In Bangkok with Family: May 9th -11th

We arrived in Bangkok late evening on Friday, the 9th. A taxi drove us outside the city center to where Liya’s great-uncle and his family lived. They were so happy to have us with them for the weekend. We were welcomed with an abundance of fresh fruit: mangosteens, durian, and mangos. Ben was loving all the fresh durian - the best we have had thus far!

This was a great occasion for Liya - she has now met all of her ‘great-family’ on her mother’s side. She met her grandmother’s youngest sister and older brother in Can Tho, Vietnam, and has finally met her younger brother in Bangkok. Her other two great-aunts are currently living in Portland, Oregon.

Liya and the rest of her family are so lucky to have such a loving great family. To continue to receive the warm and loving embrace from family she has never met before has been amazing. The language barrier at times provides problems but actions speak much louder than words. These experiences have shown us the importance of family and love despite language barriers, despite living thousands of miles from one another, and despite never meeting each other.

On Saturday morning (10th), the whole family sat around the dining table and ate fresh fruit - lychees, mangosteens, mangos, durian, and a few other exotic fruits we don’t know the name of! We were spoiled-rotten!

For lunch, Liya’s 2nd cousin, Oh, took us out to eat at her favorite Guey Thiew (Thai noodles) street stall near her home. It was mighty tasty! Following our filling lunch was a trip to a Buddhist temple along the river near the city center where we prayed and paid our respects to our loved ones who have died. Later was a trip to the mall where we were both treated to a 1-hour foot and shoulder massage. We had such a great experience eating with our eyes in the food court on the bottom floor before our massage. It was filled a bunch of vendors making and selling all sorts of fresh food. We bought a kilo of lemongrass-flavored fresh mussels for 40 baht (<$2!); if only they were that cheap back home!

For dinner, we all went out to eat sukiyaki, Thai’s version of hot pot, at a famous restaurant chain called MK. We were so stuffed by the end of dinner - the amount of food we ate was ridiculous! Ben really enjoyed the roasted duck which came with the most amazing dipping sauce made from the duck drippings.

It was a mighty fine day with the family. :)