Souq and toast

We have had a long couple of weeks, no TV, no toys, no books, no games, or crafty bits (still waiting on boxes) not a great internet connection and we can't go outside till about 4pm (winter in Christchurch?!?). 

Millie has even resorted to using the packaging from the new sheets as signs for her room (a system where she put cards on her door indicating if she is in or out and if she is in and asleep, there is also signs letting us know if she is having the "best day ever" that can change though out the day). I'm counting the days I'm sure the kids are.
Bring on school!!


Millie loved the Art Centre at the Souq


But we have had a couple of brilliant nights out with the school, meet and greet the new teachers type of thingy. Our first trip was to Souq Waqif which was amazing, a labrinth (sp) of spices, textiles and bargains. We had dinner at Damascus One, which we all enjoyed the kids surprised me and tried lots of new things. Scott gave it a good crack, not the usual burgers and chips. The food reminded me of the old souvlaki shop on Cashel street though it wasn't Greek but Syrian food (they also had a football game going at one end which Jax loved, no TV and no grass had meant he needed a shot of football).
The souq would be perfect for relaxing, people watching and coffee but the unforgiving heat this time of year meant it was a quick look around. Didn't get any great photos because my camera kept fogging up!!! I got a couple with Jackson's.



Getting hot now.



Who knew you could be so happy drinking coke.

The following week we went on an evening trip on a dhow boat, a traditional wooden boat used for fishing. We arrived late, our wonderful bus driver had gotten lost. Everyone uses landmarks to navigate (sometimes unsuccessfully) because of the lack of street names and the roads are often closed last minute for up grades or construction. The dhow boats look amazing but it was dark when we finally reached the harbour and the other 2 boats had left, they were going to meet us out in the Gulf. I think there would have been about 100 staff and families, only a couple of kids though.


It was an incredible view of the city, a must see for any visitor. The BBQ was good but the best part was the swimming, I wish I'd had the courage to bring my togs, swimming in the Persian Gulf in the dark with the city behind you looked amazing, next time!
 

My first week in Doha - Jackson

Jackson- Doha

Playing ball with Dad in our new apartment

The people here are very nice because they always say hello. They are different because they wear different clothes. Some women wear black things over their bodies and heads and some men do the same but with white clothes. The people here speak differently. 

The school that we are going to is an International school, which means it has lots of children from different countries most people here have black skin, I think that’s because it’s so hot and they get sun tanned! The heat is boiling hot it is 40% humidity. It’s so hot that most people don’t go outside until 4pm in the evening! Also if you like playing sports like cricket or football you would have to play in a covered stadium it’s is so hot!


The lounge
 

It is lucky our Apartment has 2 swimming pools but I was disappointed with the pool because it was warm not cold, at about midday if you went to the beach and jumped on the sand you would get burnt feet!

The houses are light coloured so they don’t get hot. All the houses are similar in groups maybe so it doesn’t take too long to build them. Daddy doesn’t like the hot heat because he’s so used to being in a warmish coldish country next to Antarctica. My Dads glasses fog up with humidity and the moisture in the air.  This is annoying, because Dad can’t see. It’s easy for me because I can just take off my sunglasses. Dad can’t because his are prescription glasses. There are lots of birds at our Apartment because they want to rest under the shades by the swimming pool.

I like Doha.

By Jackson 

Doha. We wanted somewhere different, I think we got it!

We made it! Very exciting, the heat is a shock (don't come visit during summer, we won't be here!) and the airport is massive, we had a twenty minute bus transfer from the tarmac not a great start but we're here. The first few days were pretty rough due to lack of sleep. The killer on the first day was no food parcel (we'd been expecting a large welcome pack like a weekly shop), they'd had a holiday the day before and we arrived at 9am so hadn't got it done. We were collected from the airport which was great and the staff were lovely but then dropped off at our apartment, no food, no car and no idea where anything was. Kids had been up most of the night so it was a lot to ask. We unpacked the best we could and decided to find a mall.


The heat hits you in the face like an open oven door every time you go outside, my contacts struggle a little. Incredible. In the taxi (always air-conditioned much to Scott and Jackson's relief, Millie and I put our cardies on) the kids were tired but still excited and argued who was going to get the window seat, the mall was about 15 minutes away so we got to see a little of the city. Doha is amazing, an architects dream, I'm not sure what they are trying to achieve but it's exciting to be in a place where there is so much happening. Construction and cranes everywhere.
Our first meal in Doha, KFC! and it was only KFC because McDonalds was being renovated, not what I had in mind but man did it taste good!

Our second floor apartment in Golf Gardens Compound is large, white, three bed, three bath, four toilets. We are only using two, I'm not cleaning them all! (one very small bathroom and bedroom is the maids room, you would never put anyone in there but its great storage) , and a large lounge, but there is not a lot in it, so it is a bit sparse. No colour. 

