Almost ready to go

Everything is packed. It took a while since Sandra really needed to sort through things. We got so many presents (clothes, toys and all that). And it really really didn't fit all into the luggage. So we now have one major suitcase (mostly filled with Xenne's clothes and toys), a small backpack (filled with Xenne's miscellaneous things). A huge, fillled to the brim baby bag, an almost bursting at the seams 'hand'bag (so i'm definitely NOT traveling in comfort) and a carry-on suitcase that weights a ton. Sandra's really hoping nobody weights the carry-on. She'd be in a lot of problems since you're only allowed 8 kg if she remembers correctly.

And on top of all that , she has Xenne in a maxi-cosi (which also has a small storage compartment...).

Now all we have to do is drink coffee (Sandra is busy doing that since she didn't sleep very well) and change Xenne into his travel clothes in about half an hour. And then we're off. Bye-bye Europe, hello Asia....

Almost ready to go

KK emailed that he would come to the airport to pick us up. I think Sandra's really happy about that. Not only because she wants to see him but also because she has tons of luggage to drag around. And she'll have Xenne to focus on.

Anyways, the last days have been and are hectic. Busy busy busy with the last things to organise, buy and people to meet. The meeting part is the nice part, the rest just takes up too much time. Like packing and repacking and repacking... 30 kilo's sounds like a lot but it isn't. And it'll be 25 kg for Xenne (Sandra & I are amazed at the amount of clothes she got for Xenne. All so cute and so nice so too difficult to leave behind. So Sandra leaves almost all her things behind in order to have kg's (and space) for Xenne's stuff.

Back to Asia

Sandra got some 'complaints' about the blog being terribly outdated. And she told me to do something about it. It is true, i spend much of my time with Xenne. I kind of live in his play pen and even though i can see the computer from there, it doesn't really hold my interest at the moment. Anyways, we'll be flying to Bangkok this sunday (the 24th of february). We will stay in Thailand for a little while but probably not in BKK since none of us really like that city (for more than a few days). But Sandra wants to talk to Kyaw Kyaw about where to go. After that, who knows. Sandra wanted to teach at the summer school but she hasn't heard anything back yet. So they might not need any teachers. Since we do need income, we'll see what else is available and where (considering that KK doesn't easily get visas. And whether he wants to since the chances for work outside Burma are rather slim). We'll have some time to think about that. KK first needs to learn about nappy-changing, bottle-feeding and Xenne-handling first.

Hopefully when we're all in Thailand i'll have/make some more time to update this site. There are tons of pictures waiting to be posted. They will come i promise. i just don't know when. After all, as soons as we're in Thailand i need Sandra to take me to an internet cafe. Skunks aren't taken seriously over there as paying customers at those places. Maybe it is the lack of pockets ?

It is amazing....

how much time a baby takes up. I had planned to update this site regularly (with also of course pictures of Xenne) but Sandra is so busy with the baby and i need her to log on to the computer. So i find that, once again, i don't do what i planned to do....

Xenne had his first vaccinations on wednesday. Normally, it is only after 7 weeks but he could do the fast-track. So now Sandra is trying to leave at around the 23rd/24th if she gets the 'all clear' and if she there are seats on the plane available for those dates. Then we'll all meet up with Kyaw Kyaw in Bangkok and probably stay in Thailand so Xenne can get his second shots there. This will also give KK time to get used to Xenne and learn how to feed him, change his nappie and all those things. In case Sandra can get a job at the summer school. Because, at the moment we have no income (KK has a little but it is not enough to buy all the nappies and other baby things Xenne needs...) and since it is only 4 hours per day, it is a good start she thinks. Besides, we can all get used to the heat again in Thailand. There if you take a room with aircon, the aircon usually works since they do have electricity 24/7. Which is nice in 40-something degrees celsius. It'll be summer in Asia by the time we get back there.....

Update on the visa issue

Well, things aren't progressing much. Kyaw Kyaw was told by the German embassy that he needs to go to the Dutch embassy in Bangkok. They already said so when he first came to the embassy just after Christmas but it took them until last week to officially say so (before it was the guy at the counter who said it). So 3 more weeks without any result.... And the dutch embassy keeps tellign Sandra (who emailed them ages ago and even called them last week) that the German embassy CAN give out the visa. But that it is a courtesey. The German embassy says that they used to do it but no longer... So Kyaw Kyaw will go to Bangkok as soon as he's finalised the business he's doing for his brother's boss.. He has at least a letter from the German consul in which the consul describes the situation and explains Kyaw Kyaw's work and everything else they need to check (so basically telling the Dutch that they've checked it). Sandra isn't very optimistic about KK getting the visa but one never knows.... We'll know more in a week or 2...

