0802

Well, the flight here was loooooong, but Alex was great. The first leg (DC to Chicago) was short, but Alex had to sit in our laps. And the airlines person said that she was able to block a seat between Angela and me on the leg from Chicago to Tokyo. The flight was delayed on take-off, so we nearly missed our connection in Chicago and when we got to the gate the person at the counter told us that there were no empty seats and that we had to gate-check our car seat. So much for the blocked seat! Once the door was closed it became clear that there were plenty of seats that actually were empty, but by that time the car seat was no longer retrievable. So we switched around with some people and managed to get a seat empty between us so that Alex could at least be in a seat. He was great - cried less than 10 minutes total on the entire 11-hour flight. And he slept for a couple of hours - Angela too, but I only slept for a few minutes. We then had a 3 hour layover in Tokyo, and I was able to sleep for an hour or maybe two. Alex crawled around & pushed the stroller/carseat around for fun. We met up with Laura at the gate. JAL is a great airline - we were not only able to get the carseat set up, but we ended up with two bulkhead seats & two seats right behind the bulkhead (the carseat won't fit in the bulkhead seats because the arms don't raise up.) Alex was much more fussy during this 5.5 hour leg, but still great. We were all tired! Oh, and JAL also gave Alex a toy, some diapers, wipes, and of course the service overall was great. On arrival, we met up with the driver with no problems and he drove us overnight (started around midnight) to Mae Sot. There were no seatbelts, of course, so we used a bungie cord and a random strap to secure the car seat as well as we could. Alex slept for several hours - we all did, actually. We arrived in the town just before 7 am, then it took the driver another half-hour to find our guest house. He had to ask nearly everyone in town & turned around many times.

Unfortunately, our room was not ready, and Angela had to leave right away to get to the clinic & various events. Laura and I were exhausted. They let us use a little room temporarily, but we didn't want to set up the crib & then have to move it right away, so we kind of hung out for a few hours. Alex was really tired and it was quite a challenge. And we were worried about the mosquittoes, stuff on the floor that he might eat, and all of that stuff. We walked around town a bit (in the rain - which is what seems to happen most of the time here) and at noon I think we fed Alex. Our rooms were still not ready, so we set up his crib in the temp room. And I napped on the bed beside his crib for a couple of hours. Angela woke me up & we all went to our rooms. The rooms are great - there are two rooms on the top part of our building plus a common room and a common bathroom. I'll send pictures as soon as I can. There are screens & fans to keep bugs somewhat out. Laura and Angela had eaten some food that they ordered through the hotel and I had some of Angela's leftovers when we went back to the rooms. Good curry dishes with tofu and one had pumkin. Later we fed some of the less spicy dish to Alex and he seemed to really like it.

In the evening, Angela and I put Alex in bed and Laura went to bed in the room next door. Angela and I met up with a bunch (maybe 12) of the other people who are involved with her conference for dinner at a local restaurant (Bai Fern is the name.) Angela ate a curry dish (which I tasted - it was delicious) and I just drank water & half of her beer. It was good to talk to some of them, b/c, for instance, one of them has stayed at Our Jungle House in Khao Sok, where we have reserved a place for 5 nights later in our trip. And they were able to tell us how to get to the market, etc.

Alex woke up when we came home & was up for an hour or so, but overall he slept very well for a jet-lagged baby. He woke early - 4:45 - but again not too bad for a baby with jetlag. Angela, Alex, and I went on a walk through the outdoor market, which was very nice (not touristy at all) and we bought some bananas and leechies. We met up with Laura and some of the others at the Bai Fern at 8 where we fed Alex cereal, banana, and leechie (and Malarone.)

Laura's sleeping quarters ended up not being exactly what we had anticipated. One of the other people in the conference is now sharing the room with her (I was alseep when they worked out the details, so I don't really know.) Laura seems fine with it, and the other person is good company (Alissa (sp?))

People are very friendly toward children. For instance, today at breakfast I was carrying Alex around after he finished his so that other people could eat, and one of the women working there was about to feed the fish in the fishtank. When I brought Alex over, she held out her arms, I handed him to her, and she turned around and took him into the other room. I followed, but not too closely so that Alex would see me, and she held him while she fed some other fish in a little indoor pond. People seem to pass children around pretty freely here!

Today we are all feeling much better! After Alex's usuall 3-hour 9am nap, Laura and I headed out to meet Angela at a restaurant near the refugee camp & clinic (which is actually down the street from where she's giving some talks and stuff - she'll have to explain it more.) Funny little restaurant with just a roof - no walls or anything fancy like that - and dirt floors. Alex ate canned chicken, though, and bananas. Laura and I ordered off the menu. After that, Laura, Alex, and I took a 'cab' to the market (we didn't know where the cab was going, actually, and meant to just come back to our guest house.) We bought some watermellon, dragonfruit, and finally found a supermarket. I was hoping the supermarket would have canned stuff - beans, maybe canned chicken or other high-protein stuff, but no luck. Instead I bought a power strip for our many computers (each of us has one) and a few other misc things. The sun came out after lunch, and now it really is hot, but breezy and not too bad.

I have pictures to post, but Angela has the camera for today, so I'll post them at the next opportunity! Videos, too.