I'm writing from an internet cafe in the middle of the noisiest, most chaotic video game arcade I've ever seen. We are at Mah Bon Krang, the most popular shopping center in Bangkok. The sensory overload is a little overwhelming, especially combined with jet lag, but it's a fun and interesting experience. I was here once before in 1994, but I don't remember much, and Ying says the mall has changed. By the way, it's harder to find internet connectivity than I had hoped, so updates to this blog may be a little infrequent.

Nicholas is starting to speak a little Thai with people he meets. I've been surprised at how quickly he has adapted -I hope it continues. I'm trying my best to join in the Thai conversations to maximize the "Thai to English ratio".

We are having dinner with friends this evening, and tomorrow Nicholas will go swimming with some Thai friends his own age. While he "practices Thai" with his mom and his friends, I plan to take a day trip to Ayutaya, the old capital of Thailand.

It's 3pm Wednesday Seattle time and 7am Thursday Taipei time. Nicholas was great on the Seattle-Taipei flight, sleeping 6 or 7 hours, watching Dora the Explorer for another 4 hours, and visiting the toilet over and over for the rest of the time. The toilet visits weren't really necessary -he was just curious to see what a toilet looked like on an airplane... over and over again.

We've been in Taipei for about an hour. Daddy just had his first experience eating noodle soup with chop sticks, and "did very well" according to Mommy.

After travelling 13 hours and experiencing the time change, Nicholas took an exhausted nap.

We are packed and ready to go! Mommy has done lots of work planning, and Nicholas is excited to go to preschool and meet his "new Grandma and new Papa" for the first time. Daddy is excited to explore new parts of Bangkok and environs, like Sukhothai and Ayuthaya.

For the plane trip, we have books, electronic games, and DVDs. We leave at midnight, so we are planning for a long, relaxing rest on the flight from Seattle, waking up in Taipei. On our second flight from Taipei, we will have a leisurely breakfast, arriving in Bangkok refreshed and ready to see the sights!

Our flight leaves Wednesday morning at midnight, and we will update our travel-blog as much as we can in Thailand. See you online!