My Travel Blog

I am going to Bangkok again next month and what do you know, Air Asia is giving out free tickets to Bangkok from 26th February to 15th March 2008!!! We just have to pay for some admin fee and airport tax so we really saved up a lot on this trip. I think it’s best to subsribe to the promotional updates from the airline since we will be traveling more often this year. No point wasting so much money on flight as I’m not working as a plasma cutter engineer anymore. LOL!

We were tempted to bring the kids along, but after some thought, it’s best to go by ourselves. It’s not a holiday but we have things to be settled in Bangkok for the coming trip. What a waste huh? The tickets are free!

Out of the blue, hubby suggested that we bring the kids to Cameron Highlands tomorrow. It’s just a one day trip but I haven’t made up my mind on where to bring the kids. There are so much to do in Cameron Highlands, such as visiting the butterfly farms, rose valley, tea plantations, cactus valley, strawberry picking or honey bee farms, but it’s just hard to squeeze everything in on a day trip!

Or maybe we will just go for the food. I hope that we have time for a nice tea at Ye Olde Smoke House. I really like that place!

Ye Olde Smoke House 

I told hubby to leave tonight at first so that we can spend a night at the boutique hotel and try out the mattress of Ye Olde Smoke House, but he said why waste money woh? Cheh…

As you know, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I’m so into this Cupid thing lately. I know that I won’t have anything fancy that day, but that doesn’t mean I can’t check out the most romantic Vegas hotels right? Of course, the most romantic hotel in Las Vegas is Bellagio Hotel and Casino and I have always hoped to go there some day.

Frankly, I think it will be even more romantic if you can have your wedding at Bellagio Hotel on Valentine’s Day. That will definitely sweep my feet away!

I don’t have any pet and since I will be moving away, I wonder how should I move my pet rather than packing its pet supplies! I Google for more information and this is what I found about traveling with pets.

I know that the tips given is about traveling with pets, but if you are moving away just like me, it’s worth checking out some of the points. Frankly, I wonder if there is any cases where the pet is being misplaced or lost?

Hubby loves golf and there is no doubt that he wants to go for golf vacations as much as possible when he has both the money and time! I joked with him that he can play as much golf as he wants once he retires, but he will only end up as senior golfer by that time. LOL!

Nonetheless, if we have the budget, I don’t mind going for Myrtle Beach vacation that comes with golf packages with him. He wants the kids to pick up golf too, so it might be possible for all four of us joining the Myrtle Beach golf packages.

There are 4 Myrtle Beach resorts that we can choose from, and they are Grande Shores Resort , Seaside Resort, Avista Resort and Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort. All three of them look very nice indeed so I’m not sure which Myrtle Beach resort should I pick!

Of course, we can’t just spend our trips on golf course. I still have to do what I do the best…. shopping! As for my kids, they will love to check out the amusement parks or just spend time on the beach. All that matters is just spending time as a family, like we used to do on our family vacations.

But before that, let’s pray hard that hubby can make more money faster for a trip like this. LOL!

Hubby postponed our trip to Australia last year, and he said he will make it come true this year. Frankly, I don’t have confident in him this time as I’m pretty sure that he’s going to be busier than ever. We are moving away, and there is so much to do and a lot of money is involved. I’m not sure a family vacation to Australia is a good idea, but hopefully, he will materialize it as promised.

If we are going, I hope that we can make a shop at Sydney before flying to Melbourne. There are a few places which are great for my kids such as the Taronga Park Zoo, Luna Park, Maritime Museum , Powerhouse Museum and I would love to take a ferry rides around Sydney Harbour!

There are a few Darling Harbour Hotels to choose from such as Four Points Sheraton Darling Harbour Sydney, Star City Hotel as well as Ibis Hotel. I’m not worried much about the hotels because it’s not hard to book the rooms online as long as we can afford one! But then again, hubby is so busy, he can’t give me the exact date that we will be going on this trip. In fact, I really doubt he can squeeze this in his schedule this year.

 Japan is definitely one of my holiday destinations but it’s too expensive for me! If I strike a lottery, I would fly over to Japan with my kids and parents for the cherry blossom festival at Sumida Park, Asakusa. The festival called Sakura Matsuri is being held on 2nd and 3rd of April, and it will be nice to see sakura on all the trees! My parents will be thrilled to come along too, and my dad has not been back to Japan for so many years after his trips, I know that he’s eager to come along.

Besides that, my kids love sushi. They can have as much as they like if  we go to Japan. With all these eatings, I might even need some diet pills to kick off the weight!

So, how much do we need for a trip to Japan where so many of us are coming along? LOL!

I’m glad that I started my kids on flying when they are very young. My gal started traveling with us when she’s only 4 months old, and she didn’t fuss a lot on the plane. Both my kids have been flying with us for a couple of times, and it’s only for the last flight that my gal fussed and cried because she’s exhausted and restless. Maybe that’s why they are not afraid of flying as they started young.

As for me, I don’t have problems with flying at all. However, I know someone who’s afraid of it. She will be very panic and breathing irregularly before the plane takes off and lands. If you are sitting besides her, she will be grabbing hard on your arm subconsciously even if you are a stranger. LOL! Besides that, she will even get term life insurance quote just as assurance as she’s worried about flight accident no matter how unlikely it is. That’s why she loves to travel on cruises.

Frankly, what will you do if you are afraid of flying?

My kids love the elephants and they were eager for a ride when we visited Bangkok last month. We went to Ayutthaya on Christmas Day and that’s the Christmas gifts they got last year. They were totally excited about it and even my 20 months old gal loved the ride!

Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of Thailand and there are lots of historical sites such as Wat Wattanaram and Wat Phra Sri Sanphet. We didn’t take a closer look at the temples as both hubby and I had been here before. My kids were more interested in the elephants than looking at historical remains of the ancient city! Maybe they will learn how to admire and appreciate the historical sites when they are older.

Elephant rides 

Historical sites in Ayutthaya 

The elephant we rode on 

All 4 of us rode on the same elephant for 20 minutes, and it cost RM120 after conversion. The elephant we got is very tall and we had to grab our kids tightly so that they wouldn’t fall off! It’s quite shaky, so if you have a pocket watch or cellphone in your pockets, it’s best to keep an eye on them so that they won’t fall out.

If you are visiting Bangkok soon, make a trip to Ayutthaya for the elephants. You will love it.

If you travel to Bangkok with kids, it’s best to pay Safari World Bangkok a visit. My kids enjoyed the visit a lot because they like animals. Even a small kitten lying in a cat bed excites them. LOL! Most kids love to go to the zoo, but this is better than a zoo as you can see lots of wild animals at the safari park which roam freely like their actual habitats.

There are lots of animal shows performed by dolphins, beluga whales, orang utans, birds and others. You have to check out the schedule of the performance if you don’t want to miss any.

Personally, I like the dolphin show as well as the orang utan show. Don’t miss these 2 performances!

However, my FIL said the bird show was the best. Too bad we missed it since it crashed with Spywar. Anyway, it’s best to reach this park in the morning so that you can spend more time for the shows as well as visiting the animals. It’s quite big, so you will need to allocate a day for this trip.

There are food court, fast food restaurants and buffer lunch for you dining pleasure and the price is quite reasonable.

I took lots of shots of the animals and some of them are posted at my kids’ blog. You can hop over for a peep, if you are interested.

In short, don’t miss this park. Most kids will love it.