Category: Thailand

Your Next Saturday Outing: The Ancient City

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How do you compress a visit to Thailand’s most famous sights into two hours?  The Ancient City.

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The Ancient City: a perfectly-sized place for tods

Yes, with little ones in tow you can visit just over one hundred replicas of some of Thailand’s most well-known monuments and architectural sites in one day.  A trip to the Ancient City is a great way to comfortably introduce your children to Thai history and culture without the inconveniences of long car rides, air travel, and packed bags.  The Ancient City offers plenty of room for little ones to run freely on beautifully manicured lawns and practice their stair-climbing on scaled-down replicas of famous Thai wats.  The Grand Palace?  The famous floating market?  A replica of a Thai junk boat?  They can all be found at Ancient Siam.

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Logan displaying a healthy glow after much stair climbing

Motorized vehicle-loving toddlers and bike-happy parents will love Ancient Siam.  Tour it via your own private two-, four-, or six-seater golf cart or rented bike .  You could also hop aboard a tram for a guided tour; however this is not nearly as cool as the first two options.

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The golf cart was definitely the highlight of the visit for Logan

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Travelling by golf cart

Now is the perfect time of year to visit Ancient Siam, which is about 40 minutes outside of Bangkok by car.  Because it is completely an outdoor activity, bring hats, sunscreen, and water.  A couple hours of exploring will probably suffice to take in the sights and wear out your little ones enough to sleep the entire car ride home.  We were so happy to discover this new activity.  We hope you will enjoy it, too!

What Not to Miss During the Holidays

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Although we are headed back home to celebrate the holidays this year, I felt it obligatory to share with my readers what not to miss in Bangkok over the next month or two.  After all, Christmas trees are already going up all around town and the weather is starting to cool off.

Logan last Christmas

1.  In search of Christmas toys?  Plan Toys has their unbeatable semi-annual sale throughout the month of December.  Make a morning out of visiting their factory store on Sathorn Soi 10 and you will find discounts from 50-70 percent on some of their finest toys, from doll houses to pull toys to wooden firetrucks, tractors, and more.   There is a crazy awesome train table set up in the front of the store, as well as toy kitchens, cars, trucks, etc.  Bring your little ones along and they will be so busy playing they won’t even know you are buying for them.  Seriously, this is the sale.  Buy for Christmas and stock up for birthdays (both your child’s birthday and his friends birthdays).  You will be happy that you did so.  More about Plan Toys in one of my previous posts – The Land of Wooden Toys.

2. Do not miss the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra’s “Concerts in the Park” at Lumpini every Sunday evening at 5:30pm from December-February.  This is an awesome opportunity to let the little ones roam free with their friends while you nosh on bread and cheese (and maybe – gasp- bring a little wine) and listen to the Orchestra’s renditions of famous tunes from the Indiana Jones to the Phantom of the Opera to Christmas music and more.  The concert dates for 2012-3 as listed on the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra’s FB page:

Sunday 16, December 2012
Sunday 23, December 2012
Sunday 6, January 2013
Sunday 13, January 2013
Sunday 20, January 2013
Sunday 27, January 2013
Sunday 3, February 2013
Sunday 10, February 2013

Concerts are free of charge.  Bring your tots, some food and drink (they sell popcorn, soft drinks and a few other snacks), friends, bikes and trikes, rent a mat or two to sit on, and enjoy.  This is a beautiful time of year to be outside.

3.  Hit up an enjoyable and delicious Christmas buffet.  There are only a gazillion options in Bangkok – so choose a location that seems family-friendly, is reasonably priced, and will make your tummy happy.  Our favorite is the Sukothai Chocolate Buffet.  While the Chocolate Buffet is offered year-round, the Sukothai is decorated so beautifully at Christmas that we venture to the buffet once a year during the holidays.  Don’t worry, there is a savoury table to match the sweet one.  In the event of a sweet headache, just start altering between the two (my husband has the method down)!  The buffet runs about 1200 baht/person (and half that for children) over the holidays.

Sukothai Chocolate Buffet last Christmas

Logan loved it!

Oh, there is so much more to do in Bangkok during the holidays.  If you have suggestions, please share them in the comments.  We’re all looking for new ways to explore a city that offers so much, and the holidays are a great time to explore.

Butterflies and Biking

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Fall has arrived in Bangkok.  The beautiful, blue sky fall.  I would add “cool,” too, except for the fact that it was a balmy 95F last weekend, which in my book does not really qualify as “cool.”  How about cooler?  Ok, yes, let’s settle on that.  So, the beautiful, blue sky, cooler-weather fall has arrived.  And you know what?  It’s a travesty not to spend it outside.    There are lots of great options for a little trip away this time a year.  Get your ancient Thai history on and head up to Ayutthaya for a day spent marveling at the palatial ruins.

