lembeh Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Wow. This thread got bent out of shape fast. OK. As some one with three mixed kids (both older and younger than your eldest two), I would have to say Do not do it!!!!!! Unless your kids are used to being separated from their mum, they will drive you crazy. At ages 4 and 5, kids do not have full "reasoning" capabilities. Which means that if they want mum, they want her *now* and no amount of "tomorrow" or "in two days" will help them, and as such it could be quite traumatic all round. OK. Well, you know your kids best, and think they will handle the separation. So what do kids of that age like? Simple. Activity. Any sort of activity. Going and "seeing" something is a complete waste of time. They like to *do* something. Rides, water, beaches etc. As such, the beach is probably a good bet. Hua Hin, or Phuket (if possible). Good beaches etc. Somewhere with a hotel in VERY close proximity to the beach, as at they age the tire out *rapidly*. One minute bouncing around, next minute crashed. In my experience, any activity over say 2 hours is getting too much. More walking or playing than that, and they can get exceedingly grumpy. For day trips (which I do not really recommend), Dream world out up past Rangsit is a good trip. Lots of rides (although kids at that age are normally too scared of the very "active" rides), water for boating etc. However, and again, taking the point that you know your kids, I think you may be underestimating the attractions of the village to your kids. You may find it boring, but they will find it amazing. Depending upon how rural, hours of fun can be had chasing chickens, looking at buffalo, playing ball with the local kids. In my experience, the local village kids take wonderful care of visiting kids, immediately accepting them nto the "pack" and showing them around...language barriers not withstanding. Maybe sweeten the pot with a few goodies that can be left behind (cheap balls, badminton racketsand shuttle cocks, paddles and balls etc), certainly things that will be greatly appreciated by the local kids after your kids have departed. My personal appraoch would be to take several large books, plonk myself in the shade with a ice cooler of beer, tell the wife you will watch the kids, and settle back and relax........ -j- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Hi BKB, I have 2 LKs too 2 and 9 years of age, dont speak thai. And my ex-wife was from Sakon Nakhon, so I have also spent quite some time in Udon and NK. Love Nong Khai by the way. I took them to Koh Samet and Koh Chang. Here it is quiet and safe and lots of fun for kids in this age range. 2 kids at the age of 4 and 5 years probably like to run about and can be pretty hard to control in a city with lots of traffic - my kids sure were - so an island virtually without any traffic on it is a good choice IMO. There isnt much in terms of theme parks etc. but with the sea right in front of your bungalow, plenty of other kids around, a couple of nice waterfalls on Koh Chang, occasional boat rides with some snorkelling and fishing. It sure proved a hit with my kid, in fact we stayed at koh Chang 3 months. I believe that was the best time I ever had in Thailand. Have a great time with your kids. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 To nobody in particular. Some good suggestions are being made here. BKKB, I hope you can get good some good ideas out of this. I'm pleased to see that a few of you guys had good times outside of Pattaya as well with your kids. A nice beach by itself may be sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Says jai-dee: Why don't you check out the following website: isan.sawadee.com/nongkhai/. I used is to find local attractions, particularly waterfalls, when sightseeing in the countryside. Contains more info than any travel guide. Thanks for that one Jai Dee, I must admit, both me and the wife were very surprised to find out that it even had her village listed on the site. Very resourceful, cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Says check_bin_krap: Well Butcher. Although I meant what I said, I can see I went too far and it did actually get insulting. Sorry about that. Fly is correct on his evaluation of your productivity, it someone knocks the foundation straight out from my arguement. And after thinking about his solid arguement, it seems my points are weak Pls don't take it too serious, and you asked for it! People are different, and maybe my experiences does not fit you. Cheers! (Feel free to kick my ass big time 1 time, just 1 time) Everybody has different experiences in life, and mine just seem to be getting better and better at the current time, OK maybe not financially but certainly in some of the more rewarding areas. It sounds to me as though you have had it pretty tough in the past (although I dont know that) and dealt with it in your own way. But god forbid anything going wrong with my marriage, I might deal with it in a totally different manner to you. We are 2 totally different machines, my friend, who should have no reason to try to relate certain life experiences that we may have encountered. I think I may have taken things to seriously at the start and I admit, in my original post I did ask you guys to post away, insults as well, but I just guess (and hoped) I wasnt ready for them.. So all things considered, no problem, and I do understand the point you was trying to make...but I can say that I hope it will never become too valid for me and my family. Cheers.. PS. Regarding your request for a kick, I have no reason to want to perform such a task. I'll just take it in my stride, just like another day in the office really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Says limbo: Hi BkkB, my todler is only 6 months, as of today! So I'm not that well informed about where to take your kids at that age, however I think Pattaya has a few things to offer, miniature Siam, the new underwater world and Jomtien beach around the corner. If you're interested, I can PM you details of my cousins hotel, ideally located between Pattaya and Jomtien, away from the main road. Very quiet and relaxed. Congratulations to you and the wife on surviving the first six months of parenthood, and I hope you enjoy many, many more. Congrats also to the little one (buy him something fluffy from me and the wife and I promise I will repay the gesture if we ever manage to meet up sometime in LOS). The Pattaya & Jomtien areas are beginning to sound pretty good for kids. I like the sound of the water park. As for the hotel info, then please PM away, I am trying to collate as much info as possible this time ready for when we leave. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 >>>Pattaya Park, about a half mile down a side road between S. Pattaya and Jomtien<<< Sounds good, do you know the exact address? >>>Rest of the day hang out at the beach, pool at hotel<<< Can you (or anybody) recommend so pretty good 'kid friendly' hotels?? >>>Traveling with a 4 and a 5 year old without mom sounds to be a bit of a challenge but once you get to Pattaya there will be other kids to hang out with and it's easy getting around. <<< Yeah I know what you are saying about the travelling bit, but I hope to fly down (they love flying : from Udon and just jump in a taxi to wherever. I will make sure that I have all I need to keep them busy during the tiresome journey. Thanks for your thoughts.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 >>>Wow. This thread got bent out of shape fast.<<< Yeah I know, but I hope it's all sorted now >>>Unless your kids are used to being separated from their mum, they will drive you crazy. At ages 4 and 5, kids do not have full "reasoning" capabilities. Which means that if they want mum, they want her *now* and no amount of "tomorrow" or "in two days" will help them, and as such it could be quite traumatic all round.<<< This has crossed my mind, but I am hoping that a fairly recent experience within the family will prove me wrong. Basically, just over a year ago, my wife had a family member pass away, and she had to make the mad dash back to LOS to help with the funeral and all the other things that need to be done. She was gone for just over 2 weeks, and surprisingly I was left at home with the kids (then nearly 3 and 4 years old). I managed to sort out the time off work that I needed and kind of took over all of the usual day to day things that my wife usually puts up with. The great thing is though, that I found it to be fun (perhaps I am one of those house husband types in the making). The bottom line though, is yes the kids did 'pine' after mummy, but after the first day or so, they seemed to settle down with me doing everything, and taking them everywhere pretty well. And what a party it was when mummy came home. So I am hoping that the only difference will be that we will not be at home. Something I hope we can all cope with. >>>So what do kids of that age like? Simple. Activity. Any sort of activity. Going and "seeing" something is a complete waste of time. They like to *do* something. Rides, water, beaches etc.<<< I agree, they most certainly do love to be active. As for 'seeing' things, I would have to disagree a little, because mine do love to go 'see' the zoo, or an underwater world or suchlike. >>>As such, the beach is probably a good bet. Hua Hin, or Phuket (if possible). Good beaches etc. Somewhere with a hotel in VERY close proximity to the beach,<<< Can you recommend any hotels and places to take them in Hua Hin and Phuket, and what sort of facilities are available for them?? >>>For day trips (which I do not really recommend), Dream world out up past Rangsit is a good trip. Lots of rides (although kids at that age are normally too scared of the very "active" rides), water for boating etc.<<< Sounds good, do you know if they have a web site or any information where I can check the place out? >>>However, and again, taking the point that you know your kids, I think you may be underestimating the attractions of the village to your kids. You may find it boring, but they will find it amazing. Depending upon how rural, hours of fun can be had chasing chickens, looking at buffalo, playing ball with the local kids. In my experience, the local village kids take wonderful care of visiting kids, immediately accepting them nto the "pack" and showing them around...language barriers not withstanding. Maybe sweeten the pot with a few goodies that can be left behind (cheap balls, badminton racketsand shuttle cocks, paddles and balls etc), certainly things that will be greatly appreciated by the local kids after your kids have departed.<<< I am not saying that they wont be spending time in the village, I just wanted to try and fit some extra things in while the wife is busy sorting her bits and pieces out. They do love to be in the village, and the local kids do look out for them, but I s'pose I just wanted to have a bit of an adventure with them... >>>My personal appraoch would be to take several large books, plonk myself in the shade with a ice cooler of beer, tell the wife you will watch the kids, and settle back and relax........<<< Exactly what I will be doing during the final week of the holiday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 >>>I have 2 LKs too 2 and 9 years of age, dont speak thai. And my ex-wife was from Sakon Nakhon, so I have also spent quite some time in Udon and NK. Love Nong Khai by the way.<<< I agree, I have had some great times in NK with the family in the past. Sometimes I feel that Nong Khai is seriously underated at times, still depends on what you are looking for I s'pose. >>>I took them to Koh Samet and Koh Chang. Here it is quiet and safe and lots of fun for kids in this age range. 2 kids at the age of 4 and 5 years probably like to run about and can be pretty hard to control in a city with lots of traffic - my kids sure were - so an island virtually without any traffic on it is a good choice IMO.<<< These are 2 islands that I have never travelled to before, can you recommend any good places to stay near to the beaches and things that the kids may like (ie. ice cream vendors :? >>>occasional boat rides with some snorkelling and fishing. It sure proved a hit with my kid, in fact we stayed at koh Chang 3 months. <<< Boat trips and stuff, hmmmm, I am pretty sure my 2 would be into this, dunno about taking them there for 3 months though I am pretty sure that would drive me insane... >>>I believe that was the best time I ever had in Thailand.<<< Glad to hear it Hua, I hope it is for me as well. >>>Have a great time with your kids.<<< Thanks.. , we just got to sort out the finances and dates now....still a while before we go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 >>>BTW, he mentions Pattaya, so here I come: Plenty for the kids, Jomtien beach or Pattaya park, food they are used to, monkey show, maybe a movie, etc..... They may a bit small for other attractions, but who knows, like Sri Racha Tiger zoo, mini siam, nong nooch elephant show, again etc..... <<< All these places sound just great P127, are they all easy enough to get to with the kids in tow, what do you recommend, baht buses or using some of the tour operators?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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