Dengue

My biggest fear coming out here has hit ... Dengue fever ... The only good thing is that it hit me and that it is my first time. Bummer & 2 full days in bed but the doctor was sort of surprized today that I was recovering rather quickly.

Dengue is a viral desease transmitted from human to human by mosquito's. It is an increasing problem in the world and can be deadly for little children and for sugar and astma patients. It is particularly dangerous after the first time. It is prevalent in cities in warmer parts of the world but also even hitting places like New York. It's rainy season in Bangkok now and this is the time when you have to be carefull. There is no vaccine and the only remedy is to avoid getting bitten by mosquito's mainly during the day. This is one of the reasons that Singpore has inspectors that fine you for if they find still standing water on your property ... This is where mosquito's breed.

The incubation time is between 4 and 14 days and I probably had 3-4 mosquito bites in the last 14 days. I guess I was unlucky. The main concerns are dehydration and interenal bleeding as the virus reduces the blood plate levels. If these drop too low (especially after the first instance) hospitalization is necessary because bleeding disorders may occur.

For me it was a mild experience and i'm planning to head back to the office tomorrow. I better wear repellant wherever I go now.

Happy Songkran

Songkran is the traditional Thai new year and celebrated from the April 13th to 15th.  Anybody that has been in Thailand knows about the throwing of water during these days.  It's hard to stay dry during these days as the Thais (and tourists) roam the streets throwing water and have fun with the 'Super Soakers'.  Although this is all fun and games the more traditional  Songkran is  a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks.  People cleanse their Buddha's and this is how the water throwing originated as the 'blessed' water was collected and poured over the family and friends for good fortune.  This is also the hottest month in Thailand and getting soaked every now and them is not that bad.

Songkran is also the 'summer' holiday and people generally take a week off and the productivity of Thailand comes to a complete standstill.  Hotels and flights are booked out weeks in advance and we also decided to leave Bangkok for 4 days and drive 400 km northwards to Sukhothai.  In the 13th and 14th century this was the center of the Sukhothai kingdom.  Sukhothai broke away from the Khmere empire and effectively was the origin of modern day Thailand.

The Khmere influences are clearly visible and the sites are really beautiful.  There are also relatively few tourists adding to the serene experience.  Although sight seeing at >35 C and no wind with 2 small kids made us appreciate the air-conditioner.  As Lee Kwan Yew (creator of modern day Singapore) once said: the greatest technical innovation contributing to the successful development of Singapore is undoubtedly the air-conditioner.

The drive was half the fun and its amazing to see how fertile this country is.  Almost every tree has some kind of edible fruit in it (mainly mango's) and countless rice paddies make Thailand the biggest rice exporter of the world.  It was also nice to experience a more rural Thailand.  For these people Bangkok is like New York is the the Mid West: full of arrogant urbanites.  It is here that the people live modest lives working tirelessly on their farmland and it is also here where there is a lot of support for the 'red-shirts'; the pro Thaksin movement that was responsible for the upheaval last year.

Serene beauty in Sukhothai

Sight seeing at >35 C and no wind.

No tourist to hold the camera ... too hot I guess ... family shoot with the self-timer

A tamed Asian elephant along the Yom river in Sri Satchanalai

Family picture ... Quinn still intimidated by the elephant

Some type of very basic truck ... it looks like they're hand built and the engine seems to be an air cooled generator and is completely exposed ... they must be cheap to run because the farmers up North tend to drive around in them

More Asian hotel luxury .... financially I don't understand how these places can operate as we were the only guests for diner.

Swimming in a beautiful pool ... probably a rice paddy 1 year ago.

Songkran in Phitsanulok

Almost every shop house owner has a little shrine

Throwing water from the back of pickups is the favored activity during Songkran

Elegant dancers during Songkran.

Tibbe is beefing up ... no longer a small baby.

Quinn has perfected her camera pose.  She practiced every night in front of the mirror (vanity at 2 and a bit).

Safari World near Bangkok ... after this picture Quinn's mood was fouled by a wet giraffe tongue.

Random moments

A few random moments in our lives:

Quinn loves Asian food ... in Penang the samosas were a big hit.

