Art in Paradise with Hudson
Day 785
We planned to go to Bangkok's Art in Paradise in the afternoon after my Doctor's appointment. What we didn't expect was that six-year-old Hudson would be joining us.
For me, Facebook is such a valuable tool; hence, I was rather dismayed and flummoxed as to why my account had disappeared, and I couldn't log in. Patiently, I waited 96 hours before trying to gain access, then another 24 hours for security to check my identity. At last, I was back in. Phew!
Immediately I noticed on Facebook that Cameron and his family, who we met on the Trans-Siberian train journey from Mongolia to Beijing, were in Bangkok. Another example of Facebook benefits. I private messaged Cameron, and we established that we were less than 1 km away! Coincidently, today I also heard from Floriaan and Hetty who we met on that same fantastic trip. Floriaan is also in Bangkok, but we have yet to meet him.
After a returned trip to Bangkok Hospital and a bit of a rest, we headed off to Cameron and Ashlie's apartment. As we came out of the lift, there was their youngest, six-year-old Hudson, to greet us. They are such a wonderful, warm and loving family.
Hugs all around (Ashlie gives the biggest hug e-v-e-r!), we nattered for ages, catching up on places we have all visited since we said good-bye on 1st November. It was lunchtime, so we went to the mall where Tim and I were yesterday. That would have been funny if we had bumped into the family then!
Tops Supermarket has a great system whereby you add money on a card, then go around various food stalls, choosing your dishes and paying on this. Tim and I had some Pad Thai (no chilli for me – nice and bland).
As usual, Tim played with Hudson. I say "as usual", if you know Tim, then you would realise that he is like Pied Piper with kids, being a big kid himself. He is brilliant with them. When our boys were young, and we'd go for a walk with friends or family, I'd be chatting with the adults, and then we'd wonder where Tim was — of course, playing with all the kids. I love and admire him for that.
Tim and I had planned to visit Art in Paradise, a 3D Art Museum nearby. I checked with Tim, knowing the answer beforehand, then asked Cameron and Ashlie if Hudson would be interested in coming with us and if that was ok with them. They were all thrilled, with Hudson scooting around us with glee. Cameron and Ashlie's two older gorgeous girls, Lila and ChynaMae had other plans. Lila recently had been to the hairdressers, and ChynaMae was tempted to go and have her hair cut, transforming her front with bangs (a "fringe" for our UK friends). I helped her test this out if it would suit her. It was a resounding "yes".
What a great time the three of us had at Art in Paradise. It was wonderful spending time with Hudson; his energy and enthusiasm were intoxicating.
We downloaded the museum's App. When we pointed our mobile camera at the paintings, AR effects (augmented reality – yes, I had to look that up!) was automatically created.
We could only pay by cash, so Tim went in search for an ATM. Hudson and I sat and imagined Tim going down the escalators of the Shopping Mall, walking to an ATM, punching in his number, walking back to the stairs etc. At the point when he had reached our floor and walked to us in our minds, who should appear? Tim! Hudson and I burst out laughing with Tim looking somewhat bewildered.
Tickets paid, shoes off we zoomed into the museum. With all the excitement, we went too fast and hadn't sussed out how to use the App so weren't capturing the 3D videos.
After a pause, and seeing sample photos where we could glean ideas, all was good, and away we went. Hudson was brilliant, wanting to take pictures and videos of us as well as be in the scenes. Such fun!
We zoomed around the six exhibition zones; the Aquarium, surfing and swimming with the fish, and Safari with polar bears, giraffes and leopards. In the Nature zone, we gingerly crossed the rickety swing bridge over a deep precipice. The Classic Zone we sang with the flower stallholder and dancing a rendition of "singing in the rain", and in the Fantasy area, Tim became a puppet.
The last two zones on the 2nd floor were the Media Art and Modern Zone. We struck many poses and showed off our acting skills against some of the 150 artworks in total, which Korean artists had created. I especially liked being on the front cover of Time Magazine. Hudson was so funny, lying under my foot.
It was time to leave; the three of us certainly had a wonderful time. Was this a taster for our future? Perhaps one day we will be able to take grandchildren out to play; something that we are both looking forward to experiencing.
After giving Hudson a snack, we headed back to Cameron and Ashlie's pad. Trying to get a cab was useless. Two refused to take us; then a Tuk-tuk wanted four times the price. We finally hopped into a taxi. After driving down the road for a bit, insisting that we wanted him to use the meter, he stopped the car and refused to take us. At least we got a free journey and was now just four minutes' walk away!
We arrived and shared our afternoon with the family and noticing ChynaMae's hair looking gorgeous. The bangs really suit her. After chatting for a few hours, we were astonished at the time. The restaurants were closing! Luckily we spotted a Korean restaurant within walking distance that was still open and us two couples plus Hudson walked down the street towards it. Hudson has such a caring nature. He asked his parents to slow down as "Lindsey had a bad tummy". How thoughtful.
At the start of this morning, we certainly were not expecting such a wonderful time with such a lovely family. Thank goodness I am back on Facebook. We never know who is around the corner, but once again, social media helps us connect.
#BenefitsofFacebook #ArtInParadiseBangkok #3DArtMuseumBangkok #AREffects #10_feet_5 #FabFamily