#7. BREAKING NEWS!!

So, Cambodia has been going well for us so far as a final getaway, but with the kids coming in less than a week, we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about how exciting it's all going to be.  We are generally in and out of wifi areas and aren't always able to check messages on our phone, but when we do get connected I have been joking to Chris to check his phone to find out if our babies have been born.  Well, crazy enough, while at dinner on Tuesday night, we got an email from Kim, our surrogacy coordinator.  Our surrogate had an appointment on Tuesday and Dr. P felt it would be better to take the babies a little sooner due to her blood sugar levels and some swelling.  So, the new birth date is:

Saturday, July 19!!

This shook us up a little initially since we are supposed to be coming back to Bangkok from Cambodia on Saturday, July 20.  How dare those two little ones take a day away from our 'vacation'!!  Just kidding, but this did require some action on our part.  As soon as we got back to the hotel from dinner I went to work on trying to find out how to change our plane reservations or if we may need to buy a new flight altogether.  Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to do anything until the morning when Cambodian Angkor Airlines opened at 8 AM.  We definitely went to bed a little unsettled.  Thankfully, as stated in the previous post, the staff here at the Borei Angkor Resort and Spa are PHENOMENAL.  I went to the front desk in the morning to ask for help to make a local call to the airline.  The hotel manager immediately said she would call and work on changing the reservation for us.  She directed us to those wonderful green couches we sat on when we checked in the previous day and we waited there to hear if she was successful. After trying to call a couple of times, 'Jenny' came back and told us that she could not get a hold of the airline, so she would drive to their office in Siem Reap to work on changing the reservation.  At this point it was 8:25 and our driver for the day, 'Rob', was ready to show us around the Angkor Wat temples.  'No problem', Jenny told us.  She took down Rob's phone number and said she would call him with an update after driving to the airline's office.  As incredible as this whole story sounds, we fully trusted that this woman would figure this out.  Sure enough, after touring the first of many temples for the day at Angkor Wat, Rob told us Jenny called and he called her on his cell phone and handed it to me.  She was able to change the flight and that it would cost the mandatory $30 change fee.  Wow, what a relief!  So, we now have a flight back on Friday and will be back in Bangkok at 2 PM.

We can't say enough about how great these people have been to us.  This sort of thing never happens back home (and couldn't even happen...how in the world could someone else be able to change your flight like this?).  When we got back to the hotel, we ran into Jenny (these people are always around and somehow see you every time you walk in/out/around) and she had an envelope for us with the updated itinerary.  She said she had to pay the $60 herself and that we looked tired from a long day at Angkor and so we should go rest and come back down and pay her later. We thanked her so much for her help and all she said was 'Your concern is my concern'.  As if it weren't enough, when we started our walk to the elevator, she stopped us and said, 'now wait, doesn't that mean you will spend one less night here?' (yes, but we figured it's just one of those things we'd have to pay for and no big deal).  Since then, she connected with booking.com and has us being reimbursed for the night we won't be staying anymore.  Incredible.  I can't believe how great these people have been to us, and they don't even know the reason why we are headed back a day early.  Wow.

So, we are headed back to Bangkok tomorrow (Friday) and will arrive early in the afternoon.  We hope to have time to check into our hotel (we already have a 4-week stay booked with them and will add one night).  We need to be at BNH (the hospital) at 4 PM to meet a nurse named Nancy who will help explain what will happen on Saturday and have us to fill out paper work.  We will help get our surrogate checked into the hospital tomorrow night (what a moment that will be to meet her!).  Then, we will try to sleep through the night (ha, right?) and head to the hospital for the births of Luke and Clare early the next morning.  What was once months away, then weeks, followed by days, is now less than 36 hours from happening!  Please send good thoughts our way on Friday evening around 7 PM (when the procedure should begin.. 7 AM Bangkok time).  We will be in touch as soon as we can!

#6. Cambodia...the Last Hurrah

Cambodia Day 1

So far, all of our travels and transits have gone off without a hitch. I'm knocking on wood as I type (literally). Things have really been too good to be true with checking into airports, getting through security, good flights, good transfers to hotels and to airports, etc.  Both the Beijing and Bangkok airports are nice. We particularly enjoyed lounging in Bangkok waiting for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia...even though my passport was somehow left behind for 30 seconds before a man spotted it and me before I headed down an escalator (what is up with us and our passports?!?).

