"So, have you been to the mall?"

The malls in Thailand are not that different from te malls in America. They both have tons of stores and restaurants and you can catch the newest release movies there too. There are a few things in the malls in Thailand that those western malls just don't have. 

A couple of the malls here have indoor ice skating rinks year round. So awesome.

Several of the malls have water parks on the roof. How brilliant! Although you have to wear a swim cap which is a bummer.

Most all Thai malls have a "basement" of some sort where you will find items of cheaper quality as well as cheaper prices. This is where I like to shop.

Special parking spaces are always set aside in the parking garages for various minority groups. Mainly they are for "Platinum" credit card holders or even "Lady Parking". The mall just around the corner from our house has special parking for our neighborhood residents AND golf carts! The mall we went to today had "Supercar" parking. This is for those crazy expensive sports cars like the one in the pic. They even provide special flooring and lighting to show off said car. If I had this Lotus and parked it in the "Supercar" park under the special lighting I would be sure it was clean. But this is Thailand and the roads are dirty.

Most parking garages in the malls have a car wash/detail shop where for a pretty penny you can get your "Supercar" Lotus cleaned while you shop.

Each mall generally has a substantial play area/arcade as well as a whole wing set aside for learning centers. These are not day area or schools but enrichment/tutor type places.

Some things will always remain the same no matter where you are though: like parking in BFE and crowds.

Tag! You're it!

I found the security base. Now I know where to go when I'm playing security tag.

UUUGGHH!!

It's days like today that I wish all of those other moms, who say "I don't know how you do it", were flies on the wall in my house. These kids are INSANE! And taking me along for the ride, too! Just when I think I have a handle on things, one of them goes and adds another gray hair to my head. I'm too young to have all of this gray hair!

I have to remind myself that my kids are all basically the same age. So whatever stage one of them is going through, the other 3 are all going through it too. Or at least are not far behind. I think this is what stresses me out the most. I get the first one through whatever stage (or think I do) and feel a little accomplished and able to relax and then the next kid goes through it. You would think that having the experience of more than one kid going through the stages of development would help me to better know what I am doing. Not so much. Each kid has their own personality and therefore goes through said stage differently. What works for one doesn't work for the rest, not even one of them. This is exhausting!