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Travel with a nanny? We tried it… – our travel nanny Phil

During one of our previous holidays in Italy we made the experience that everything was only about the kids. Don’t get me wrong, that’s okay, but in between we’d also like to have some hours for us as a couple. It’s different to go out for dinner alone instead of with a 2 and a 4 year old who tip over their drinks, complain about the food or have a high need for communication.

So we were sitting on our terrace, sipping on our glass wine and talked about our future holiday in Thailand. We saw us wandering from one playground to the next, missing all attractions (like on our holiday in New Zealand).  20130908_154556And if you come back home lucky to have the kindergarten and some hours alone it would proof that travelling is more stressful than sitting at home. It sometimes is, but one shouldn’t get the desire to return home only to gain some space.

The sky was dark, it was a  bit chilly and so wonderful calm. Our mind wandered from one topic to the next. We laughed and told us funny stories about the day, previous vacations and how we consider Thailand to be. In one of these creative moments I said: Why don’t we take a nanny with us?

Moment of silence.

Travel with a nanny? Which nanny? We don’t have a nanny as it was always important for us to spend most of the time with them.

If we don’t have a nanny yet, let’s get one.

Here are my advices for you, if you think about travelling with freetime and entertained kids Continue Reading →

Photoshoot Thailand – 4 good Reasons for a photoshoot on vacation / Hua Hin / Thailand

SONY DSCPhotoshoot Thailand – we tried it for you!

While we visited Hua Hin, a lovely city where the king spends his summer, Dhevan Darawe decided to have a professional photo shooting with the whole family.

Thailand is well known for its luxurious and cheap accommodations. At Dhevan Dara Resort and Spa we rented a private villa with two bedrooms and a private pool for only 82€ per night. It was spacious with an amazing kitchen and even an outdoor jacuzzi.

Best surrounding for a photo shooting! Our reasons to do it:

  1. I hate looking for Christmas presents on the last minute. Especially for grand parents who seem to have everything it’s not easy to find a gift that makes them happy. Having wonderful pictures of their grand children in a calendar might suit them. Devan Dara Family ShootNow we had the christmas presents already on September! Can you imagine how stress-free Christmas shopping was? Only the question occurred which photos I’d love to have in the calendar. It was not an easy choice.
  2. We rarely have pictures from all of us. It’s always me and the kids or Harry and the kids, but seldom we all together. When we are old, sitting in front of the fire and look at the photos we’d be happy we spent the money. In memoriam to a great holiday in Thailand!
  3. A photo shooting in a different country will be a lot cheaper than in your home country. However, it was like that for us. We had a 3-4h shooting with 50 photos on DVD for 110 €. Amazing price. We even had the opportunity to get all 318 photos for a little ad on.Motorbike Thailand
  4. It was so much fun! We just took motives that stood around, like the motorbike of the cleaning staff or the old jeep at the car park. Devan Dara The great environment of the Dhevan Dara Resort, Mai and her team and our awesome kids made it a very special experience. The 3-4hours were for sure exhausting. so we ended up in the pool and afterwards in the jacuzzi:

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Taxi, Tuk Tuk, Motorbike Taxi and Watertaxis

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Bangkok is full of taxis. So there shouldn’t be any problem in getting around. But there is. Most travel guides recommend to take only taxis with taximeter. Like this you make sure to get a fair price and not the touristy one. The reality is: “Oh, my taximeter is broken.” We heard this sentence approximately 70% of the taxis we asked. The other 30% are divided half half. One half doesn’t speak English or doesn’t want to drive as far as we wanted to go. The other half accepted us as clients.

So we were a bit unsatisfied with taking taxis. For making the kids happy and have a funny way of getting around there are Tuk Tuks. You have to add 50% on the taxi price, but it’s a very unique way of travelling. Luckily they have enough space to fix the pram at the back.tuk tuk

Many Motorbike Taxis are on the streets, recognizable on their yellow/orange jackets. Just hop on the back “seat” and you’ll be very fast at your destination. It is adventurous and uncommon to hold on someone you don’t know. The asian ladies solve the situation very ladylike. Sitting with both legs on one side and holding on the back handle makes them look like riding a horse 300 years ago.

Another option are watertaxis. watertax

The perspective on the city is totally different. Although the water is not crystal blue and a bit dirty, it is still fantastic.

There are different types of taxis, some seem more secure than others. Depending on how brave you are and risk averse you can choose 😉

For us this meant, the boys tried them and the girls stayed safe.

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Taking the train in Thailand

Have you ever been sick of airports? Here are 5 reasons why taking the train is much more fun:IMG_1268

  1. The overnight trains from Bangkok to Hua Hin are purple. That’s a main argument for our kids to take it, as they also prefer the purple taxis instead of the yellow-green ones.
  2. One job of the train guard is to make your bed. Nice, isn’t it?
  3. If you pay for a first class cabin you get a single room with a 90x190m lounger facing the window.  Adjustable backrests make it possible to capture the image of passing by housing areas, rivers and rice plantations. We’ve never seen so much of the normal life in Thailand. We spent a very relaxing night in our first class beds and woke up curious with our nose touching the window to see what happens next. Better than watching TV.
  4. But travelling third class can be also quite funny. Or at least hot and cheap. 1€ for 200km is amazing.IMG_1259
  5. We travelled first class, second and third. We were always welcome with the kids. Although buying tickets has to be done at least 5 days in advance. They are soon sold out and you won’t get any good ones and need to sweet in third class. Selling point is the train station.

 

 

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Bangkok – shopping but nothing else

IMG_1015Bangkok is certainly piloted by most airlines. So either you have only a short stopover or you stay for some days and journey on later. That was our choice.

Instead of staying in a hotel we decided to rent an apartment. It offers us more space and the possibility to cook own food, if the children don’t like thai spices or are hungry at uncommon times due to jet lag. But we didn’t want to surrender a pool or a good location. Nothing is impossible in Thailand and so we found easily one near the metro. The pool on the sixth floor was stunning and one of the girls highlight. Every evening we had a pool session.

So what can one do in Bangkok with kids?

Shopping. There are several shopping malls with a broad variety. If your children don’t like shopping you must at least eat there. Most of them have their food court located on the first floor.

During bad rain or with unsatisfied children we recommend the indoor playground: Funarium. One can drive around a small circuit with bikes or roller blades, loose energy at jumping castles and even do creativity activities. Lovely made this playground had every thing we needed. It was not too big to loose sight but also big enough to entertain them for several hours. In the area upstairs a creativity room invites them to draw pictures whereas the parents have a sofa room next to it. Equipped with a DVD player and comfortable armchairs even the parents enjoy the stay. The restaurant is a bit overpriced but with delicious pasta, ice, cappuccino and chocolate cake one can turn a blind eye.

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Nevertheless there’s always something to explore in Bangkok. We went one evening to Khao San Road. It’s a pedestrian area fringed by restaurants and massage salons. Different small food stalls sell pancakes with banana and condensed milk, others fried insects and maggots. We very only brave enough for the maggots and left the scorpions and locusts aside. Our small two year old daughter had no clue yet which food is considered to be yummy and which is tagged as ugly. For her food tastes like it tastes, no matter what is is. And she proofed that by eating the whole bag of maggots. She even asked for more, or shall I say: She screamed for more?

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