Quinn with her cool shades on ...

Quinn deciding whether or not to eat her Mickey Mouse pancake. Asian service and eye for detail at it's best ... you order a pancake, they see it's for a child and they make it special.

Quinn at her school art exhibition #1: Hey, why is my name not stuck on properly?

Quinn at her school art exhibition #2: There, now everybody can read my name!

Quinn at her school art exhibition #3: Now you noticed my painting let me tell you what inspired me ...

Quinn loves the iPad ... she now leaves my iPhone alone.

Tibbe also loves the iPad and listens too 'white noise' or Preludes from Chopin depending on his state of arousal

Hey Tibbe, aren't we having fun?

Hey Tibbe, did I ask you to touch me?

Now listen up Tibbe, don't you ever touch me without my prior consent and show a bit of respect for your older sister.

Uncle Rob in Bangkok

His soothing skills were very effective on Tibbe

Our street viewed from our balcony ... my respect for the lady running the food-stall ... she's incredibly hard working and always smiles.

The view of the city from our apartment

Quinn and Tibbe interacting

 

Quinn driving at Safari World

Visa run to Penang

Our multiple entry visa require us to leave Thailand every 3 months so we had to leave the country before March 29th.  I'm not sure what the reason for this is but I'm convinced that a lot of regional travel is stimulated by this rule.  This trip also marked the halfway point of our stay in Thailand and after all the newborn baby excitement we were all ready for an escape from Bangkok.  Tibbe also caused some administrative hassle as he needed a passport and is now the only one in the family currently on a 30 day tourist visum because the 1 year multiple entry visum could not be prepared in time.  This means he's require to leave the country every 30 days .... I bet the people making the rules didn't think of this case and I love this type bureaucratic mess.

View over Georgetown

Hills covered with luscious forests.

Singapore was our preferred destination but considering all flights were full or very expensive we decided to postpone our Singapore trip and head for Penang in Malaysia.  This island, off the coast of  Malaysia, is strategically located in the Malacca Straight.  Georgetown, its main city, has always been an important regional trading hub but became significantly more important when the Suez Canal opened in 1869.  The Suez canal, nicknames the "The Highway to India", routed the trade from Europe with the Far East through the Malacca Straight.  Penang is a pleasant island dominated by Chinese, Indians and Malays.  The cultural mix thrives and there's a lot of very good food, culture and the English colonial past is clearly present (a unorganized version of Singapore).

For Quinn walking up to the plane was COOL!

We were less impressed with walking over the tarmac through the heat ...

We flew there with AirAsia, the Asian version of Ryan Air.  Booking the flight was a frustrating experience with endless options that added to the price of the ticket and an insurance option that was near impossible to decline.  I've never flown with Ryan Air but if the online booking system is remotely similar it's not a pleasant experience.  Luckily the flight was better although, like all low cost airlines, you have to do a lot of walking on the tarmac.  This is quite unpleasant in the heat of summer but Quinn enjoyed running under the plane.  I have to rephrase 'low cost' to 'slightly less expensive' because the ticket was actually only slightly cheaper than alternative carriers but AirAsia had the best time slot.

Batu Feringhi beach in front of 'Lone Pine Resort' ... people prefer the grass & pool (I do too).

Holidays in Asia are almost always luxury escapes.  The amount of high quality lodging at affordable pricing is astounding.  This trip was no different and we stayed at the Lone Pine Resort in Batu Feringhi and the colonial E&O Hotel in Georgetown.  With a young family these places are great and unfortunately we're getting too used to them (the cold turkey will be painful when we go back to Europe).

The easy life ...

Father and daughter relaxing by the pool.

Family vacations = early nights watching Disney Channel .... mind numbing (even for Quinn as you cn see on the picture) but every attempt to catch up on some reading is interrupted (much too my chagrin).

The only remedy for the heat ... the swimming pool at the E&O Hotel

Mother and son standing in the window of our room at the E&O ... enjoying the sea breeze.

Quinn in a rickshaw ... she clearly prefers her tuc-tuc in Bangkok

Quinn showing off one of her favorite dresses

Admiring the carper pond

Taking a breather in the shade ... the heat was intense!

Tibbe's first shower