Our unexpected surprise:
On the 30th I headed out in the morning, our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:20 am so we had a very early flight. When I was checking in they informed me that Ari's visa didn't have any entries left and that we couldn't fly home. We had to fly to Bangkok and stay there until her visa was updated. Well, this was on a Monday so I thought no problem, one extra night in Bangkok and we can head home, my layover was in Bangkok anyway and they weren't going to charge me anything to change the ticket. Well, there was a national holiday and the Chinese Embassy was closed for two full days so I wouldn't be home until Thursday or Friday. I got a little overwhelmed and teary eyed but was able to pull it together and get a plan of action. Fortunately we have been to Bangkok a couple of times so I was very familiar with the airport, taxi system and a good hotel to stay in. I couldn't get in touch with Sloan while I was in Phuket so when I landed in Bangkok I finally touched base with him. He made us reservations at a hotel online, and said that he was coming to be with us. So I got to our hotel around 12:00 and he showed up at 6:00. One good thing about traveling in Asia is usually the plane tickets are the same price if you buy them one month, one week or one day in advance. So, the three of us had an unexpected little trip, hanging out in Bangkok for a couple of days while we got our visas updated. One thing I have definitely learned over the last few months is you never know what is going to come your way or what the next day will bring. I was very thankful though, once we got our hotel and got settled it felt like another fun adventure. Also, we were very lucky that Bangkok had an embassy and could take care of our visas without any problems. Like always, things have a way of working out in the end!