Traveling with an infant has its privileges

On December 30, I set off on a grand adventure with my son Matt, his wife Melissa, their sixth month old son Yves and Melissa’s mother, Chinda. We are spending a month together in Thailand and Cambodia.  My other son Brett and his husband Brendon will join us during the month for about seven days.  I pinch myself to make sure that this trip is a reality and not a fantasy.  Here are some photos of my fellow travelers.

Melissa with Yves

Matt with Yves

Chinda and Susan — the Grandmas

Brett with Yves

Brendon with Yves

Melissa, Matt, Yves, Chinda and I left from LAX on a late night flight.  All four adults were worried about how Yves was going to manage the flights.  LAX was just as awful and disorganized as we predicted, but having an infant with us allowed us to circumvent the very long TSA line and cut right to the front.  Having an infant meant that we were able to board the plane right after First and Business classes.  Having an infant with us meant that Matt and Melissa were seated in the bulkhead which allowed Matt and Melissa to stretch out their legs.  After take off the flight attendant attached a bassinet to wall so that Yves could stretch out.  

When we finally arrived in Bangkok, we were told to circumvent the long customs line and moved to the front of the line because there was an infant in our group. Who knew that having an infant along would expedite things?

We flew on Starlux (a Taiwanese airline) to Taipei — a fourteen hour flight. We thought it would be miserable because Yves would cry the whole way. But Yves was amazing and his parents were excellent.  Matt said he would give Yves a B+ for his flight behavior.  Having flown with Matt when he was that age I would definitely give Yves a A-.  But the flight was miserable anyway because being on an airplane for 14 hours is miserable.  We arrived in Taipei in the early morning of January 1.  Having crossed the International Date Line we completely lost New Year’s Eve. I didn’t mind.

We had a five hour layover and spent it in the Oriental Club Lounge. Chinda loves Taiwanese beef noodle soup and they had it to order there.  We sampled their delicacies — everything from Taiwanese beer, barbecue pork steamed buns to boiled peanuts (not a fan).  I don’t love long layovers but I have to say, after 14 hours in a cramped airplane seat I was glad for the reprieve before boarding another plane. 

Our next flight was from Taipei to Bangkok.  The four hour flight felt short compared to the earlier flight.  We landed in Bangkok at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Day.  Matt used an app called Grab to get us a 10 passenger van to take us to our AirBnB.  We needed that big of a van to manage our luggage — 5 suitcases, 2 backpacks, a stroller, a diaper bag, and six purses/personal items.  When we went outside to wait for our driver we began to peel off the layers of clothing we needed for a 24 hour plane trip.  If this heat is typical of a Bangkok winter, I would melt in summer.

We are staying in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok. Our AirBnB has three nice sized bedrooms — each with their own bathroom.  The kitchen, dining room and living room are all spacious.  It is lovely. The street we are staying on obviously caters to tourists.  The curbs are lined with tuktuks and taxis.  The open air bar has Fox Sports playing on its large screen.  It is a nice mix of the touristy shop and the upscale.  In fact, I started following a restaurant called Burapa on my Instagram and Matt made reservations to go there later this week.  It is just steps away ftom where we are staying I am so excited to eat there.  The rooms are designed to look like train cars.

Once we had all showered and unpacked, we headed out for some food that was not delivered to us on an airplane tray.  We headed to the BTS Sky Train station near our rental.  

We are located in an area where you can find everything you need/want:  a tattoo, a dildo sold in a kiosk on the street, cannabis, a Thai massage, burgers, pizza, Indian food, Korean food, curry and German fusion called Curry Wurst and so much more.  Our street is a happening place but our rental on the fourth floor is a quiet and soothing place.  We took the Sky Train to a nearby mall packed with shops, a gourmet grocery store and every kind of restaurant you can imagine.  The restaurant we were hoping to eat at was packed so we ate at the restaurant next door that had space for us immediately.  We were hungry.  It was good to be seated at a table and ordering from a menu!  Matt pointed out to us that the Musak was set on a loop to play one song over and over again.  Each time the song started over we ate faster so we could avoid hearing the song again!  I enjoyed the Thai omelet.  It has fish sauce added to the egg mixture.  To cook it they pour the egg mixture into hot oil.  It is delicious.

We are all dead on our feet and hoping that Yves gives us a quiet, restful night. But if he doesn’t, he is still so darn cute that we will love him anyway.