New Adventures

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Last year was the first trip back to India since the Covid escape of March 2020. This fall as I told Taylor my plans for this year's trip, he said "but I've been to India 4 times, can we explore somewhere new?" I was unimpressed at first with his disappointment in returning to my homeland! But when I realized he used the word explore, I knew this was exactly the kind of child I was attempting to raise...one who was excited by new adventures and discovering all the world had to offer. He also asked to skip traveling altogether and just visit his family in Vancouver....so, after many conversations and many feels and many flight searches, I landed on a 2 month trip to Vancouver, Thailand and India. Some new mixed in with family time and the place I feel most at peace. I lost track of all of Taylor's different ideas and his change of hearts and his sadness of not actually spending the entire trip in India! And I knew in the end, he'd actually be happy wherever we went.

The evening flight to Vancouver was simple...I love that I can now watch an entire movie, without Taylor needed to run around or talk to me! Other than each time he looked over from his own movie and asked questions about Barbie, as loud as a kid does with headphones in his ears. I kept suggesting he just put Barbie on his own screen, but he preferred to watch an animated movie, while simultaneously checking up on mine!

Our 10 days in Vancouver was split between the Epstein/Bogdonov's in Vancouver & Whistler and the Sikstein’s in North Van. Taylor loved playing with all his cousins and probably had no idea Alex wasn't even there (haha sorry Alex!). We caught our ritual movie with TT, saw Daniel play goalie, watched Ellie nap and saw all 3 Bogdonov boys at once!! They haven't all been at Elana's with us at the same time since Taylor's 2nd birthday party. And as a special treat, he got some cuddles with who most people refer to as Tal's girlfriend, but who Tay likes to think of as his own...Ale! We did some new hikes, revisited some old ones, swam in the indoor pool and even fit in some random friends Taylor's made over the past few trips. And as much time as it seemed we had, it quickly came to an end and we were, or I was, packing up again...when I got a notification of our 6-hour flight delay. So we snuck in an extra goodbye lunch with Aunty Karol and we're back at the airport, smooshing together with all the Indian people waiting for their even further delayed flight to depart. Even in Canada, Indian people don't line up....standing pressed up against one another, as close to the rope dividing us from the gate, seems the best chance at getting on the place first I guess. We respected that only families with kids under 5 were asked to board, when a flight attendant looked at me and said why aren't you coming? Maybe that's why they try to make themselves seen, instead of line up like civilized polite Canadians!

I had plenty of time to set up my new inflatable foot rest. I can't believe I never knew about these before. They're made to reach the height of the seat and fit perfectly wedged in, allowing Taylor's feat to extend straight and my feet to extend diagonally and allow us both to lie almost flat. Short people 1 - long legged gals 0.

The flight ended up leaving us with a short layover in Delhi. Not long enough to hang out, just long enough to take a nap at a hotel and make our way back to the airport. The next flight was also delayed and it turned out I was one of the few people who actually checked. Thai airways doesn't send out emails and most people were pissed to have shown up at 3:30 am only to wait 3 extra hours. Which was lucky, but left us so late for the next connection that we missed it. I begged for a free hotel in Bangkok after the already long journey but they managed to get us on the next flight 4 hours later....so the journey continued. I got in touch with the taxi I'd arranged to pick us up and rescheduled so we made it safely to the Koh Chang hotel by about 7:30...just in time to catch the end of the fire show on the beach!