Can someone carry us to the gate, too?

There was a slight scare when we arrived at our airplane

No one likes these small propeller planes

but once they got both of those props moving, boy did we take off!  We left Thailand, and in one short hour (felt like nothing having already flown 18.5 hours in the last week) we landed in Cambodia.  After we secured our Cambodian visas (which you can do in the airport for $20 US...don't forget to bring a passport photo!)

Cambodia travelers or criminals??

and picked up our bags, we were ready to see what Cambodia has to offer.  Our taxi ride from the airport gave us a glimpse of how very different this country was going to be.  It was every bit as busy as Bangkok (slightly smaller scale), but so much more rustic, which is kind of interesting if you ask me.

Motorbikes, tuk-tuks, and bicycles outnumber cars by 10:1

Our taxi driver, who told us to call him Rob, began to tell us a lot about the history and highlights of Cambodia.  Of course, he brought up Angelina Jolie in the process (it was about five minutes into the ride for those counting...I have no idea what she even did there but to film a movie or something).  We liked Rob enough that we decided to hire him ($30 for the day...Cambodia has their own currency but uses the US dollar primarily) to be our driver on Day 2 when we planned to see Angkor Wat.

If China has good service for tourists, and Thailand has great service for tourists, then Cambodia has AMAZING service for tourists (funny how things are reverse when you think of the standards of living). This was evident from the very beginning when we checked into our rest.

Where are we??

We weren't allowed to check in at a desk.  We had to lay on couches and be served some special juice with treats wrapped in banana leaf before we were personally shown around the resort grounds.

I can get used to this

For two guys that have actually packed a tent on vacation before, this place is a real treat with all of the bells (literally!)

Someone is always sitting here playing neat instruments...and they have elephants here too!

and whistles.  People are always opening the door for you, wishing you a good day, welcoming you back, and people are constantly cleaning the place to keep things spotless.  Wow!

Front entrance to resort...but notice man in middle using a 25 foot or so long contraption to clean the already spotless ceiling!

The staff here is fantastic and really genuine.  I also love the attention to detail that many Asian hotels maintain.

Yes, this vat of flowers floating on water is real!

After a little bit of pool time,

If this is future parents exile, then welcome to our banishment!

and laying on the bed-like things outside when the afternoon rain rolled in,

Ready to relax

The ridiculous, we're on vacation at a really nice place and you're not pose...sorry

we decided to wash up and head into town.  Our hotel is off of the 'National' Highway road that connects Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (the capital).  It's about a 25 or so minute walk to the 'happening' area in Siem Reap.  Along the way we saw many strips looking like this,

Our resort is kind of tucked in between areas like this

and many more motorcycles.

Vroom, vroom!

On the way into town we stopped by Wat Bo, a very active Buddhist temple,

Wat Bo

as we saw many smiling, happy monks walking around.

Buddhist monk at Wat Bo

The sun was just right at the time so the temple complex looked really neat...kind of like a bunch of chess pieces.

Checkmate!

We left the temple and crossed the dirty Siem Reap River,

Saw someone actually in the water trying to set up a fishing net

and headed to the main drag.  When we turned the corner, lo and behold, there was this sign.

It was actually $2 for 'as long as you want'

As the sign says, it's a once in a lifetime experience, so Chris and I took the plunge.  There were two tanks (one with small fish, and one with significantly larger fish).  We got placed in the large fish tank...go figure.  I lasted about 20 minutes,

One less item on my bucket list now

No fish left hungry

and Chris not very long at all.

Maybe three terrorizing minutes

After the aquatic pedicures we hit up Pub Street

Yep, that's what it's really called

 and found a place to lounge

Wine, wine, wine

 and have something to drink

My new favorite brew

and eat.

Spring rolls and traditional Khmer sour soup

Soon, it was time for Chris to go to work (he holds evening work hours that correspond to his work day back home...we are exactly 12 hours ahead in this part of the world).  So, we grabbed a tuk-tuk

Love the Cambodian flag

 and headed home to work/blog and rest up for Day 2:  The Temples of Angkor Wat.