My Travel Blog

 I suddenly remembered that I wanted to stay at Club Med Phuket Resort previously, when I was looking for more info about Phuket Island. I was trying to do my SIL a favor when she wanted to plan a trip to Phuket, and she was trying to look for children friendly resort. The Petit Club Med® (from 2 to under 4 years old) sounds good to me, as children can return to the Petit Club Med after dinner with us, and hubby and I can have a peaceful dinner!!! That’s something we hardly get to do since we become parents.

Ah…there are a lot of activities at Club Med, but I’m not sure if I’m fit for anything! I should get the best weight loss pills too if I would to put on bikinis again. LOL!

I hope that we can at least have a family getaway by end of the year, and hopefully hubby agrees on a trip to Phuket in November and let us stay at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa because I want to get some family photo shots with a professional photographer who is going to be there for a week stay!

But the thing with my hubby is, he doesn’t like to spend a lot on hotels, and he prefers to stay at some place else which is cheaper, instead of paying a lot for a good night sleep. However, I really want to stay at JW Marriott as the resort is top rated and it’s so nice!

See? It’s so pretty huh? Here are more photos taken from the official website of JW Marriott Phuket:

The pool is so nice!

My kids will be thrilled with the elephant fountains.

I guess I will only pick the deluxe room, for cost saving.

There’s a kid club here, so I think my kids will be occupied with some activities, instead of playstation 3, if we do not go out for sightseeing. I really hope that hubby agrees with me!

My kids have been asking when are we going to Chiangmai again since our visit last year. They love Chiangmai a lot, especially the overnight train ride, the visit to Chiangmai Zoo, and not forgetting Chiangmai Night Safari.

Actually, I have been thinking about visiting Chiangmai again so that we could get a glimpse of the newborn baby panda. It’s one of the best baby announcements in Thailand when Lin Hui, the mother panda, gave birth to her first panda cub. It might be too early for public viewing, but I believe that some day, we will be able to see the cute baby panda, when she’s a bit older. I wonder what will she be named after the naming contest?

Now, you have another reason to visit Chiangmai since Thailand is the 3rd country with its first panda born in captivity!

The number of cases of Type-A H1N1 has increased tremendously for the past few days. Besides that, the death toll has risen to 2 as well.

By The Nation
A-40-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man in Bangkok have become the country’s first two fatalities linked to the type-A (H1N1) influenza virus, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai announced Saturday.

I guess most of us will avoid traveling until the influenza  subsides or under control, so even if I’m given Vegas vacations for free, I might want to turn it down. Being a mother means I can’t fall sick, and worse still, I can’t risk my kids of getting ill!

 I’ve received a few newsletters about the mid year sale of various brands and I’m getting all tempted to go shopping again! The best thing about living in Bangkok is, besides that good food, shopping is always great here. I love to go for the bargains and I have a few items in my list which I want to get within these few days. If hubby has the time for shopping, I would love to go to the city to check out some books, patio furniture covers, clothes for my kids and etc.

But then, the influenza situation is worrying there, so maybe I shall shop at the nearby shopping malls. Let’s enjoy the mid year shopping spree!

My friend told me that her husband travel agency was closed down weeks ago due to the financial crisis. It’s such a waste, but the headquarter was suffering great loss, so it’s best to shut down. Then days later, hubby came back with the idea of setting up a travel company with friends, and I am not too keen about it. With global economy meltdown and H1N1 spreading over more and more countries, most people will choose not to travel until it’s safer to do so.

Besides that, we need to pump in a lot of money to set up a new company again, and our share of the company is not a small amount either. I can totally forget about shopping, and hubby can also forget about getting Wii accessories or enjoying his golf if we should invest in another company.

So, we better make our decision wisely.

It’s pretty worrying with the latest news that influenza H1N1 has already spread at schools in Bangkok:

 The spread of influenza (A)H1N1 has forced Bangkok’s Saint Gabriel College to suspend all its classes and activities until next Thursday, while Saint Francis Xavier School has announced that it will shut down for seven days. Other schools are expected to follow suit.

Part of the reason why I am worried is my gal is going for her first school trip in the city next week, so I begin to be all alert about the cases of influenza in the city. I hope that it’s under control, and it won’t go as bad as the condition in Pattaya.

Thailand’s total 2009 flu cases: 46

17 were workers at a Pattaya discotheque

4 were admitted to a Chon Buri hospital

5 were St Gabriel’s school students

We haven’t figured out our term life insurance quotes in Bangkok yet, but most important, I want my kids and family to be safe here, instead of being threatened by the virus. The symptoms of influenza (A)H1N1 include fever, coughing and sore throat, so we shall be extra careful in monitoring our kids. Besides that, I shall ask them to wash their hands more often, and if there is a must, they will put on masks to school too.

I have been staying at home for 2 weeks, and it’s like a short break to me since my mom is here to do everything for me! LOL! It’s quite fun to have an extra pair of hands at home, and not to mention, I enjoy her cooking! I really need the best fat burners now!

But before that, I shall ask her to cook laksa for me as I have been craving for one for many months. I can’t believe that I won’t be going back to Malaysia in a year! So, I really crave for the local food now.

Anyway, my short vacation at home will end tomorrow. I will be back to the office on Monday. Life goes on…

With hubby’s coming back this weekend and my mom is flying back soon, I can’t help worrying about the H1N1 condition in this country, as well as back home. Airport is always full of people flying back from affected countries, so you can’t be too careful about this.

After the 5th case of H1N1 confirmed, the first human to human case was confirmed too. This mother came back from US on 25 May, and passed the virus to her 18-year-old son, who’s the 7th victim in Thailand now. Check out the news here.

I hope that all those affected will fully recovered, and also my hubby and my mom will be safe while traveling. It might not be the best time for traveling now until the influenza is under control. No one wants to be so sick, until hospitalized, or need seat lifts, or might even loss their lives from traveling!

 Throughout my mom’s stay in Bangkok with me, we didn’t go sightseeing as hubby is not around, so most of the time I will bring her to the mall or flea market for shopping. She loves shopping, just like me, but she only likes to buy cheap stuffs. LOL!

She has almost spent all her money, buying things for herself, my dad, my niece, but she has not got an XBox for my brother, but I think she can forget about it already. LOL! Nonetheless, she agrees with me that shopping in Bangkok is great.