing her medicine every few hours. arriving in Bangkok at 4.30 am we didn’t expect to find much going on, but the city was alive and well, the air was warming up and people were the same friendly and smiling as we remembered. We checked into Prince Palace www.princepalace.co.th, for the comfort of the girls recognizing their surroundings but also for the location that we like from before, the real Bangkok with the fresh market around the corner and the bustling Bo Bae Tower for whole sale shopping Thai and occassional farang, where we had TomYum soup, curry noodles and fresh springrolls for breakfast at 8 am! Bangkok was as bustling with life and smiles as we remembered and as filthy dirty. Even the pool side, on 11th floor, requires sandals to avoid black soles of your feet after 5 steps outside the water. We love Bangkok! If you can deal with a few extra changes of clothes and keep and good scrub at hands for washing the city off at the end of the day, Bangkok has allot to offer. We love strolling down the market watching all the exotic fruits and vegetables, enjoying the street stands that prepare food of immaculate taste and at virtually no cost, the lovely thai who laugh and point (sounds rude, but later it was translated by someone who explained that we have very many kids and they are all so cute and beautiful) and they just have to touch the kids’ blonde hair and squeeze their cheeks.
We spent a few days in the city, getting over the jet lag and enjoying some sights, including the Grand Palace and Kao San Road, mixing it up with pool time and walking the town. I had heard that going to the movies in Bangkok was something extraordinary so while trying to get through the late afternoon and the oncoming jetlag fatigue, we visited Siam Paragon and the IMAX cinema where we cooped up in a family sofa, watching the Legend of the Guardians, in 3D.
On to Kanchanaburi and the river Kwai.... » less
5 November 10, RiverKwai and elephants
We got into a taxi that took us to Kao San Road and a minivan came and picked us up from there to take us… » more
We got into a taxi that took us to Kao San Road and a minivan came and picked us up from there to take us to Kanchanaburi, where the River Kwai flows and the bridge over River Kwai is located, along with some fabulous nature. The minivans run as buses and allot of locals seem to use them for commuting and for transporting goods in and out of Bangkok. Our van was packed and so where all the ones we met along the way. They have a bad reputation for reckless driving and it’s not for nothing, the driver drove at a speed of 140-150 km/hr and honked frequently at cars in our way, although his eyes were glued to the road. We arrived safe and sound in Kanchanaburi in the early afternoon and checked into VN Guesthouse (www.vnguesthouse.net) in a raftroom, located in a building floating on the river. It was so calm and quiet compared to Bangkok and we seemed to have the place to ourselves since people were off doing activities and trekking. We enjoyed lunch with a great view over the river, before being picked up for an elephant trekk and bath. The girls were excited to be riding on elephants, to feed them and to spend some close-up time bathing them and riding on them in the water. Unfortunately the visit also gave us reason to discuss animal cruelty and how we as humans should be treating animals. The Mahouts, handlers, were very hard on the elephants, who wore several scars and wounds on the heads from the metal spikes used to stear the big animals.
After a full day of activities, input and experiences we put the kids to bed and enjoyed a drink on the veranda, enjoying the flow of the river. Tomorrow awaits more adventure! » less
6 November 10, River Kwai, Erawan waterfall and Railway of Death
Woke up early morning and stepped outside to our terrace that is pretty much level with the river, to get a good morning stretch and… » more
Woke up early morning and stepped outside to our terrace that is pretty much level with the river, to get a good morning stretch and take in the calm beginning of the day. After breakfast we got picked up for our outing. The first stop was the Erawan waterfall, which is a 7-level-fall and in the top ranking over Thailand’s most beautiful waterfalls. After our visit to Masae Waterfalls outside Chiang Mai last february our hopes were low, despite what the tourguides and their pictures said. Erawan turned out to be a dream come true. It was beautiful nature with stunning waterfalls. We hiked up to the 5th level before working our way down again, swimming and enjoying the different levels of waterfalls and natural pools with crystal clear turqouise water. In one pool I could sit with my feet in the water and the fish would come and nibble on my feet, like they do in the posh fish spas around town, only this was the real deal! Felicia, Damon and I all went swimming and managed to get in behind a waterfall and crawled up into a cave and just enjoyed the loud noise of the water smashing down outside the opening. Just amazing! The downside to our swim was Damon’s losing of his wedding ring in the fierce waterfall, trying to help Felicia out.
After our trip to Erawan we had lunch and went off to see the Railway of Death, and took the train across the wooden viaduct along the cliff side of the mountain, it was a thrill ride! The kids enjoyed the view from the train and goofed around with the conductor, trying on his hat.
After having a stop at the Bridge over River Kwai, and snapped the necessary pictures, we went home for dinner and talked about our great adventures, viewing a fabulous sunset. The kids were elated and tucked into bed they fell asleep quickly.
After breakfast tomorrow it’s time to go back to BKK and then off to Ban Phe and Koh Samet, for some relaaaxing beach time. » less
7 November 10, Koh Samet
sorry i have been so bad at staying in touch and sharing moments and pictures. on one hand it’s important to stay in touch and… » more
sorry i have been so bad at staying in touch and sharing moments and pictures. on one hand it’s important to stay in touch and to document the happenings and memories, on the other hand it’s important not to get wrapped up in the documenting of the moment, but in the actual moment.
having left the cities and adventures behind us, we took a car to BanPhe and the boat out to Koh Samet where we stayed at Samed Villa, a very nice resort with all the comfort and service and decent beach. I leave it at decent, becuase there was some water coming from the inland that got dumped into the ocean water and it made the bay a bit murky. We often did day trips to other beaches, both ‘next door’ and across the island. the days, 21 of them, consisted of beach, sun, eating, playing, swimming, snorkling... at night there were fire shows with a mix of kids of ages 7-12 and adults performing with sticks and hoola-hoops on fire, very impressive. we got into a good groove and the kids got to spend some time with the other visiting kids and we got to spend some time socializing and spending time with eachother.
We went back to BKK a couple of days early, since we had to get Felicia’s american passport from the embassy (her cute little baby passport is already expired!), and we had had some trouble getting it done due to holidays and shipping issues. third time’s a charm and we can move on! We stayed at Sukhumvit Rd this time and really enjoyed ourselves. It is bustling with life and although very dirty and not baby-proofed it’s worth every visit. we did some shopping, eating out (western as we crazily enough craved), getting treatments and haircuts, and still had time over for getting fitted for tailored suits and pool time. we also spent a day at an indoor playground and the kids had so much fun! those pix will come later though...
in the meantime, enjoy the Koh Samet pictures, on Facebook and email as mytripbook takes too long...
Love,
Bacas on the move!
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