Our Bags are Packed, We're Ready to Go

Sebastian has been dropped off at camp, Thomas is working a 24 hr shift, the laundry is finished, the house is finally clean and free of dog fur, and almost everything on my "To Do" list is completed. The house is so quiet that it is driving me crazy and I really miss my best buddy, Sebastian! Now I am going to do my nails and have some tea. Tomorrow Thomas will be turning off the water to the fridge so we do not have to worry about another flood!
Tomorrow we plan to arrive at Pearson Airport around 10:00 p.m. and then fly with Cathay Pacific at 1:40 a.m. to Hong Kong on a flight that is 15 hrs and 20 min. We arrive in Hong Kong at 5:00 a.m. on April 16th and then leave for Bangkok at 8:55 a.m. on a flight that is only 2 hrs and 45 min. I am so looking forward to seeing our good friend Nancy who has being living and working in Bangkok for the last two years!
In Bangkok we will begin our trip by staying for 3 nights at the Pullman Bangkok Hotel G http://www.pullmanbangkokhotelg.com/  We are not staying in any hostels or cooking our own meals so we will be living a more extravagant, comfortable lifestyle than we did on our Ultimate Journey. However, we are taking backpacks just like we did on our last trip so there are definite limitations as to how many clothes we can take with us. Three pair of pants that zip off into shorts, an additional pair of shorts, 5 tops, a pair of running shoes, a pair of walking sandals and a bathing suit and cover-up is the limit. We will not be wearing any jewelry and will buy clothes there if we need cooler clothes than we have packed. We love simplicity when we travel and do not spend a great deal of time worrying about style or our hair! Our luggage is definitely lighter this time as we are not taking any bedding or towels.
Our trip will be a total of 16 days and we return home late on May 1st, pick up Sebastian on May 2nd and then Thomas is back at work for a 24 hr shift on May 3rd. We have prebooked all our hotels and flights and do not have to do any planning once we arrive in Thailand. After Bangkok, we will fly to all destinations on Thai Airways. First we visit Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, then Krabi/Railay Bay in southern Thailand and finally we return to Bangkok. Here is a link that will acquaint you with Thailand http://www.worldcountries.info/Maps/GoogleMap-Thailand.php
I have already studied the subway maps of Bangkok and recorded the instructions that will get us from the Suvarnabhumi Airport to our hotel. All we have to do is buy our subway tickets at the airport and find the right subway stop. Thomas will carry the instructions and if we get lost or encounter any difficulty it will be my fault!! LOL!! Our friend Nancy has verified that my instructions are accurate so we should be fine! The above ground subway cars are like human sardine cans during rush hours and are quite an experience. We must take three different subway lines and then walk 7-10 minutes with our backpacks to our hotel. The temperature in Thailand is currently ranging between 32C and 37C so we will definitely encounter a significant change in climate. 
Will post again once we arrive in Bangkok. I am looking forward to spending time at the Hong Kong International Airport as the bathrooms and interior are incredibly clean for a public facility and it has free wifi and wonderful views! It is glorious! Take care my friends! xo

Viewing Photo Albums

FYI - To increase the size of my photo albums, move your cursor over the album you want to view and click on the image/photo. This action takes you to Picasa Web Albums where a new larger photo will appear. Now select full screen in the upper left hand corner of the page to view the album as a slideshow. Next move your cursor under the caption so that the "+" or "-" bar appears, if it is not already on the screen. Adjust the number to the seconds that you want each photo to stay on the screen. These actions will create a slideshow that will be easier to view. After viewing an album, click on the arrow in the upper left hand corner to leave the slideshow. 

Four More Sleeps Until Camp

Finding a place for Sebastian to stay while we are away has been a project in itself. After looking at a number of options we decided to send him to a dog camp in Grafton, Ontario for 16 days. He is being supervised by an incredible dog whisperer called Linda and will be living with her and anywhere from 3 to 8 other dogs. We had a trial visit in February to see if he had the skills necessary to stay with Linda and her pack of dogs and he passed the entrance requirements. We looked at other great kennels but most of them put each dog in a fenced in enclosure. Sebastian spent lots of time in this type of kennel while he was on death row in New Orleans, Louisiana so we did not want to consider a setting that might bring back bad memories that would complicate any emotional growth he has experienced since we adopted him in November. I am very excited for him as he needs to further develop his socialization skills and this will be a great opportunity for him to become more accepting of and sociable with other dogs. It is not close to our home but it is a good choice for him so the drive is worth it!

Linda has an incredible property in the countryside that provides a fenced in and wooded area for the visiting dogs to play and explore. She take them on long walks in the woods three times a day and sometimes goes on day trips to other interesting trails. When the dogs are not outside they live inside Linda's home with her. He will be in Heaven running through the forest and the mud!

Sebastian is packed and ready to go! All he needs is a bag of dog food and medical paperwork proving that he has had all of his inoculations. He may have a rough go of it at first as he can't take any chews or toys and he will not have a queen size bed or floor cushions to sleep on. Linda has beds and kennels for the dogs but it is a first come basis. If Sebastian wants to sleep on a cushion rather than the floor, he will have to hustle his butt and make claim to a cushion before another dog takes the one he wants.  

I drop Sebastian off for this great experience on Saturday the 13th, the day before we leave for Thailand and will phone Linda regularly on Skype to monitor his success. He will probably not even want to come home when I go to pick him up on May 2nd! Every morning and night I talk with him about making new friends and count down how many sleeps he has until he goes to camp! He seems excited! LOL!
I am sharing a photo album of Sebastian so I can practice the skills of importing photos off of a memory card and embedding the photos in a blog. Enjoy! The photosharing was easier than creating the page for my blog.

Steep Learning Curve Again!

I discovered today that all the blogging knowledge I learned during our "Ultimate Journey" from July 2011 to March 2012 has been completely eradicated. I am amazed at how long it took me today to create a new blog page for our upcoming trip to Thailand. Blogger has changed their template designer and it has been a day of experimentation. I have read many "How To ..." articles and am still reawakening my previous blogging skills.

I was not going to write a blog but have discovered that this is the easiest medium to share any photo albums that I create as I save all my digital photos to Picasa web albums. Also, it is the easiest way for me to record memories from our upcoming trip. I need to record what we experience so that I can reflect on them in the future. Since I must put my thoughts into print because of my not so great memory I would rather type them than write them in a diary. Unfortunately, Thomas's memory is even worse than mine and I cannot usually rely on it for many details! I enjoy blogging because it lets me create a photo album and diary of our travels all at once.
Tonight I went back to my old blog and reread some of my old posts and giggled a great deal! It was wonderful to read and renew some terrific memories that seem like they happened years ago. Here is the address for my old blog in case you want to revisit it. http://thomasanddebbie.blogspot.ca/
During the next few days I will continue to refine my template so the appearance of my page may change.