I managed the entire trip, three and a half weeks, with no D. What a relief! I used Imodium as a precaution on travel days, but I think I could have done without it. My son did an excellent job of providing safe food for me, and when we ate out, I was cautious, ordering plain rice or a salad. My son speaks some Thai, but his vocabulary doesn't extend to grilling people on food ingredients and preparation. We did go to a seaside resort run by a French couple, and I talked to the kitchen manager there to determine what was safe. None of the curries contained gluten, dairy products or soy sauce, so I ate curry for almost every meal. Fortunately, I like curry.
For the air travel, I requested gluten-free meals. Had gluten been my only intolerance, I would have eaten well. I was impressed with how well they did the gluten-free meals. They were clearly labeled, and served first. I got quite a bit of fruit and salad, but also quinoa with corn and black beans, rice and fish, salmon and boiled potatoes. I ate only a little bit of the entrees, fearing dairy and soy. I did carry boiled eggs and morning glory muffins to supplement the airline food, and I was glad to have that.
Jet lag wasn't bad when we arrived in Bangkok, but it got worse over the days, until finally I realized that my headache, fatigue, and body aches were symptoms of eating soy, not of jet lag. But no D!
I took some Tylenol to help with the achiness, and then I was fine.Each of our flights on the way to Bangkok was delayed. We were an hour late leaving Dallas, necessitating a mad dash through the Paris airport to try to catch our next flight, only to have it leave one and a half hours late! That cut our 2 hours in Kuala Lumpur to 30 minutes, so all we saw of that airport was the floor, as we made another mad dash to try to make our flight to Bangkok. And it too was delayed. So we made all of our flights, but our luggage did not. It arrived three days later. I made a conscious decision to not feel stressed over this. My son loaned his dad some clothes, and he loaned me a shirt (he's tall but very thin, so I fit his shirts better than those of my tiny DIL), and my DIL's mom loaned me a skirt. And the stress did not aggravate my MC.
I rode an elephant on this trip--for fun, not for transportation. Our 4-year-old granddaughter rode with us. She was delighted, and did not see Grandma clinging for dear life to the seat back behind her. It was a very sway-y sort of ride.
Anyway, now we're home, and waiting for our luggage to be delivered by the airline, who somehow thought it would be fun if our luggage were to be lost on both directions of our trip. They have a great tracking system, so we know that the bags have arrived in Dallas, and will be delivered sometime this evening.
Bangkok is a modern city. The malls put the ones in the US to shame; they are so clean and shiny. There are many small play areas for children, there are special rooms for moms with babies, so they can nurse in privacy if they want, and the stores are pretty high-end. They even had a stall where you can buy dairy-free ice cream. You can still go to markets, of course, to get the more authentic Asian experience.
On our way home, we flew through Tokyo. This is the only place where I can unabashedly say that the toilets in the Tokyo airport are awesome! They have heated seats, and a control panel to the side, including controls for a bidet, a "buttocks washing spray", and music to cover any noises you might be making. *Contented sigh*
All in all, it was a great trip, and it's nice to know that it is possible to travel with MC, even if you can't eat what everyone else is eating.
Very belatedly, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
Love,
Martha