Leaving the hospital

A busy day the day we left the hospital
Xenne all wrapped up because it was really cold outside.
And Sandra was ready to go to...

Some more people to see Xenne.




And finally drifting of to sleep

The first visitors

Me, of course. But only after i'd been for a big wash. Sandra said i had gathered too much travel grime in the last year or so. Truth is, i couldn't remember when i last had had a decent bath...

Xenne's grandpa's youngest brother.
Sandra's godmother. Of course again with Xenne.
More aunts with Xenne
More brothers of grandpa

Thijs, Sandra's stepbrother with, no surprise, Xenne.....
Aranka, who compared Xenne immediately with Isa, her own daughter. She was surprised at how little he was. Isa was 7 weeks at this point and according to Aranka, there is a definite difference in weight in such a short time.
Sandra's godson, Rick, with Xenne.

Introducing: Xenne

The same day i wrote the last update here, Sandra ended up in hospital. Something about her blood wasn't right anymore all of a sudden. And they were a bit in a hurry. I just managed to hop in her pack and get myself a lift to hospital. She'd almot forgotten about me.
The next day she was allowed to try and get Xenne out herself but when that took way to long (she had no activity whatsoever yet), it was decided a casaerian was in order. So that's how Xenne came into this world. And what a beautiful present he is.
We all stayed in hopital till last sunday.

Isn'the cute?

Time of birth. Thanks to a girl who was allowed into the operation room as part of her practise and who was willing to make some pictures.... Skunks weren't allowed in at all. I even had to have a bath in the washing machine before i was allowed out of my bag.... But that humiliation was worth it.
Getting dressed
First clothes
And a nice little bed to recover from the journey.

More posts and definitely more pictures soon

The first week of 2008

Well, it's been a very quiet week. No traveling for me, travel-addict pure sang, and i see Sandra's eyes mist over everytime she sees a map... But she's now very very pregnant and even though she wants to do a lot, it just isn't possible anymore. Which she finds annoying sometimes... I think she just wants to much but what do i know about pregnancy. Luckily everything is alright again. Sandra was send to the gynaecologist for a check-up by the mid-wife. Logical since they don't really have any history of her here. Her blood pressure was a bit high but according to here she always has that when she sees a blood pressure-meter. Anyways, a scan was made too but the gyn. wanted to have the blood presure mesured again. So she had another appointment with the gyn. Then it turned out that dear baby had changed position. Head down, which is alright but unfortunately feet down too... So, Sandra was warned not to go anywhere far and if something would happen to lie down immediately and call an ambulance. Bummer, she thought. Me too since i still had some plans to go and explore some more of Brielle. Ok, a mid wife appointment was 2 days later and another 2 days after that a new scan to see if the baby had changed again. And luckily the position was ok this time. Pfieuw.... Sandra's blood pressure rose instantly when she thought of a possible caesarian. With so many meetings she felt she almost needed to buy a diary just to keep track of her medical appointments... She claims that she's been to more of those since she's been back in the Netherlands then in all the time before.

We did have some distraction. Ewold and Karin came on saturday and took us out for lunch. Really nice. And Katinka made the long long journey on sunday by public transport to come and see us. And to deliver some really yummy home-made appel sauce. I had to battle with Sandra for that one. She liked the appel sauce as much as i did.

Have a wonderful 2008!

Sandra, Kyaw Kyaw and I wish you all a wonderful, healthy and spectacular 2008 with a lot of fun, adventure and good friends. Enjoy new year's eve and keep in touch!

The last posts of 2007

Just a few pictures of the really really nice weather that Sandra & I got into when we came back to the Netherlands. Of course, now it is grey and rainy but that first week it started with a beautiful frosty day with sunshine and that exquisite crisp air that is so nice to breathe. Sandra was in paradise. She'd be dreaming of that kind of weather for months. And it even snowed for a day. Kids were ice skating on the small ponds and little water ways that are everywhere here in Brielle. A really really old dutch picture. And eventually, at the end of the week it even snowed. Not a lot but enough to give it that nice extra for a day or 2. Of course, Sandra immediately caught a cold. Not a too bad one, considering the difference in temperature was about 25 Celsius!
Brielle harbour

Me on a good hang-out

And looking up close at the frost that covers the twigs

shame on me...

for promising (again) to post more often and still not doing it.

But we've been busy, Sandra and I. After all, there's still a bit to be arranged. So, first, on saturday we met up with Katinka in Den Haag. Well, i didn't really leave the bag but i took a peek out so i know it was indeed Katinka we met. The 'girls' had a really nice lunch in a cafe and of course talked for hours...