Family trip to Ayuthaya soon after we arrived in Thailand

Take a two-hour drive to Hua Hin, relax on the beach, and try out the new water park.

Enjoying the walk-in beach pool at the Grand Hyatt in Hua Hin

Mosey on up to Khao Yai and enjoy the national park, wine country (just the country; not the wine), and let your little ones delight in feeding calves and goats and riding ponies at Chokchai Farms.

Logan feeding calves at Chokchai last month

Or, for an even closer option, spend a morning at Rotfai Park.

Beautiful day for a bike ride in Rotfai Park

Rotfai is nice and shady; perfect for biking and jogging

It took us two good friends (thanks Jane and Rob!) and a year and a half on the ground before we discovered Suan Rotfai.  And since that discovery a few months ago, we’ve been to Rotfai five times.  Nestled close to Jatujak Weekend Market, Rotfai Park is an oasis of shade, bike paths, and butterflies.  It is serenity.  There is plenty of space for your little ones to run around, practice their bike-riding skills, and take in nature.  Aside from the shade, the best part about Rotfai is that you can rent bikes at 20 baht a pop (yes folks, that is less than 0.75 cents) – bikes for adults and kids of every age and size, bikes with training wheels, bikes with bike seats for children, bikes with baskets, bikes adorned with Hello Kitty – they have it all.

Step One: Rent a bike

After shelling out 20 baht for a bike, stroll through the park to the Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, an indoor type of arboretum, which is home to many beautiful butterflies, and your occasional fish, tadpoles, and frogs.  Toddlers love this place.  Parents should love this place.  Kids can run free, up and down ramps, across bridges, around in circles, all the while admiring flora and fauna.

Step Two: Park your bike at the Butterfly Museum and wander inside

Step Three: Let your little ones explore the museum until their hearts are content

Beautiful butterfly

Butterfly deux

Butterflied-out, head around to the park’s playground, part of which is sponsored by Michelin  and boasts tire swings, tire bridge, tire ladders, tire seesaw . . . you get the point.

Step Four: Visit the playground

Step Five (optional): Check out the park’s heavy equipment

Your best bet is to go to Suan Rotfai early.  It’s a great thing to do as a family, but can be even more fun with a few families and several bikes in tow.  I don’t dare try to give you directions to Rotfai because I would probably get you lost.  Instead, I’m going to leave you with some additional reviews that provide maps and directions, including the official Suan Rotfai link:  Bangkok.com – Bangkok Parks, the parent vine – Rotfai Park, and the Government of Thailand’s official Rotfai Park site.

Rotfai Park makes for an awesome weekend morning spent out with the kids this time of year.  We highly recommend it.  Get out and enjoy this gorgeous weather!

U.S. Brands at Very Low Prices? Yes, Please.

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How many times have you checked the tag of your child’s $18 Gap shirt to find out that it was made in Thailand?  Right.  So, where is all of that clothing and how do you find it here at super bargain-basement prices?  While I’m certainly not the expert on this, I have found one joint that delivers.  If you are strolling around the Central Chitlom area, check out the indoor market on the bottom floor of the Sindhorn Building (just next to the 7/11) on Wireless Road on a Tuesday morning.  The best time to go is between 9-11am; before 9 the vendor is still unloading his clothing, after 11 the market gets swamped with lunchtime browsers.

Children’s clothing vendor at Sindhorn on Tuesdays

You have to dig, but you can find some great stuff!

I’m not sure if this stuff isn’t sized exactly right, is sample clothing, or you know, just fell off the truck, but I have found some awesome Gymboree, Oshkosh, Carter’s, and Sprockets clothes at excellent prices at this little market.  You have to dig, and you have to be mindful that what you’ve picked up doesn’t have a small defect here or there, but I have been happy with everything I’ve gotten for both Logan and Kate.  Furthermore, nothing that I have bought (from onesies to pajamas to shorts/shirt combinations has cost more than 180-200 baht).  You know how quickly little ones grow.  It’s so nice to be able to find U.S. brands at very low prices so that you don’t feel so guilty when they grow out of them right away.

Darling Sprockets spacehip pajamas for boys

Sweet Logan modeling his pajamas

The market also has great seasonal/holiday finds.  I picked up the below Halloween sleeper (Carter’s) for Kate and Santa bibs (Gymboree) for Logan and Kate.  It’s not easy to find a U.S. brand Halloween sleeper in Thailand, but this guy has it.  Enjoy your shopping!

Kate modeling her Halloween onesie

Super cute onesie feet

P.S. – I’ve also heard from several friends that the third floor of Platinum Mall offers some great children’s export clothing at low prices.  I have yet to check it out, but from what it sounds like, it’s worth a try, too!