A five week journey, Part 2: Evacuation

After the Larsons left, we tried to decide what to do with the last week of our vacation. With little motivation and even less money, we weren't having too much fun. We thought we should try out one new city, so we booked a bus to Pai, a city way up in the mountains. The scenery was breathtaking, but the town was overrun by tourists and Thai people who spook way too much English. Also, we were there during a heat wave and there was no air-conditioning anywhere, so we left after less than 24 hours. While we were in line to get tickets back to Bangkok, our land lady called and told us that the apartment complex was flooded and that we should not come back to Bangkok. We called a fellow teacher from school and found out that school was canceled for another two weeks and again told us not to come back. So, we didn't... We went to the US instead. We booked the tickets spur of the moment, and within 24 hours, we were on a plane. I don't have time to write all the details, but God's favor was certainly with us on this trip, paving the way for us wherever we went. We got our Visa in less than an hour, even though we were told there was no way we could get it in a day, we nearly missed all of our flights, but they kept holding them for us, and we had a lot of wonderful surprises along the way.

Our flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was significantly delayed because of the floods, so we arrived in BKK 10 minutes before our next flight was supposed to leave. Air Asia was so helpful to us, even though on the website they say that they are not responsible for delays, etc. Before the plane came to a complete stop, the flight attendant had opened the emergency door for us, and put us on a bus to the International Terminal. The airline sent an employee to run us to the check-in desk, get us our boarding passes, and then run with us the entire way to the gate, which unfortunately, was as far from the desk as physically possible at BKK. We arrived out of breath, in a sweat, and with aching calves, but we made it on the plane. They had held it for us. Praise God. We flew all night and landed in Seoul just before sunrise. Without even catching a bite to eat, we jumped on a 2 1/2 hour bus to Cheonan, where my best friend Nikki lives, got on a city bus, and then walked the few blocks to her apartment. Here we encountered our next obstacle: the printer I used to print directions turned all the numbers in Nikki's email to symbols, so although we remembered which apartment complex was hers, we had to find her apartment. There are 12 or 13 floors in her building, and they all have identical bags hanging outside (that's where the key was to be hiden). Oh man! We walked around for a long time, stopping at each floor and trying to remember if the view looked correct or not. After much looking, we found her place, let ourselves it, and took a nap in her room. When she got home from school, we went to an awesome restaurant for Shabu Shabu, and then jumped right back on the bus to go back to the airport. (She came with us this time, though). It was nearly her birthday, so it was a wonderful treat to see her on our way to the US.

Shabu Shabu 

Aren't friends wonderful? 

Once again, we had to run to catch our flight, but we made it, and settled down for the long flight to Seattle. Carolyn met us at the airport and drove us to Winthrop, John's hometown in the Cascade Mountains. We completely forgot that it was fall: the leaves were changing and everything was beautiful, especially the bed that was awaiting us at the end of our evacuation journey.

First meal back in the US: Kettle Chips. Healthy? No. Delicious? Yes!

Freezing in our summer clothes. It was 95 when we got on the plane, and 30 when we got off, still wearing flip flops and short sleeved shirts.