After that, Sandra & I took the new Randstad Rail to Zoetermeer and walked to Ewold & Soerish's house where they celebrated their birthdays (It was Ewold's birthday but Soerish's birthday is only 3 days later). It was a lot of fun. Meeting up with so many old friends. Again, i didn't really came out of my bag. I realized it was more important for Sandra to catch up with here friends. After all, i did meet them just before leaving. They are more her friends then mine. And after a year there was a lot of catching up to do.

Of course everybody was angry with Sandra for taking public transport and then walking to the house (which was about 20 minutes) and everybody was slightly worried since of course she was rather late. She feels good and keeps telling everybody that she's 'only' pregnant and is perfectly capable of walking around a bit. But when she came back on sunday she realized that she'd done a bit much. So even though she's rather stubborn, she needs to slow down a bit and not try to do everything like she did before.

Talking about the pregnancy.. We've met up with the mid wife today. She seems really nice. And if everything goes on like it does now, Sandra can have the baby at home instead of in a hospital (something she prefers since hospitals aren't really her thing...). We got a stack of reading material and Sandra was amazed about how much info and stuff there is about pregnancy. After all, she hasn't been exposed to much of that while being in Burma.....

Greetings from cold and sunny the Netherlands

It is very nice and cold in The Netherlands. Just the type of weather that Sandra has been dreaming about during the rainy season. Though she's still a bit put off by the darkness. It is still dark at 8 am in the morning and it gets dark real soon too.... I find that strange too i have to admit. I 've gotten used to the sun rising at around 5.30-6-ish and a sunset at around 6 pm.

Sandra managed today to get her insurance arranged. She went back to the company she had before. And the woman she had on the phone was really nice. I don't know what Sandra said or did that made this woman so helpful but she went out of her way to get Sandra insured from the day we arrived here instead of on the first of January like it would normally be. So Sandra is really happy with that. She wasn't particularly looking forward to another 2 uninsured weeks. For pregnancy that is. After all, she does have an insurance for 'normal' things which she's had ever since she's start traveling.

Alright, tomorrow or so i'll write more

In the Netherlands

We've arrived. Safe and sound. And amazingly not even that tired. Well, Sandra kind of 'logged out' yesterday evening just before dinner for about 15 minutes and decided to go to bed at 21.00. She tells me she can't remember even a single thought after she'd put her head on the pillow. This morning she woke up at 3.00 to go to the toilet and since , like in Burma, she's always awake for quite a while at this time, she'd started to read her book. After all, we do have electricity here. But that kept me awake for a bit. And of course her aunt woke up about an hour later, saw the light and wanted to make sure Sandra was alright so they chatted the rest of the night away... Up till 6 when her aunt had to get ready to go to work. So we got up too. And at the moment the both of us feel quite ok. At 2 in the afternoon. But i'm sure we'll crash again early tonight.

The flight was ok. The seat was not extremely comfortable but not that bad either. Loads of leg space which was nice. And the stewardesses were very helpful. We even got our dinner and breakfast first (it being a veggie meal each time). We even slept a little too. At 1 point Sandra thought we were almost there but after asking about time, it turned out there were another 6 hours to go. And she was bored.... She's read 2,5 books between leaving Burma and landing in the Netherlands......

It is strange to be back here. Very nice but strange. Cold, sunny (at the moment) and electricity all the time. No potholes anywhere in the street, things like that. And when Sandra was thirsty last night, she could just drink water from the tap.

Now we'll have to see about all our plans. So many people to see, places to go to and things to arrange. Sandra keeps saying her brain is a bit too tired for that still but well, i think she's got to get going. At least planning a bit. But we've started on the essentials.

From BKK airport

Sandra and I have arrived at Bangkok airport. This morning we all shed bitter tears. Kyaw Kyaw was good enough to do that at home (this morning and yesterday evening). Sandra & I of course cried our hearts out at the airport. So we had a fair few people staring at us since it is a very unburmese thing to do.

For the rest we're a bit bored. We've done our boarding. Sort of. We have to 'reconfirm' later on. The China Airlines desk was closed so Sandra went over to the check-in desk. She wanted to make sure that she would have a good seat and that she'd have a vegetarian meal. They wanted to see her doctor's certificate. Well, that was a handwritten statement done by a doctor at the hospital she'd been to 2 weeks ago. They had made an appointment with the same doctor she had 2 weeks ago but that doctor couldn't make it. So she dictated what to write to the other doctor. No check-up or anything. But it was good enough to get her out of Burma. Though not good enough for here. So Sandra has another experience to add to her 'been there, done that' list.. Being prodded by an airport doctor. And luckily everything was alright. So she's done the check-in. Got a boarding pass that she has to exchange for another later tonight but at least she doesn't have to drag around a heavy suitcase or stand in line for hours. We've gone through customs again and apparently can do the final check-in here at the transit desk. Much less nuisance we hope. After all, we'll be tired enough as it is. We did arrive this morning at 11.45 and we'll fly out tonight at 02.30..... Of course the arranging of the doctor's certificate was a bit of excitement but now we're just sitting out the waiting time... So later on we'll be treating ourselves to a foot massage...

