Back into our Routine

Koh Samet

Huge leaves in Koh Samet

Letting a lantern go in Rayong

Beach in Rayong

Rayong

Big Buddha in Rayong

Lots of room service

Flooding in our neighborhood

Pattaya Beach

Mini Siam in Pattaya

Wow! What a crazy couple of months!! The flooding in Thailand was on our minds everyday starting in the middle of October all the way through the end of November. Areas all around us were flooding, but our area stayed dry. It almost seemed like the flooding might pass us. Our main concern was the lack of food and water in the stores. Which is why we left the first time in October. The owner's of our home were kind enough to drive us to Pattaya, a beach town south of Bangkok. We enjoyed hanging out at the pool, the beach, and checking out Mini Siam before the stomach flu attacked half the family. So needless to say, our first evacuation was not much fun. We ended up spending most of our time in the hotel. Thankfully it was a nice place with a kitchen!

We came back to Bangkok on October 31st and our whole neighborhood was still completely dry. Ben's school kept cancelling because of threats of flooding from all around us. It was really nice to have the time off, but yet we almost felt trapped in our home. We were never really sure what areas around us had water coming in. So, it kind of stunk because we would have loved to explore Bangkok, but we were safe and had food and water which was much better than many people in Bangkok.

RIS was scheduled to go back to school on November 15th. I was starting to get very nervous because water had finally reached one of the main roads leading into our neighborhood. We heard about many people starting to evacuate again. We made the decision to leave even though Ben was supposed to be back in school. So thankful we left because his school ended up cancelling that day for another week. Our owner took us back down to Pattaya again.

We stayed in Pattaya for 2 days and went to the beach and saw Big Buddha Hill. Then we headed further south to Rayong. The beaches were beautiful there. We hung out by the pool and did a little Christmas shopping. After 3 days we headed to the island of Koh Samet. It was paradise!! I never wanted to leave. Other than the man eating mosquitoes it was perfect. I felt lucky to be able to experience such a wonderful vacation with my family. This trip would have never happened if we were still living in the states. The boys loved the beach and swimming in the clear ocean. I am really looking forward to going back in a few months!

So now we are back in Bangkok. Life has returned back to normal. The cars that were parked on all the bridges are gone, flood relief signs have been taken down, & people selling rubber boots, boats, & life jackets on the highway have disappeared. You do still see and endless amount of sandbags though. There is enough sand in Bangkok to make their own beach I am sure. I keep thinking what are they going to do with all those sand bags?

We were so lucky to be in an area that was protected from the flooding. So many people in Thailand have had to live in flooded areas for weeks to months. Mosquitoes, diseases, crocodiles, snakes & filth have come with all the flooding. But the Thais have such an amazing spirit and are working to get their beloved country back to the way it was. Now we get to say we were a part of the largest disaster in Thailand in the past 50 years. I am so glad it is over in our area but still think of all the families that it is still affecting and to all those that were lost in the floods. Thank you to all that were praying for our safety during this time.