TravelLobsters

Thailand Adventure Part 3

angelaleoni1 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 23:13:00 GMT

Thailand Adventures Part 3

After settling into our beautiful hotel for the remainder of our Thailand holiday, we decided to get to know Phuket.

Upon arrival it was way more busy than we expected, I guess its one of them scenarios when you just don't really know what to expect at all until your there.

Our taxi took around an hour to get from the airport to our hotel in Kata and cost 600 Baht we did get ripped of as we later found out, it should have been around 150 Baht, make sure the meter is on, if they decide to pop their hat over it and give a random price get out and look for another one.

We had booked to stay at the Hotel Baan Kongdee Sunset Resort as mentioned in part two, it was a little out-of-the-way, just so we were not situated slap bang in the middle of it all. upon arrival at our hotel, we were greeted by an extremely steep hill, one that I`m sure we're never going to forget.

The hotel was lovely, what an amazing view we had from our apartment. The hotel owners were really helpful and friendly, they offer to take their guests to town and back every day for free in a type of taxi van, I guess they are quite sympathetic about the hill.

We couldn't fault our apartment, it had a small pool, amazing scenery and modern interior equipped with all you need, towels, kettle, fresh linen, all the essentials really.

The hotel was not too pricey, I would suggest when booking use Opodo in the incognito screen, prices will stay the same whilst searching, as when you look for a hotel price without this it recognises your search making it dearer every time you revisit the site to book, a little tip for wherever or whenever you want cheaper prices.

The picture shows how high up we were and what we had to walk up daily, the road carried on a long way until you reach the bottom, we actually had to lean back walking down it.

Coming up the hill was, well let me say slow, in that heat at the end of the day its hell. The Tuck Tucks also refuse to go up it as they have rather small engines that just don't have the power to get to the top, so they quickly speed of when you mention Baan Kongdee Sunset Resort.

Once we were settled in, we decided to check out the ever famous Karon and Kata Beach which were situated quite close to each other.

If you're a lover of beaches like me then you're sure as hell going to love this beach. Miles and miles of white sand that slips through your toes without any effort.

You're not stuck for a room on it either that's for sure. Find your spot and then feast your eyes on the ocean, yup, the Andaman Sea will take your breath away. Normally we potter around when entering the ocean as we can be a little wimpish, here we had no need to, straight in we went.

Never had we been able to just walk into the ocean and swim straight out, absolutely perfect. It's a little like heaven, crystal clear water and heavenly beaches to sit for as long as you want with no hassle from anyone, well maybe the odd man selling fruit but who doesn't want that when it's so hot, you really do need to keep hydrated as it is around 37 Celsius in January, ( Kata Beach sea temperatures peak in the range 29 to 31°C (84 to 88°F) on around the 24th of April and are at their minimum on about the 1st of January, in the range 27 to 29°C (81 to 84°F).

So water, fruit and the regular swim to keep cool is the best way. I would say if your travelling with youngsters, position yourself under the trees that line the beach roadside, its perfect shading and you're also close to stalls selling refreshments.

The beaches are plentiful, Kata Noi is a beach on the southwest side of the island of Phuket in Thailand. It is adjacent to Kata Beach to the south.

Again, another beautiful beach where you can lazy about until the skies turn pink with fabulous sunsets. So, for all you photography lovers ( like my husband) get yourself positioned and wait, it will be well worth it.

You will see lots of people flocking to the beach edge with their selfie sticks, they all wanna grab that perfect picture for Instagram I guess.

Our favourite had to be Surin Beach. Where the rich and famous hang out. I must admit upon arrival the look of the beach was one to die for, it went on for miles.

Before we came to Thailand we had images in our mind of deserted beaches with nothing but little dirt paths with the odd farm animal, we were wrong ( that's more like the small islands of Koh Samui), Surin was 10/ 10 for us.

If you ever sit there whilst at work dreaming and wishing you were on a blissful beach with a short walk into glistening, clear warm water that laps at your body whilst taking in the view of million pound yachts, then this is the place for you.

The beach on the roadside is lined with around twenty huts all selling different bits and bobs, including food such as Pad Thai, kebab, fresh melon, smoothies in a bag and snacks for the kids.

If you carry on walking past them and head on as far as the rocks you can climb over them and see in the distance a private beach for the rich, with chalets hidden within the trees, dotted around the hillside, sheer heaven, that's where we're heading next time haha, nothing wrong with a little positive thinking hey!

Now I have informed you about some of the best beaches in Kata, I'm now going to let you know about the Green Elephant Sanctuary we spent half a day at. We had always wanted to see the Elephants in Thailand, so this was our chance.

What we didn't want was to see them chained up at the side of the road, where people are able to ride them. Really, this happens a lot in Thailand, it's really not right. We wanted to see them in their own environment where they are happy and well looked after.

We searched and found this one which after having a read up it took our fancy. We booked a half day excursion for around £158 for two adult and one teenager, in Baht it is 6,900, sounds really expensive that way but really not bad at all for what you get.

We were picked up at 9 am at the end of our road, and was greeted by the excursion driver and a few more passengers ready for the trip.

We travelled for around an hour and a half, it was a little long but hey ho. Upon arrival we were introduced to the owners and workers of the sanctuary, we sat and listened to how they got started and took on board information about the Elephants and where they had come from. We were happy straight from the beginning as these Elephants were clearly well looked after.

They actually save them from bad environments and have them carefully transported to this sanctuary. No one is allowed to ride them, no Elephants are chained up, they have their own sleeping area, and lots of freedom to eat, walk and wash whenever they want to. Its how it should be.

Once we had been briefed as to what we would be doing we got stuck in. We all had swimwear, fresh drinking water and cameras, for some great shots.

The half-day consisted of feeding the Elephants Bananas and Pineapples, we could have pictures taken of us feeding them if we wanted, we then head over to the huge pools where we would wash them and scrub their bodies with mud, as Elephants really love this.

After a full on mud bath, onto the next pool to wash it all off in a huge shower, they really do love a good pampering. There were three adult Elephants and one baby. The cutest we had ever seen.

After playing with the Elephants and making sure they were cooled off in the pools we headed over for lunch. We had a buffet lunch with chicken wings, rice, fresh veg and fruit. The drinks were available to hand as and when we wanted one as was ice creams.

We all sat together as a group under a large straw hut. It was great, very clean with friendly people, and definitely some tasty food.

The excursion is suitable for kids age five and up we would say for obvious reasons, water, huge animals, and lots going on, don't want them young ones having an accident of some kind.

Take hats and wear factor 50 it's really hot with not much breeze in that area. If your ever in Thailand check these guys out, you won't regret it at all. The whole trip lasted five hours, well worth the money. Check out this video we grabbed its brilliant, and give us a thumbs up :)

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC6cloAHuzE[/embed]

Another we had to check out whilst in Kata was the FlowRider Surf Machine. Situated just opposite Kata Beach with a Bar/Restaurant with plenty of tables and an upstairs for easy watching, we loved it, it was such fun watching the learner surfers and also, of course, the pro surfers.

They have teachers for the kids and adult learners, and to our surprise, they only charge 1000 Baht for two hours, not bad at all and believe me you're exhausted after your done.

The food is great the variety of food is quite large, lots to feast on. Cocktails are plentiful, so if you wanna treat yourself feel free too. Its open from morning till late with a DJ some weekends and other times it just has generally good vibes. The atmosphere is brilliant you sure will have a great time here.

I hope you have enjoyed part 3 as much as I have enjoyed reminiscing and writing this blog, we have lots more to share with you so keep your eye out for part 4!

Why not, when travelling invest in one of our favourite travelling companions, the Ultimate Outdoor Map Kit. It will save you from going around in circles and getting stressed out.

We love it the most due to the fact the Map Kit is easy to use small for travelling with and contains sample sheets of AdventurePaper, waterproof, tear-resistant printing media for creating durable maps at home. Also, the Ultimate Outdoor Map Kit is a retail exclusive product that provides outdoor enthusiasts with a one-year pro membership to alltrails.com A 20% savings versus buying the membership online, what you waiting for, make life easy and fun!

Thailand Adventure Part 2

angelaleoni1 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 22:48:00 GMT

Thailand Adventure Part 2

So, the adventure continues. All was well until one of us had a rather dickie belly, yikes, everyone knows that when you visit Thailand, one or all of whoever your with will be ill at some point. It isn't pleasant, to say the least.

On that note, before travelling to this fabulous place make sure you and your fellow travellers have all had their injections. There are many illnesses in Thailand. Vaccinations cover is vital against the foodborne diseases of Typhoid and Hepatitis A if you're going deeper jungle for long periods of time its best to have cover against Hepatitis B and Rabies.

Doctors will ask you where your going, region, length of time (well they should do) they can talk through the risks and best vaccinations for each traveller. Children too will be offered full cover, better to be safe than sorry. No side effects come from these vaccinations, but everyone is different.

Our illness as most travellers to Thailand turned out to be the usual upset stomach, after a week of plain bread, bland sandwiches, breadsticks and lots of water, let's not forget loo roll, it seemed to go away. It's easy to eat something that may have a slight bit of bacteria on it, after all its 37 degrees all the time.

Check the place first before you eat anything, if it's busy and clean looking, go for it, avoid food sat out in the sun, such as the fish we saw day after day in one particular restaurant, I'm not even going to go down that road.

Time was dwindling down so quickly in Bangkok, we had so much to see and do, it's like a race against time. Our next visit was to the ever famous Lebua Tower, well known and loved due to the fact The Hangover had a short burst of filming done in the lift and tower top. This had always been on our list, so here it was.

What can we say, a truly amazing experience and everyone should make the trip up the tower, even if you're scared of heights.

We got to the Lebua Tower in around thirty minutes by tuck tuck from our hotel, a little hair-raising but fun at the same time. Upon arrival, you look upwards, and not one glimpse is in sight of what it really is going to be like.

As we go up 64 floors, yes you read that correct, an eye-watering lift experience like no other, the doors ping open and voila, out you go, through a small walkway only to be greeted with a huge opening to a gleaming white stairway down to the restaurant and bar.

Stunning does not quite cut it. Filled with people, this place is buzzing, the restaurant is high class, with a nice horseshoe-shaped bar to match, although we did think the bar area was a little small, but what do you expect on top of a high building.

The view was to die for, you can see as far as your eyes will let you, if you're scared of heights don't bother, wobbly legs is not good up there, with quite a harsh breeze.

Drinks are expensive, to say the least, but hey, its once in a lifetime trip, why not. The Cost was around 3500 Baht for four drinks, which in pounds is about £80, it will leave a small hole in your pocket, so enjoy it.

The trip up the Lebua was definitely a highlight for us. You must also remember to wear (guys) trousers, ladies reasonable length skirt, and decent shoes or you will be turned away.

Our next big trip was when we went to see the Grand Palace. It certainly was grand. The entrance fee was around 1500 Baht in English that is £30, not expensive at all. The grounds are huge, it takes a good few hours to take pictures and view every nut and cranny.

Its good to read up on the palace beforehand, it gives you a little insight and tells you good information about the history of the palace.

There are so many other people also viewing the palace, it can be a little overwhelming with the combination of the heat and wearing long jeans and covered shoulders, this is a must in sacred grounds.

They do have shops selling ice cream, drinks and snacks, we shaded inside one to compose ourselves after walking around for a while.

In Bangkok you do have a wide choice of temples to visit, we also visited Wat Pho, the reclining Buddha, Wat Saket and Wat Arun, all absolutely beautiful and a must see.

After spending five days in Bangkok, we felt we had thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. We had seen and tasted so many different types of foods and was truly blown away by the culture, temples, kindness, and of course the Lebua Tower.

Time moves so fast when you're having fun, and the next hotel was clearly in sight, just one small hop onto Thai Airways for an hour and a half and we would be welcomed into Phuket.

Quick flights are always the best, especially when you're a little impatient like me. We made a promise to Bangkok as we waved it goodbye, we will be seeing you again soon.

Phuket, here we are, off to our hotel Baan Kongdee Sunset Resort. From Phuket Airport to our hotel it took around an hour. The roads are crazy but not as bad as Bangkok, i think Thai drivers just need to slow down a little, our hair was already thinning from the tuck tucks.

We arrived in one piece and were amazed by this hotel upon arrival. We were greeted by very friendly hotel managers and shown to our apartment. When entering the first thing you notice is the stunning view.

We could literally see over the entire bay of Kata. Our room was a deluxe family suite, everything was perfect, they even offer lifts to the beaches and town for free, what more could you want. The hotel had a large pool up on the third floor, again a spectacular view. This was now home for the next three weeks.

We had many plans for our stay in Phuket, the beaches around us were Kate Noi, Kata Beach and Karon Beach, and we had to check out Dino Golf! Kids just wanna have fun. The ever famous Flow Rider Surf was apparently situated on Kata beach, this had to be visited for sure.

Be sure to check out my next Thailand Part 3 Blog, we have lots to share, all of the above and our trip to the Green Elephant Sanctuary and Surin Beach, apparently where the rich and famous hang out. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures, keep an eye out for Thailand Part 3.

Why not, when travelling invest in one of our favourite travelling companions, the Ultimate Outdoor Map Kit. It will save you from going around in circles and getting stressed out.

Thailand Part 1

angelaleoni1 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 22:30:00 GMT

Thailand, what a wonderful place. We decided to check out the place that has so much life, love, adventure and excitement. We flew with Emirates, a truly fab airline that we can't really fault. We did Pitt stop in Dubai, and then we were off again. In all it was around 13 hours, then we finally arrived in Bangkok, the city of smiles.

You feel a little like a speck of dust when you're in the middle of this bustling city, streets go on for miles, traffic never stops, and the building's hold such beauty. You're surrounded by the true spirit.

Our first stay was at Prince Palace Hotel, it was four-star, which upon arrival, looked a little manic with the markets right outside. We were extremely tired when we arrived so the chaos outside the hotel was not expected, we really needed to sleep.

The Hotel was lovely, we wondered around making ourselves at home. The pool area was large which was good, they offer food and drinks at the bar alongside the pool, again, another plus.

Our room was a deluxe family suite, we had everything we needed, and the view was amazing, we could see for miles, as far as the Lebua Tower, another exciting moment of ours in Thailand its mentioned in part 2.

Our room was on the 26TH floor, no wonder we had a fab view. This hotel is great for large or small families and even couples, they cater for all. We stayed here for five nights, considering it was a four star the cost was very reasonable, costing us around 15808 Baht, which in English is around £359.

After a short nap and room service, we unpacked and headed out into the crazy city life, not knowing really what to expect, but needless to say, we loved it when we found it.

The feel when walking down the streets is worlds apart from seeing it on TV. It's true what they say, you have to see it, to be able to grasp the true sense of it. You can actually feel the excitement build in you as you venture into new towns, restaurants, shops and markets.

We headed down to Asiatique, an indoor and outdoor market, we weren't disappointed. The food was everywhere, insects, ice cream, chicken kebabs, pancakes, noodles, you're truly spoilt.

We did grab a few shots of the insects on offer, although we decided against them at that time, maybe tomorrow! When sightseeing, we love to get our NikonD3400 charged up alongside our GoPro Here 5. We take extra SDcards as you can guarantee on running out of space with so much to snap.

We use the Amazon SanDisk Extreme Pro card, it has 64GB of storage, its brilliant, it saves us swapping smaller storage cards all the time.

The shops are full of gifts and clothing, there are some really unique items, tiny Buddha's, pocket-size Temples to take home, hats to suit everyone, and not forgetting the technology, it's everywhere, so if your fed up with your phone, camera or even selfie stick, go grab yourself another, your spoilt for choice.

There were so much to see, the river boats are always busy, shipping people to different parts of the town. It's sometimes quicker we were told to grab a ride on one, as the streets in Bangkok are so congested, it is much quicker to go by boat.

But remember to cover your mouth as you ride it, the water isn't the cleanest, its best to avoid anything nasty flying in your mouth, as they are quite fast. (remember your jabs before arriving here).