Ok, we're off. Internet is terribly expensive here. Much better to use that money for something else (like a huge bar of chocolate for example..).

Flight tickets

Sandra has our tickets so the 2 of us will be leaving this saturday. She tries not to think of leaving to much even though i can tell she's looking forward to seeing all her friends and family again. Apparently there are no more seats available on the evening flight so we're on standby for that one and are for the moment booked on the morning flight (at around 10) to Bangkok. There we'll have to wait till 02.30 sunday morning to catch the China Airlines non-stop, 12 hour flight to Amsterdam where we'll land on sunday morning 9.00. Aren't time-differences much fun.....

Today we were too late for the german embassy (they're only open from 9 to 11 and not 12 as most consular sections are). So we have to go back again tomorrow. The doctor wasn't in today either so we also have to go by the hospital so she can get her health certificate (Thai airways doesn't want to issue a ticket if she doesn't show the certificate even though the travel agency has already accepted the money ;-) ) . She's assuming it'll all be ok though. And we still haven't found a decent suitcase... Oh well....

After the weekend

KK and Sandra are feeling a bit better. Or maybe i should say that they've started to accept the situation. Sandra's flying back to the Netherlands this weekend or shortly after. I'll go with here. KK will move to the Teashop since the apaprtment has only been rented till the 20th of december and besides, he doesn't want to stay there alone.

We all went to the Thai embassy today and to our great surprise there was absolutely no problem with the visa application. At least, that was the impression we got. KK didn't need to show the flight tickets. And they sai dthat they didn't even need a copy of Sandra's passport and the bill of the hospital this time. All because Kyaw Kyaw didn't stay a long time in october. But if this time he will stay long (in case Sandra can have the baby there and so on and so forth) we'll need to have the documentation so we can explain why. Then there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Good news which was nice to have after the fiasco of last week.

Sandra thinks it is a very strange idea to be back in the Netherlands soon. Somehow she stil can't imagine it even though she's managed to find sweaters and a jacket that'll fit right on the corner near where they live. She found it a rather funny experience trying on the sweaters and jacket with an easy 28-30 degrees celcius and thinking about how cold it could get in Europe. After a year of no less than 30 C again it will be a bit different. Although i personally think that the temperature has dropped to about 26 or so at night. We sleep with the windows open and Kyaw Kyaw has 2 (thin) blanckets and even Sandra uses the one she got from Gulf Air last year since she thinks it is a bit cool... Me, i just curl up.

an update on the refusal

We've just been to the french embassy. And the consul just refuses to give us a reason. Kyaw Kyaw met several people yesterday though who had gotten their visas. Just to go for a 2-3 week holiday. True enough, they probably have loads more money than we have. For Sandra, the fact that the consul doesn't want to explain anything, means that he doesn't have a very good reason. Kyaw Kyaw's friend who asked around at the embassy yesterday (since he knows everybody who works there) said that it might have been because Sandra is dutch and not french. Well, Sandra wishes that if that really was the reason, that the consul would have told them so in october. It would have saved them much trouble and much expenses.... Anyways, we didn't get much further there. The woman from the consulate told Sandra & Kyaw Kyaw that as soon as the baby was born and they would have the birth certificate we could ask for another visa (though again, no guarantee that KK would get it though...).

We've also been to the Thai embassy. Apart from trying to get KK a visa for Thailand we also wanted to know what he needs from here to be able to marry in Thailand. And to our amazement he has most of the papers already. He needs 1 more and the official stamps from the Ministry of Foreign affairs and than the stamps from the Thai embassy. So maybe we can still arrange that before Sandra can fly no more. The only worry she has now is about insurance.

We've also found a silver lining to Thailand. Actually several. KK can finish his massage training, Sandra loves the facials and footmassages (all other kinds of massages are postponed till after the delivery) and me, i love the massages too. Skunks and facials don't do well together....

REFUSED!!!!!!

Kyaw Kyaw's visa got refused. And we have no idea why. So everybody is extremely depressed since we were really all counting on going to Europe to deliver the baby. Sandra is so down she doesn't even want to stay long in the internet cafe so probably tomorrow i will tell you more about it. Especially since KK will know more to. He's gone to the embassy to see what and why.

Wow, i'm an uncle!!

Wel, sort of. Actually Sandra is an aunt since yesterday morning. Her stepsister got a baby girl by the name of ISA LIANA JOY. So now we're awaiting the pictures ;-) I'm sure she'll be gorgeous though.