Arriving at night worked well, since we went straight to sleep and the next day had a normal wakeup, short nap and on with exploring the new beach. the weirdest part was the struggle to find breakfast....Thailand is a party country. Even this relatively quiet island, that attracts families and older tourists, rather than young backpackers, the strip of shops and restaurants still offers the same late hours. So finding the one bakery that opened at 8 was a challenge! the only other stand we could buy smoothies at, belonged to the gym. So no food, but we could work out on a treadmill. weird place! After that, we swam, almost alone, since old people apparently sleep in, walked the small beach and played with Taylor's new soccer ball. Day 2 was a little harder. The nap was longer, but only for me. Somehow Taylor didn't need one! He's old enough now to just watch a movie next to me but he kept waking me up and I was cranky!!! But by day 3, we were both on Thailand time. We met a restaurant owner from Quebec, who told us about the Muay Thai boxing match and that brought us to the neighbouring beach, which was so much bigger than ours. And had swimmable water. Ours was full of seaweed and the next day, gave us a real reason to move....I got stung by a sea urchin when I extended my foot down to see if I could reach the bottom. Luckily Taylor had been so scared after hearing there may be jellyfish, that he wasn't in the water with me! I got out and noticed a little blue dot on the bottom of my foot and as a hopped over to a chair, there was a waitress picking at a man's foot on the floor of the restaurant. So I found a chair closer to him and asked to be next! The guy's girlfriend told me it's poisnonous but only if you get stung all over and that I'd probably be fine. I realized I got the same sting in Costa Rica and had assumed it was coral I stepped on. I left it to come out on it's own, which it probably hadn't, so I'd likley be fine a second time! But the next day, I still booked us a new hotel at the other beach. That first place had the most wonderful location, being right on the water, but the tiny room had nowhere to put our stuff, ants found our snacks and being next to water without being able to swim was just useless! So we moved closer to the street, a short 10 minute walk from the beach, with water we could actually play in and a nice room with a cupboard!

In Goa we often stayed near the beach, spending more days swimming or just hanging with friends. But the point of a new adventure was coming to a place that offered more. So we took a full day snorkel trip and then a few days later, took a different one. We spent all day on a big boat, visiting multiple snorkel spots, beaches and jumping from the top of the 3 story boat. On the first boat, Taylor was the second one to jump. He didn't even hesitate. I waited in the water shocked that he had the guts. And after him, all the other kids an most of the adults took turns. So different from the kid who takes all summer just to swim in the middle of our lake! Prior to our first trip, Taylor told me the idea of swimming in the middle of the ocean terrified him and that he was unlikely to get in. So when we reached the first snorkel stop, I told him I planned to go and he could watch if he wanted. He looked at me confused, got his mask on and jumped in before me! Kids are so unpredictable! We saw different fish, lots of coral and so many sea urchins!!! Those things have so many spikes sticking up, I'm lucky I only got 1 sting!

Our other big adventure on the island was a hike to a waterfall. It wasn't huge, but had a small pool to swim in with little fish that bit our skin off. That's not something I will ever be paying for! Taylor of course jumped off the rocks into the deeper water, explored climbing up and down, hopping rock to rock and found a cool spot to sit and feel the rushing water give him a head massage. We visited it with his new Israeli friend who had recently moved to Koh Chang. After a few more days of beach and swimming in the pool together, it was time to move on. Another week on the island wasn't necessary, as I remembered that coming to Thailand was meant to introduce Taylor to a new culture, not just the beach vacation that we have done in the past. So we took a long bus ride to Bangkok, stayed the night and took an overnight bus the following day to Chiang Mai in the north. I thought Bangkok would be overwhelming for us both and that 1 day and night were enough. But Taylor loved the stimulation of the tourist area of Kaoh San Road. All the people, shops and street food intrigued him. We took the boat down the river and hopped on and off as we saw sights that interested us. We visited temples, the massive reclining Buddha and stopped in the indoor market of a mall for lunch, in the midday heat. It was like an incredible street food market but indoors. Again, so much stimulation and so many colours. But Taylor just loved it all. Thai people are mostly warm and friendly towards kids, so he made friends and got hugs wherever he went. We occasionally met some people who don't seem to like working with tourists, but most of the time, at least Taylor got a smile. The weirdest part of Thailand was the quiet on the roads...no ones honks! Which is a huge contrast to India where horns are meant to be pressed...whether they're helpful or not!!

I'm pretty sure I found what was my go-to massage place near Kaoh San Road when I used to backpack around Asia. And to ensure I could relax and know Taylor was safe, We got side by side massages! He giggled the entire time, even as she cracked his toes and stretched his arms and back.

