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Monday, 8/9

Wake-up call at 3:30 am again!

Got ready to leave and went downstairs to check out. The hotel personnel asked if we needed a taxi and said that it would cost 300 Bht. We got our box breakfast from the restaurant and were on our way to the airport.

Checking in was quick and easy. Even the security check was easy and a little amusing as well as the employee checked out our purchases and gave us the "thumbs up" on our snake whiskey. We paid our 500 Bht departure tax and settled in for the long wait. We checked out our breakfasts and took what we wanted. We found a family with 3 children and asked them if they would like the rest of our breakfasts which included a banana in each box. It worked out well for them because they had one banana that they were going to have the three children share. Now they each had their own!

           Depart BKK                United #838                 7:00 am      Boeing 747-400
            Arrive Tokyo, change planes                           3:10 pm           
            Depart Tokyo             United #890                 4:25 pm      Boeing 747-400

Don't really remember too much about the flight home other than it was pretty uneventful. We had seats by the emergency door, so we had a lot of leg room. Amy slept most of the way home on both flights and I slept off and on.

            Arrive LAX                                                    10:15 am


Even retrieving our luggage and getting through Customs was pretty easy.
 

Home at last!!!

Waiting at LAX curbside for my dad to pick us up.

Amy is one happy camper, able to use her cell phone again! And, it was nice that mine started ringing right away too with calls from Craig asking if I was back yet.

We were glad to be back home, but our homecoming was a bit anti-climactic. We got back on a Monday, 8/9. My mom was in the hospital until Wednesday, 8/11 and Bryan was on vacation in Utah until 8/15, so we didn't have our "welcome home - here's your gift" dinner for about a week.

 

Everyone with their Thailand gifts.
(L to R): Craig, Bryan, Terry, Mom, Jennifer, Chris, Mandy, Steven, Dad

And Amy with all her Thailand purchases!

It was really a great trip and one that we'll always remember!
 

After thoughts and miscellaneous pictures:

 

My purse




I wanted a picture of my Hilltribe hat, so Amy came to my office and modeled it for me.
She's also holding the elephant pillowcase I bought in Chiang Rai.

She really likes my hat and didn't want to take it off.
I thought this was pretty funny with her
wearing the hat (old, ethnic) and talking on her cell phone (new, modern).

As the days and weeks go by, Amy and I have reminisced about our trip. As with all things, time helps you remember the good and forget the "not so good". We talk about what we did and saw and how we wish we had bought more, seen more and simply experienced more. It makes me particularly happy to hear Amy say that she'd like to go back again someday because that means that she really enjoyed the trip. Who knows? Maybe someday we will go back again!

Until then...

  . . . . that's it!