The McCutcheon's Take On SE Asia: Final Edition

Friday 15 July 2016

I couldn't believe it. It was my family's last day in Thailand. They survived a full 10 days in SE Asia, and as a reward, we were all going to take it easy and enjoy the sunshine in our absolutely gorgeous rooftop pool. We only had one key to get into the elevator and up to the pool deck, so my mom walked Candace and my dad upstairs and was supposed to come back downstairs to get me. However, when I got out of the shower, there was no one in our apartment. I waited and waited and figured my mom must've decided to stay up at the pool. I checked the hallway and didn't see my mom anywhere, so I opted to take the stairs. It was only five or six flights up, which was totally doable. However, when I got to the pool deck, I found that the stairwell door was locked. Crap! I banged on it and yelled for a few minutes, but no one came to get me. I noticed that there was one more set of stairs leading up, so I took those and found a door that was unlocked. I ended up on top of the building where the AC units were. I couldn't see the pool, but I could hear voices below me, so in an act of desperation, I started yelling my family's names, hoping one of them would hear me over the giant rooftop wall currently separating us. I got no response. Exasperated, I headed back into the stairwell. I guess I would just have to wait in our apartment. I took the six flights down but when I got to our floor, the stairwell door was locked. Crap! Wasn't this a hazard? Didn't stairwell doors have to be unlocked for this very reason, so that an unsuspecting victim didn't get stuck? Now I was panicked. We were staying in a forty story building. What were the chances someone was going to come into the stairwell and find me in a forty story building? What were the chances I could walk all the way to the bottom floor? What were the chances anyone would hear me banging down there? I started my descent, a ball of fury and nerves. A few flights down I saw it- my godsend! The doorknob was missing from the door. I was able to put my hands in the hole and pull with all of my might. The door flew open and there I was, huffing and puffing staring at the hallway to floor 26. Now what? Do I knock on someone's door and try to explain what happened?  I hadn't thought to ask my thai teacher in recent months how to say 'my family abandoned me so I went wandering in the stairwell and got stranded' (damn, hindsight). So I opted for another strategy. I couldn't take the elevator up without a key, but I could take it down. I decided to stop off in the lobby and explain to the doorman what happened. I walked out of the elevator, tail between my legs, wearing nothing but a bathing suit and flip flops (did I mention that thais don't wear bathing suits because they are too revealing and instead just swim in their clothes? did I mention that we were staying in a really nice apartment in an amazing area of Bangkok, where the doorman wore a suit? did I mention I'm an idiot?) That being said, I explained to the doorman my predicament. I think the only reason he took me up the pool deck was because he wanted to get me and my two piece bikini out of the lobby as quickly as possible. I opened the pool deck door and was greeted with my sister's words, "what the hell are you doing up here? mom's in the apartment waiting for you." #fail.

After some much needed vitamin D, we headed to Chu, a local lunch spot known for its amazing chocolate. We all tried different types of hot chocolate, from spicy mexican, to rapsberry, to dark chocolate chunk. They were heavenly. We decided that after lunch, we would pamper ourselves. Dad knew exactly what he wanted- another massage. I had been telling my mom and Candace how cheap it was to get manicures, so the three of us got no chip manicures and pedicures. For a no chip mani pedi, for two people plus plus a no chip mani for one plus tip it cost 17 USD. We couldn't believe it. The last thing we had to do was pack up my big red suitcase. After my parents left I was planning on traveling solo for a month and a half and there was no way I was lugging that thing around. We packed up and headed to bed, because the taxi for my family was coming at 4am the next morning. I couldn't believe how fast the time had gone, nor how much we had gotten to see and do. I am so incredibly lucky to have shared this experience with my family. It is something I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.