Everything on living in Hoi An after almost 6 months here. This post started out as a bit of a whinge about how dull it was sitting still for a couple of months but in our second month, after starting this post in the wee small hours, we went out for breakfast and a bike …
Travel in Southeast Asia
I’ve been wondering for days if we could take kids to the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin on Ko Phangan. I asked around and got mixed answers. Blog posts like this one describing it as a “war zone” had me wondering. In the end we went to find out for ourselves. We just happened …
Are you worrying about travelling to Thailand with kids? We can help you with that. If you’d like to dip your toe in the water of Asian family travel, taking kids to Thailand would be my top recommendation. We have been to Thailand with our children 20+ times, each trip has been fabulous and problems …
This is the question I’m asked most in our Facebook group – Living Differently. Do I need onward flight tickets, a return flight ticket, or other proof of onward travel, to fly into Thailand. It’s not always Thailand, sometimes it’s Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but we’ll address Thailand in this post. First I’d like to …
This post deals with things to do in Ao Nang and trips to take from Ao Nang, a beach area in Krabi province, Thailand. Krabi is on Southern Thailand’s west coast, approximately 800 km south of Bangkok. It’s part of the mainland, not an island, and is famous for beautiful limestone formations which continue out …
Sarawak is a state in north-west Borneo, part of Malaysia. The Malay part of Borneo is sometimes called Eastern Malaysia. Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan are the three Malaysian states and federal territories in Borneo. The rest of Borneo belongs to Indonesia and Brunei. In times gone by Sarawak changed hands regularly before becoming a part …
The day we went swimming with manta rays off Bali Indonesia, was one of my favourite days of our six years of full-time travel. The famous Manta Bay is actually off Nusa Penida and we were staying in Ubud Bali. Were we even close enough to take this epic snorkelling trip? It turned out that …
We posted already about our experiences of travelling around Southeast Asia with kids (for 5 years!) now let’s have a look at where you should go in Southeast Asia. What are the standout, must-see places, attractions, and destinations You’re probably in the process of planning your Southeast Asia trip, or thinking about taking your children …
First of all, don’t panic. You can visit Asia with kids. In fact, travel to Asia with kids is pretty easy. I normally tell people how to backpack around or through South East Asia with kids, in that, I help them with planning, itineraries and travel arrangements. Today I’m going to tell you what it’s …
One of the best things I did during our 6 months in Hoi An Vietnam, was find a morning for myself to take a Hoi An photo tour with Pieter. Pieter runs Hoi An Photo Walks – Now renamed Photo Voyager – and we already knew him socially through our running in Hoi An, he is …
Ethical elephant attractions in Thailand are a bit of a hot potato so over the years we’ve decided to just not get involved. We haven’t done anything involving elephants since back in the days when we were all OK to ride them. Then suddenly it wasn’t OK and a huge publicity campaign made elephants something …
A reader asked me to write a Thailand itinerary for her 3 week vacation, I think it’s best to start with 2 weeks, because that’s how long most holiday makers have, and add on some optional extras as trip time allows. A Thailand itinerary is something unique to each person, one man’s dream tour is …
It’s time for us to write a post on our favourite and recommended hotels, hostels, and guest houses in Southeast Asia. Hostels in Southeast Asia are generally very good and many have family rooms, however, they’re not always the cheapest accommodation option. You’ll find that guest houses and cheap hotels in Asia are often cheaper …
Hoi An is a magical little town on the coast in central Vietnam and is a lovely destination with kids filled with interesting things to do for your children and for you as a family. We enjoyed 6 months in Hoi An with our kids and we return regularly. This post is about things to …
Maeklong railway market is really no distance at all from Bangkok, is easy to get to and well worth the trip. The Maeklong market itself is a fascinating warren of stalls many selling local seafood, but it’s the trains passing through that most want to see. We’ve tried getting to Maeklong by local bus ( …
The kumquats and flowers of Tet were just one of the highlights and interesting happenings during our 6 months living in Hoi An. Tet in Vietnam is a huge festival, Lunar New Year, and it was a privilege to be in Vietnam at this special time. Kumquats play a starring role in the Tet festivities …
Visiting Singapore at Christmas, what is there to see and do in Singapore at Christmas and where should you stay? We share experiences and reviews of spending Christmas in Singapore, plus tips on what activities to book in advance. Nobody will ever tell you Singapore is cheap. Singapore is expensive, that’s a fact. This trip …
We spent Christmas in Singapore. Of those 2 weeks the highlight was our 3 days staying at Telunas Resort on their private island site. Along with the Private Island’s luxurious over-water villas, we also had the chance to experience the fantastic family-friendly facilities on the neighbouring Telunas Beach Resort site, for a slightly different slice …
Tha Kha floating market is a smaller, less well known floating market near Bangkok. It is a much better experience than visiting the popular Damnoed Saduak floating market, which is the market most tourist tours will take you to. Amphawa floating market is also near Bangkok and trips can take you to any of these, …
Northern Thailand is one of the best places to visit in Thailand. Best, most beautiful places to visit in Northern Thailand and a Northern Thailand Itinerary. Things to do and places to see in the north of Thailand. Don’t stop at Chiang Mai! We think Northern Thailand is one of the best parts of Thailand …
Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand should be a lot higher on people’s places to visit list than it is, we enjoyed 2 very full days staying in Chiang Rai on our Thailand road trip and highly recommend you make the journey just 3 hours ( roughly) from Chiang Mai to explore the temples, villages, forests …
This is how we renewed a UK passport in Bangkok. British passport renewal in Thailand. Our younger son’s UK passport was down to less than 6 months and we had absolutely no desire to head back to the UK to get it renewed. We were in Vietnam and about to travel to Malaysia so it …
We’ve been seeing amazing images in galleries around town of picturesque Vietnamese women paddling canoes and sampans through floodwaters in Hoi An‘s incredibly ancient laneways but we didn’t really expect to be here to experience the Hoi An floods for ourselves. This post is about being in Hoi An during flooding. The day before yesterday …
The menu just said banh xeo, Vietnamese pancakes. We ordered them, innocent and unexpecting with no idea what would be delivered to our table. We were in Hoi An, a city in central Vietnam famous for good food so we figured, as we had 3 months to spend in Vietnam, that we should try every …
Hoi An is famous as a food lovers’ destination with many local specialities to eat. The Vietnamese food here is superb but there are also some great Western, Asian and Western / Asian fusion restaurants to try. What to eat in Hoi An, after trying (almost) every dish and every restaurant over 5 months. Every …
We only stayed one night, but the Almanity Hotel Hoi An was a resort, hotel, and spa, to fall in love with. We know Hoi An well now, after 2 months living on the edge of the historic Old Town and we know that standards in Vietnam are superb at the Almanity Hotel’s level. Still, …
If you’re looking for an incredible place to stay near the UNESCO listed Hoi An Old Town yet with views of the East Vietnam Sea and the Cham Island Biosphere Reserves, the Sunrise Premium Resort Hoi An could be the resort hotel for you. It’s a fantastic resort with luxury appointments, a spa, incredible dining …
Vietnam is one of our favourite countries, packed with history, stunning landscapes, cultural highlights, and amazing food. It’s one of the most exciting destinations in South East Asia. We visited back in 1999 for the first time ever and we go back regularly to create this Vietnam Travel Blog section for you. We’ve had the …
Our big, number 1 thing to do in Saigon Vietnam is the Cu Chi Tunnels tour and Cao Dai temple visit as a 1 day tour from Ho Chi Minh City. This post covers the best way to get to the Cu Chi tunnels, take a tour of the tunnels, and visit a Cao Dai …
We spent almost 6 months living in Hoi An Vietnam, so we needed to shop at her markets regularly. We started with the Hoi An Central Market near the river in the UNESCO listed Old Town. As we found our feet we started to use Tiger Market and other local food markets. The Hoi An …
We’re here in Vietnam with kids, two of them, plus two parents. Our first three days in Saigon (the wider area is Ho Chi Minh City) were sensational and I’ll tell you a bit about how that went and all the wonderful things to do in Saigon along with where to stay and what to …
Before you buy a carry on bag or backpack, read this. Yesterday I was ready to buy the immensely popular Farpoint 40 L Backpack for my son. It’s a great bag, good quality and has everything you could ask for but, just as I reached for my credit card, the shop assistant mentioned that although …
Hiring a car in Thailand is pretty straightforward and a great way of seeing the country. While renting or hiring a car in Bangkok maybe isn’t such a great idea, other parts of Thailand are perfectly set up to explore by road. We tried our hand at driving in Thailand with a self drive vehicle in …
Malaysia is a fantastic destination for families boasting beaches, culture, wildlife, great food, and plenty of child-friendly attractions. It’s not the cheapest place in the world, but being in South East Asia, prices for family travel and vacations are moderate. There are 2 parts to Malaysia, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo) and the …
Thailand for families, best places and parts of Thailand for families to visit. Thailand highlights for families to enjoy on a visit. trip, or vacation. Information on visiting Thailand as a family, for families. Thailand is a fantastic and relatively easy destination for families, for you and your kids. We’d certainly rate it the easiest …
There is an incredible selection of things to do in Penang with kids along with family-friendly resort hotels, good food, and reasonable transport options. Penang is a popular vacation or holiday destination for local and international family travel. This post is about places to visit in Penang with family or with kids, with ideas on …
6 weeks in Thailand, what a ride! If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll know a lot about our trip already, but some of you don’t and some of you will want more detail, so here’s a round-up on our 6 weeks in Thailand, where we went, what it cost, what we …
Our review of the Novotel Phuket Karon Beach Resort and Spa in Phuket Thailand. This is one of the best family hotels in Phuket, and has a kids club and excellent activities. This is a hotel with a wow factor! After enjoying 3 days at Novotel Surin Beach we moved on to Novotel Karon beach, …
Phuket is one of the islands of Thailand and for some a dream exotic holiday destination. It lies to the south-west of mainland Thailand, near other holiday hotspots such as Krabi and Ko Phi Phi. The Simian Islands are to the north of Phuket, also on the Andaman shore. Phuket is, sadly, an island with …
Food is one of our favourite things and food photography is part of that. Chef and I were very impressed with the food on offer at Novotel Surin Beach and we have rather a lot of photos to share, so here’s a selection for you to enjoy. Everyone Instagrams their breakfast right? Thai salads and …