He got up a few minutes after 8. Nursed, then I took a shower and when I came out he was playing with play dough. I made toast and we had yoghurt for breakfast. Carly gave him a bath (he didn’t like it, but didn’t seem as loud in his protests today) then put sunscreen on him, which had him laughing in hysterics because it supposedly tickles. He wanted to do a lot of jumping, with us holding his hands, before we left. He would continue this later at the zoo, which I wasn’t too fond of.
Anyway, we headed out at 10:30. Subway over to the dock, then figured out how to buy tickets for the orange line and took it north – close to an hour, but fun. August did fine, but hit a woman once or twice.
We got off at Thewet. The guidebook had mentioned feeding fish there, but made it sound much more picturesque than it was: it mentioned monks, for example, but really we threw fish food into some pretty dirty water. We had fun though, and saw a lot of fish. August then looked at the bracelets and necklaces at a little stand, then we started walking.
A pretty nice walk much of the way to the zoo, although hot. We saw the King Rama V statue and the Throne Hall building. Thought we’d see more of the Dustin Palace complex and the royal residence to the east, but that was it, as the rest of our time was spent in the zoo.
The zoo was crowded, and August was getting tired. We stopped at a bathroom and I took him in, then he went and drove a car in the arcade while we waited for Carly. We then went to the food court. Had fun looking at all the food options and choosing. The food was okay (and cheap) but mine was really spicy (green curry and chicken) and Carly’s was really sweet (odd for a chicken and rice dish).
We then headed out around the zoo. Saw some water birds (storks, etc.) that we hadn’t seen before, then a koala (although not a great view), and some cassowaries. Carly spotted a couple of small lizards on a tree, and August liked watching them run. We tried to get August to take a nap, and put the cover up, but he kept saying he was hungry, even after he finished all the dried mangosteen (he also had fries at lunch). He really started to get upset and wanted out, so we stopped for a nursing break at 2. I had pointed out that Smokey was with us, and that Smokey had used to not like zookeepers, so a bit later August asked “Why you not like zookeepers, Smokey?”
We walked through the teak forest, but gave up on a nap when he saw the playground and wanted to play. There were two really big lizards (not sure what kind) just in the grass by the pond, so we watched those (later, Carly saw them get in a fight and roll into the pond). Carly took him to play for a few minutes, then we switched and I played with him. A lot of climbing, and he liked it when we took his shoes off and he could play without (a lot of other kids had their shoes off; Korea this isn’t). He also did a lot of hopping around. Oh, and there was a spot of bird poop on the ground that he smelled and put his bare feet on. One time, as we walked along the side, he saw some purple flowers on a bush and said “Mama would love that.” Finally, as he was done and we walked back to Carly, I saw a guy wearing a shirt. It just had two words on it: This shit. Had to note that one.
We got walking. He was kind of all over the place, being tired so not very focused. At one point he was also talking about how much energy he had. But he was also looking for a place to nurse. He sat on a curb and said “This is a good place to nurse.” We found a better place, but then a girl his size came up and grabbed him by the hands and they sort of danced together. Short, and not long enough to get on video, but a fun moment. But then there were a bunch of other people kind of staring, so no longer a good nursing spot. I picked him up and said we’d find a better spot, but we distracted him with other things.
Sort of saw the WWII air raid bunker (he thought of going in, but then I wouldn’t fit with the backpack, and he decided it was too scary, and anyway he thought there’d be animals in it), went up on a rooftop viewing area that only had a view of a goat-like thing we would find out was a Sumatran serow, he looked at a sign and asked why it said “the only” (the next word was ‘habitat’).
Finally (sort of), we went on the elevated walkway. From there, we got good views of sun bears (which he watched for quite awhile), Asiatic black bears, gorillas, and probably a few things I’m forgetting. He ‘slithered’ on the walkway at one point, and at the white Siberian tiger he ‘read’ the sign about it.
Off the walkway, we were ready to head home. To the restroom first, where Carly took him in. But finally, we spotted the giraffes and zebras and spent a few minutes watching them. He was standing on a wooden fence while I held him, then sitting.
We headed out and caught the first tuktuk. That was quite an experience. He initially took us to the wrong spot (north of the ferry dock), but then got us to the right place. We hopped right on a boat. Carly got a seat with August pretty quickly, then I was able to sit next to them a couple stops later. Lot of exhaust fume on this boat, but still a fun trip. We told a few Puffin Rock stories (I told the new one about Bernadette’s shell again), then I read The Berenstain Bears and the New Baby a couple times. He also spent some time sitting on the floor (on the way up, he sat on his hands and knees on the floor next to me, like he was my dog).
We walked up the stairs into the train station. August spotted the measuring tape and wanted to be measured and wasn’t happy we wouldn’t. From the station I spotted a promising restaurant down the street on the other side. So we went down the stairs on the other side. I walked ahead to check it out. It is called Odds! and looked like it would do nicely. Unfortunately, August was giving Carly a hard time; he wanted to get down and walk in the street. We were having a talk there outside the restaurant about whether he wanted to obey the rules and go to the restaurant, or go home. He chose restaurant, but was having problems with the rules part. I think we could have made it if he had just made it to the restaurant and been able to relax. But he kind of swung at me, and hit Carly. So we decided to head home.
He did not like that at all, and fell apart basically the entire way home: into the station, onto the subway, out the station, to the building, and up to our room. Luckily, he calmed down as we walked through the lobby and I was able to talk to him. Basically, he just kept squirming and saying “Oww, oww…” as if something hurts. He’s been starting to do that the last couple days as it gets our attention (often it means his diaper is uncomfortable in the backpack, or his leg is caught, etc.) The funniest moment though was on the subway and kept saying he wanted to nurse and he said “Oww, oww…my ears hurt.” Took me a few seconds to realize why he had said it: Carly and I had both told him that he should nurse when taking off on the plane as it would help keep his ears from hurting.
The other thing he kept saying was “I want to go to the restaurant.” But we got home at 5:30 and they nursed. We were afraid he was going to fall asleep, but I was able to get him to watch Puffin Rock. I noticed that now, when he watches the theme song, he sings along and follows along with the words (the subtitles are always on) with his finger.
Carly made him mushrooms and sausage and egg for dinner. He ate okay until he just wanted to play with the food and touch Carly’s and was upset when she put it away. They nursed again. While he was eating we had talked about going down to the pool or toys, him and me, but now, as he nursed, when I asked he told me “You go by his own.” I also suggested play dough, and he told me I could play by myself as well.
So instead I went to the store, getting us staples like milk and water and eggs, and also loading up on different dried fruits and a few drinks to try. I came h
ome at 7:30 and Carly was just finishing getting him to sleep.
Fish feeding:
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Big lizard:
Shoeless on the playground:
Slithering on the skywalk: Tuktuk ride:
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Boat ride:
Sitting on the boat
Feeding fish
Shades on his head
Driving
Big lizard
Face in my hand
Bird poop
Carly reading
Running on the skywalk
Watching the giraffes
Photos. Boat:
On the dock:
Walk to the zoo:
Big street:
Zoo:
Cassowary:
Lizard tongue:
Lake:
Playground:
Don’t know why he did this:
Bird poop:
Bears:
Running:
Old garbage cans:
Tiger sign:
Giraffes and zebras:
