Thailand is a great holiday destination for a family. It’s not too far away, but far away that you know you are on an adventure. We travelled with our 3-year-old and his best friend’s family and found it to be remarkable.
We stayed at The Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok. They have everything you need. Upgrade to a Serenity Club suite and you’ll gain access to the club lounge. The lounge is open from 7am to 10pm serving buffet breakfast, light snacks and drinks including beer available all day, happy hour canapes and drinks 5:30 – 7:30pm, has a kids play room, complimentary laundry service, express check in/out. Well worth the upgrade !
And then there is the infamous rooftop Moon bar situated on the 61st floor. This will blow your mind !
Our Kidsetters began their royal procession at The Great Palace. We headed out in the morning to avoid as much of the heat as we could, equipped with plenty of water. We wandered the magnificent grounds admiring all of the temples and the emerald Buddha. Our Kidsetter made some new friends along the way; the first being a Monk and the second an Army guard.
We went on to visit the Queen Sirikit Institute Chitralada Villa. I must say, this was a painful experience. The security guards were not accommodating when our 3-year-old decides to run through the security scanner unbeknownst to his dad or I, to meet up with his daddy but finds himself totally lost in the swarm of people and my husband not aware of the situation as he thought our son was with me whilst the security guards wouldn’t let me race ahead to catch up with him. Slightly stressful.
We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya. It is a fun packed day away from the lively Bangkok city. A 2.5 hour drive south of Bangkok. The sanctuary has been meticulously carved out of wood which represents the Ancient Vision of Earth. Our Kidsetter and his bestie were adorned over, dressed up and became an Emperor and Empress, with their hands being positioned in the traditional Thai greeting – the Wai. Very cute. Somehow, they managed to run around and find ‘bob the builder’ hats so next they became builders. The Kidsetters were fascinated as we watched some onsite workers create beautiful wood carvings.
To top off an incredible fun time we climbed onto a tall elephant for a pleasant ride around the sanctuary. Quite fitting to be shown around on Thailand’s national symbol- the Elephant.
Thailand and it’s people are a warm, friendly people whom love children and are child-like at heart. The combination of breathtaking cultural sights, awe-inspiring natural beauty, delicious food, adoring people make it a family holiday destination not to be missed.