We found the new massive Ikea, I got me some red cushions and other essentials. Can't wait for the boxes to arrive. The pools are great, in fact I would hate to be without them. Still a few days before the kids start school...where is everybody? Nobody comes out until 4pm too hot we guess, Scott will be spending the next few days at school getting ready for the new academic year and we will be left to our own devices. Time to decorate the rooms! x

Jackson - My First Week - Bangkok



This is a cake (yum) saying good luck made by Karin at the Plough in Rangiora

This is a cake (yum) saying good luck made by Karin at the

Plough in Rangiora

Jackson - My First Week - Bangkok



I love being next to the river watching the boats going down and seeing all the different buildings. The boats are very different to our boats, the long tail boats have a long thing on the back.



Our first morning in Bangkok



I’m not enjoying the heat because it makes me sweaty and the humidity is making me tired.

The Grand Palace

The Thai people are really nice and always say hello to me.  They even wanted to take a photo of me. I’m not sure why.

The Grand Palace is my favourite thing so far because it’s got lots of gold and lots of Buddha’s which seem very special to the Thai people.

Bangkok has heaps of hotels, most of them are very high and fancy. Like the Sheraton and the Hilton, we stayed in the Sheraton.

Heading to the river market



Millie and I at The Grand Palace



Most of the houses are up on stilts and broken.  I would like to learn more about that some day.

There are two big signs across from our hotel one for Manchester United and one for Chelsea; dad thinks an important game was held here, even though they are European teams.

We haven’t worked out which way the river is flowing, it’s hard to tell. It is next to our hotel, it is very wide and not a braided river, I’m not sure what type of river it is. It is called the Chao Phraya River.

Bangkok has an 8 storey Mall; which is called MBK. MBK stands for Mang Boon Krong. It was boring there but Dad got some suits.

On the first day we were there we went in a pink taxi. It was air conditioned and took a long time.

I got two football jerseys at the Chatuchak market. One Barcelona and one Italy I LOVE them. Mum said I took forever to choose them. Jackson.

Bangkok - Long haul flights who invented them!

Yep we took a photo
 of the food...
but it was amazing 

Long haul flights- who invented them! Rach and Luke seemed to take it in their stride; every time I was taking one the kids to the loo, Rach was asleep!! Poor kids both sick on the Sydney-Bangkok flight, not fun, not much sleep but we are here, in Bangkok for the next few days (we may need them all to recover). Arriving in the middle of the night has meant we didn’t completely see the chaotic, hot and over flowing streets- we were too busy holding kids heads in the hope they didn’t spew in the transfer van. (Important note always book a transfer in Bangkok, the lines for taxi’s and transfer bookings were 100’s of people long NOT fun with kids at 2 in the morning. We had luckily booked ours with HOT so all good). Hotel amazing, rooms incredible, The Sheraton. We up graded into this Hotel because the one we booked had been full, a little more expensive but I was over the booking process and just booked it. Undoubtedly the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in. I did feel a little rough rocking up in my plane clothes, yep the ones I've been in for 14 hours plus with a wet patch on my leg were Jackson had thrown up. My face, skin felt like it had been sucked dry, a great look. Now time for some sleep…

MBK Mall, Kids at 
top of second excelsior 

Day one: a slow start- had breakfast at the hotel, buffet style, expensive but couldn't be any better. 100’s of options. Wish we had pushed the budget and booked breakfast for every morning because we were soon to discover the Sheraton was amazing and right next to the river (beautiful view of Chao Phraya) but next to nothing else. We did discover on the last morning a French bakery around the corner, bugger it! Day one, only two goals; get Scott measured for a suit and relax by the pool. MBK is a mall, eight floors, 2000 shops. It’s air conditioned and needs to be, people everywhere. Some shops are as small as bathrooms others the size you’d expect at Riccarton. We found a tailor and crossed our fingers he wasn't going to rip us off! We ended up ordering 2 suits, 2 extra pants and 2 shirts and of course 2 free ties. $600 hummm I did leave wondering if we had suckers written across our foreheads, Scott was to return the next day for a fitting. That afternoon we hit the pool. Brilliant.

Day two; Everyone, especially Jackson was keen to see the floating markets, stilt houses and to have a long tail boat ride, I found a tour that included all, I skim read the details and away we went, early start and we quickly found out why. The detail I didn’t fully take in was the very long bus trip during rush hour traffic. We were heading 100kms outside Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak floating markets. Our kids were the only kids on tour and everyone else just went back to sleep for the journey! So between people watching, spotting coconut and banana trees, playing eye spy and the number plate game we made it to our first stop, a tourist spot with craft, orchid gardens/nursery, stalls and a coconut cooking display. It was unexpectedly interesting and the coconut that had been reduced tasted like fudge. Next stop, drop off point for the long tail boat ride. Kids were worried, so was I and I’m sure Scott was.