The cost of the boats are around 10 to 20 Baht which in English is around 30/40 pence, and some were free, not bad at all we thought. And, who wouldn't want to experience a boat ride in Thailand?

The boats connect for a good few miles around Bangkok city, so your able to get around and sightsee that way quickly and cheaply. You are able to hop off at a few popular temples if that's your thing or carry on to more markets.

The boats are way cheaper than a taxi, you would have to haggle hard to get a cheap ride in a taxi or tuck tuck. As mentioned above it is much cheaper by boat, you will save massively, and if your a small family your gonna want to save every penny, and it's obviously much more fun!

The Thai people really do draw you in, making you feel welcome and are very good at grabbing your attention. And although we couldn't speak fluent Thai this didn't seem to bother them at all, a few head nods and a nice smile seemed to be just fine.

We did learn a few simple greetings before arriving, which we thought was nice and a little show of respect to them as well.

When travelling to Thailand, you really need to think about what you want to do before arriving, due to the fact that there is so much to see and do here you may become a little overwhelmed, and miss out on seeing something in particular, make a list, it worked well for us.

We decided to list down Temples, Markets, China Town and Malls, phew in five days, in Bangkok, yeah no worries, we had it covered.

Our trip right into the heart of Bangkok was a little exhaustive but definitely exciting. Sometimes it is hard to get to the exact point you want to be, due to the chaos.

Tuck Tucks and Taxis drop you a little out of the way at times, which then requires legwork in a very hot and humid city. Advice, take a map or use an online app such as Bangkok city guide map.

There are other alternatives like Here.com and Maps. Me which offer also offline maps that you can download at home. Tourism Authority of Thailand has published a number of apps, including a recent annotated "Thailand Tourism Map".

Transit Bangkok Thai from NAVITIME is an integrated transit map for Bangkok with travel time calculator, and also GrabTaxi can be handy if you are in an area where you cannot quickly flag down a moving metered taxi.

Or use the well-developed and efficient Skytrain, it will carry you just about anywhere you need to go to Bangkok. Tickets range from 15 Baht to 42 Baht (50p to 90p) depending on how far you are travelling.

When we finally arrived at the Mall, we were obviously hot and in need of a bathroom break. Siam Paragon (the mall) has everything you could possibly need. It's like looking into a sea of restaurants, shops and arcades.

We decided to check out the Aquarium on the bottom floor of the mall first of all. We got some fab shots of the sea life, there's so much to see and do, your kids will just love it here. The cost of the entrance isn't too bad, so splash out and enjoy.

Another favourite of ours was visiting China Town in the evening. This is definitely for you if you're a food lover and really connect with sheer life. This strip is covered in street food and obviously people.

From one end to the other, you can get your hands on BBQ Dumplings, Corn, Kebabs, Rice Dishes, Fish, Whole Pigs, Pad Thai, Noodles, Soups and so much more, it is very cheap, hence the crowds and the atmosphere is one of a kind.

Do not miss this place, if your travelling with children do keep them close, and keep your pockets free of phones and wallets, pickpockets are widely known in Thailand, so keep alert.

Well, we hope you have enjoyed a little snippet of Thailand. Keep your eyes open for Part 2, we will continue to share our Thailand adventures with you, it's going to be great, and thanks for reading.

Why not, when travelling invest in one of our favourite travelling companions, the Ultimate Outdoor Map Kit. It will save you from going around in circles and getting stressed out.

We love it the most due to the fact the Map Kit is easy to use small for travelling with and contains sample sheets of AdventurePaper, waterproof, tear-resistant printing media for creating durable maps at home. Also, the Ultimate Outdoor Map Kit is a retail exclusive product that provides outdoor enthusiasts a one-year pro membership to alltrails.com A 20% savings versus buying the membership online, what you waiting for, make life easy and fun!

Photos: Travel Lobsters

angelaleoni1 — Sun, 9 Jul 2017 21:30:00 GMT

Our family travel photos as we go. We have many to share and will keep posting new and exciting ones for you to view.