I was nervous about our first overnight bus ride. It left at 9pm and arrived around 6am. I was nervous about being asleep and not knowing if Taylor was ok. But he slept the entire time and I woke up every time he moved, so I constantly knew he was alright!! The bust included dinner, drinks and snacks but left us exhausted! We got to the hotel before check in so we napped on the rooftop veranda until our room was ready. Every hotel we stayed in had a mini fridge. So even though we ate at restaurants, unlike in India, we still had some fruit and yoghurt and cereal in the room so we didn't have to run out for breakfast before we were ready. Not grocery shopping or cooking really freed up a lot of time!!! It was nice strolling around, eating wherever we ended up. But the food wasn't my favourite. A lot of meat, not a huge variety of vegetables and way more expensive than Indian restaurants. So I often ate street food, caved and had chicken a lot and had way too many rotis....which are basically pancakes but they can be filled with almost anything. Somehow I managed to gain weight, which is so good for me!!!!!

Chiang Mai offered way more activities for us. so many that I had trouble choosing! We opted not to go to an elephant sanctuary, because Taylor didn't feel good about the treatment of the elephants, even if they claimed to be caring for them. We saw people riding them in Koh Chang and saw them chained up all day. So we found a tour that brought us to a huge cave in one of Thailand's largest mountains and then kayaking down a river through the jungle and passed farms. We had a great time. Taylor made friends of course, with the guides, one of whom told me he connected with Taylor, as he was also an only child! Taylor took after them and stayed at the front of the group, yelling out when it was slippery or when people should watch their heads!

The less Thai activity we chose was an inflatable water park in what they called the "Grand Canyon"! It was so hot in Chiang Mai that spending the day on the water felt like the best option! So we balanced on inflatable balls, got launched by the guys working there on the "pillow" and even did a short zip line above it. Taylor managed to get a second free turn when the friend he made behind us in line chickened out and he got her ticket!!

The other 3 days we had there, we strolled the night markets, listened to live music and checked out many of the temples with huge golden Buddha statues. The best was the day he had to enter alone (dressed as Spiderman of course) because I didn't have anything to cover my knees. He sat there alone, meditating and saying prayers for us. It was cool to see how he knew what to do in the temple, when he went in alone and that he wanted to behave that way. With all his energy still intact, he has certainly started to find moments of peace and calmness. I am so grateful to be in a place with him now, where we can have fun and be active, but also quiet...I no longer feel like travel is about keeping him alive! I don't have to watch him anymore, wondering if he'll do something unpredictable or dangerous!

Over breakfast one day, Taylor started up a conversation with the man sitting near us at the long cafeteria style table. He told us he was there for Muay Thai training and that it would be a fun activity for a kid....of all kids to say that to! Taylor was in. So later that day, I took him to a Muay Thai boxing gym and he had his first class. We tried to go a second time, walked all the way there but it was closed on sunday....oops! As the only kid in his class, he was pulled aside and got a 1 1/2 hour private lesson. He got his wrists wrapped, had gloves and shin pads put on and learnt how to punch and kick Muay Thai style!

As our time in Chiang Mai came to an end, so did our trip to Thailand. We headed back for a final day to Bangkok, on an overnight train. We each had an upper bunk, which a lady came around to make for us. She took down the bed, added a mattress and made it with a sheet, blanket and even a pillow. This is luxury train travel for me, compared to the bare and hard bunks of Indian sleeper trains! IT even had a curtain for privacy. But I was not comfortable with Taylor being on his own, across the isle from me, so we slept on the same narrow bunk! It wasn't the worst sleep of my life, but we were still both pretty wiped out after the tuk tuk ride to our Bangkok hotel. We again had to wait a few hours before check in, so it was back to the pool on the roof to pass the time and napped away the afternoon. After one last massage, while Taylor watched a movie on the floor next to me, we headed to the airport for India.

I love that we were able to travel and I didn't feel restricted to a beach or unable to navigate traveling to new places, where i don't feel as comfortable or as at ease as I do in India. I think we're ready to explore more places in the coming years!!

But for now, I'm excited to head to our happy place (or mine at least!) and relax, stroll through the mountains and eat healthy home-cooked food for a month.

Stay tuned for those adventures,

Trish & Tay

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