 
It was a little more intrepid than we were expecting, lots of noise, people and thai yelling instructions at each other. We were next, Jackson and I paired up (I was thinking if it all turned to shit, at least he could help himself and I could help him the best I could- this was right on the edge of things I was happy to do with the kids, between no car seats and now no life jackets the grey hairs were sprouting) Scott grabbed Millie who at this stage had passionately changed her mind, which wasn’t an option.

Jackson not keen to hold snake.

So the boat literally rocks up and pauses for a second, you jump in while it moves around, holding cameras, backpack and Jax. We were first, Scott and Millie second we all made it and then we were off! The thing with these boats the faster you go the more stable they are, which is why they only pause to pick you up then the go like crazy. The waterways are very narrow and congested with sharp turns; the driver’s skill was incredible. Scott screamed banshee style every time the driver revved up the motor, we had two others in our boat and they dealt with it very well considering. We all loved it! The video will be amazing. Next stop the market, colourful, brilliant, hot, sticky, bargains and we/I needed to be there for a few more hours.

On the way back we stopped at a different craft market mostly wooden carving, truly amazing skill. Long bus ride back to hotel. Then we hit the pool.

Day three, Millie desperately wanted to see the Grand Palace, which everyone had told us was a must see. We decided to make our own way there via the incredibly complex water taxi system. We took the local boat which was cheaper and great for people watching, many people were very interested in the kids, smiling and looking at them for long periods. The river views were extraordinary and ranged from immaculate buildings, to shacks.

The kids were in awe of everything ”Venice of the East”. Our stop, chaotic, it had been turned into a market that you had to walk through. We could see the Palace so off we walked, on arrival we needed to change, long pants, tops and enclosed shoes.

 
The Palace, surrounding buildings and monuments are massive and dazzling. The temple of the Emerald Buddha was the highlight, its carved from a single block of green stone. Jackson was also a highlight for some young asian tourists, they asked to be photographed with him; he declined.  The craftsmanship on every wall was incredible. The heat and number of people started to overwhelm the kids so we cut the trip short, what we did see was spectacular. Boat ride then pool.

We spent the next day by the pool and collected Scott’s suits in the evening. Everything perfect, brilliant service as well.

Next day was a quiet one, I had big plans for the evening. Siam Niramit Show, replica Thai village tour and authentic Thai dinner. We all got dressed up, Scott in his new suit and joined the rest of the tour for our 30min transfer to the show. One and a half hours later we finally got there! The traffic had been crazy. We were too late for the village and had to rush to get tea, the kids were starving. Turns out the food was memorable for the wrong reasons, bad Thai takeaway with the odd Indian dish. Nothing suited the kids, they ended up eating plain rice and fruit. An expensive lesson. The show however was amazing, 700 years of Thai history, 150 performers, state of the art special effects. Beautiful. Jackson was on the edge of his seat the whole time, Millie firing 100 questions a minute.
 

Our last day in Bangkok, we went to Chatuchak weekend market. Massive 35 acres with over 8,000 stalls. It was impossible to find your way around, there was a system but we didn’t work it out.

What are you doing to us Mum!!

Hot and chaotic, there were bargains to be had but the heat and the size of the place, did Scott and the kids in. We managed to get Jackson Italy and Barcelona football kits for about $20! and some other bits. Taxi home then pool, packing, bed for a few hours before we jump on our flights to our new home Doha via Dubai.

Bangkok was incredible, I would definitely return, so much to see, brilliant service and the most wonderful people.  Hugs Treenz x

Our big adventure trip by Millie

Our big adventure trip- Before we went on my first flight to Sydney I used my money to buy a Hello Kitty watch. With all my Thai baht, I brought a Hello Kitty sun hat and drink bottle, it is see through so I can take it on the plane, this was at a Hello Kitty shop at MBK. The MBK is a very big mall.

My favourite thing I’ve seen so far is the emerald Buddha made of green stone; it has an interesting story. When it was found it was covered in plaster and they didn’t know that it was

Dad saving me from a shark,
 our hotel behind us.
We were on the 14th floor.

green stone. A bit flaked off its nose to show the green stone. You are also not allowed to point your feet at people or Buddha because they think your feet are dirty and not important and it’s rude. We had to wear pants and cover up we also had to wear shoes, when we visited the emerald Buddha. At the Grand Palace there was a solider with a gun, guarding the King and Queen.

We had to get up early to see the floating market. The long tailed boat was fun I felt scared at first then we went faster and that was fun. I appreciate the boat divers because they are nice and I like looking at all the beautiful things at the market. I like being in Bangkok, its hot, there are two pools. One Mum can’t stand up in. I didn’t like the long plane ride.

Grand Palace, I was getting hot.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to going out tomorrow night for dinner and a show. At the show there were lots of good and beautiful characters. There were some scary parts and lovely parts! In one scary part I was scared because there was pretend smoke and I thought it was real smoke from a real fire. The show was about how the Thai community live and what they believe. I liked the show and going to bed at 11pm!

Miss you. Love Millie xox