Chiang Rai Babysitter

My parents first tried using a hotel babysitter while we were in Bermuda back in April 2012.

I think they're starting to get used to the idea of leaving my defenseless self with a complete stranger, because when we got to the hotel in Chiang Rai, they immediately booked a sitter as soon as they saw it was offered.  For about 200 THB (~$6.67 USD) an hour, they couldn't refuse. Here's a photo of us together.  Just kidding, that's not the sitter!

That first night there, the sitter came to our room around 5:50PM and my mother approved since she looked like a submissive young Thai woman who would take orders and seemed to love children.  I must have confused her for my aunt because I didn't even cry when she took me to her arms as my parents snuck out of the room.

Le Meridien Chiang Rai offered a free hotel shuttle to the Chaing Rai city center every 2 hours to check out their night market.  They left at 6PM and scheduled a pickup at 10PM to come back and relieve the sitter.

To be fair to my parents, they actually asked me if I wanted to come with them to the night market, but I declined. I've been a few night markets here in Thailand and most of them are tourist traps.  Think NYC Times Square with shops hawking all sorts of useless junk to tourists at inflated prices.

In any case, my parents tell me that they found the "food court" area of the night market where they enjoyed a few beers, chicken wings and a hot pot.

The large Singha beer cost about 80 THB ($2.67), 6 chicken wings cost 30 THB ($1.00), fried shrimp cost 30 THB ($1.00), spring rolls cost 30 THB ($1.00), and the hot pot cost 70 THB ($2.33).  So dinner basically cost them under $10 for the 2 of them.

For those of you white babies future lap children who don't know what a hot pot is, it's a bowl of hot water over a fire/coals.  They serve it to you along with a basket of vegetables, a raw egg, spices and a raw meat of your choice (chicken, beef, pork, shrimp).  You then cook everything in the hot water and wait 15 minutes to let it reach a boil.  Then when ready, you season and enjoy.

By the time they finished dinner, it was only about 8:30 and the shuttle wasn't coming until 10PM.  So they walked outside the night market area and found a place to get a foot/leg massage.  This is something like their 4th massage in 5 days, but for 200 THB ($6.67 USD) an hour, who could refuse?

They returned back to the hotel to find me fast asleep while the sitter watched TV in the dark without any sound.  My parents thanked her and she left us to get ready for bed.

The next morning, my parents again hired a sitter.  After enjoying a delicious breakfast at the hotel's restaurant (with optional outdoor seating), we met the same babysitter in our room around 8:50AM.

This time, I freaked out because in the light of day, I saw this wasn't my aunt (because contrary to what people say, Asian's don't all look alike).

Nevertheless, my parents still abandoned me to this stranger and told us to go to the Kid's Club Room at the hotel.

The Kid's Club Room was awesome for little kids like me.  For children age 4+, they could come in and play with toys, video games, arts & crafts for even watch DVDs.  They were supervised by 2 hotel staff and didn't require parents to be there.  However, for kids under 4, I needed a personal adult supervisor (my parents or babysitter) there at all times.

My parents were going to see Wat Rong Kuhn, the famous White Temple.  Unlike the many other traditional temples built years ago, this was a more modern temple still under construction.  It still attracted thousands of tourists.  Of course, I didn't get to go with my parents, but I've been told.

As you can see, it's a really interesting looking structure - very different from the overly colorful gilded temples that you usually see.

But for those of you who have not been to a temple in 90 degree heat, take note.  My mother was wearing her short shorts, so she needed something to cover her legs as she was entering a holy place.  In fact, a Thai woman started to yell at her when she pre-maturely took the cover off before getting off temple grounds.  My Israeli-raised mother was not amused.

When they came back at noon, I was still in the Kid's Club learning advanced calculus on an abacus and getting my ROYGBIV on.  What a good half-Asian child.