Flight Review: Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur with Cathay Pacific (3 hours)

We had an early morning flight so we checked in the day before using Hong Kong's In Town check in.  This saved us a lot of hassle on the day of travel. HK Airport was so busy our friend's who were travelling with us weren't able to check their bags all the way through to Langkawi.
I had booked the flight using Cathay Miles a while back and secured the bassinet for my 6 month old baby.
Cathay's regional fleet aren't particularly new but the service is normally good and on time.  I always forget but Cathay give you a pack with some diapers, Mustela nappy cream and nappy bag.  They also gave me 2 jars of baby food and some apple juice (shown in picture above).  Cathay also give the kids a pack with some crayons, stickers etc.
We had video on demand so my toddler sat and watched the Muppets movie.  All in all a pretty good flight.

And today's liquid rules at London Heathrow T5 are....

Every time I travel there seems to be a new set of rules at security for liquid! Sometimes I breeze through with all my baby liquids intact (thank you Hong Kong Airport) and other times I'm pulled up on it.  Here are the liquids I had in my hand luggage flying back from Heathrow T5 and what happened at security:

• 3 sterilised baby bottles, 1 containing 210ml of water
• 1 bottle of Piriton, antihistamine
• 1 carton Aptamil
• 3 Ella's Organic pouches http://www.ellaskitchen.co.uk/

I had to taste the water in the baby bottle.  He then opened my carton of Aptamil and decanted it into one of the baby bottles and made me taste it.  I then had to taste one of the Ella's organic pouches (thankfully not the revolting chicken one).

I would therefore advise if you are carrying Aptamil cartons through you make sure you have at least one empty sterilised bottle to decant it in case they open it.  

Always expect the unexpected!

I really thought I had this travel business sewn up but just when you think you're in for an easy ride, someone throws you a curve ball.  I just came back from the UK on BA with the 2 kids on my own also accompanied by my friend and her 2 kids.  We'd had a fairly easy journey through check in, security etc.  Got on the plane, kids were well behaved and low and behold we heard the words 'technical fault'.
The Captain approximated 30 minutes (try adding another 90) and it reminded me that you can never be prepared enough.  Luckily the lovely staff in World Traveller Plus furnished our kids with water and a few snacks.  I had stupidly not packed the DVD player for this trip thinking we wouldn't need it but Sally's Ipad was on hand.  So moral of the story is as we learnt in the Girl Guides - be prepared!

Hotel Review: The Andaman, Langkawi

Over the last few years we have tended to stay in villas over hotels.  I was very excited for our Langkawi adventure with another family and booked The Andaman on the strength of its Tripadvisor reviews and family facilities.  I wrote my own lengthy Tripadvisor review following my stay which I will paste below.  The long and short of it is that the hotel has amazing leisure facilities - beautiful pools, beach and activities but is sorely let down by its rooms and service.

“Amazing facilities but let down by rooms and service”

Reviewed April 10, 2012

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person found this review helpful

I was looking for a 5 star hotel with great facilities for kids. The hotel bills itself as 'luxury' and I was very excited for my stay. Unfortunately as soon as I entered our room, my heart sank as I felt the room did not match up to its 5 star billing and price. If I was paying less money for this hotel then I wouldn't have minded but the fact is that the rooms are expensive and not up to scratch. Our room was dark, dusty with a musty smell. And we were in the more expensive wing. Our friends room in the slightly cheaper wing had a terrible smell, so much so we dubbed it the 'swamp wing'. We also bumped into a colleague who had found some knickers that weren't theirs under the bed and promptly checked out to the Datai.
The service was also patchy during our stay. It ranged from incredible individual staff like Rina, to staff who would just ignore you at the poolside restaurant, bring out drinks long after the food had arrived or forget simple requests.
My husband decided to complain to the GM Anne about the level of service and room quality. Whilst she made little apology for the room, she did offer us a free dinner and it also seemed like service for the following days improved dramatically around the hotel.
I would also say the food quality is good but not up to the standard of other 5 star hotels I have stayed in. If you want amazing food, head up the road for dinner at the Datai (the hotel offers a free car service)
I can't just talk about the negatives as there are lots of positives going for the Andaman. The pools are stunning and perfect for kids. The beach is beautiful and the gym is one of the best I have seen in a hotel. The free yoga classes were great and kids under 3 eat free which saved us a lot of money. They also cleaned and sterilised my baby bottles which saved me some work! The spa is also well worth a visit with breathtaking views and fabulous treatments.

Sterilising on holiday

If you're lucky enough to be in a villa with a microwave then that's great.  Pack some microwave sterilising bags and off you go!
If, like me, you're about to spend a week in a hotel then it's worth first of all calling ahead to see if the hotel can provide a steriliser in your room.  Unfortunately my hotel, http://www.theandaman.com/ said no.  They did say that room service could do it for me but I'm not sure how much waiting around that will involve.
I am not packing an enormous steriliser so my next option is to use Milton sterilisation tablets.
I have done this before on holiday with Daisy a few years ago and basically involves you taking about 20 minutes out of your day to wash the bottles and then soak them in a sterilising solution.  You can then use the room's kettle to add your boiling water.

It's a bit of a faff but I really don't have luggage space for a huge sterilising machine!

We're off to Malaysia tomorrow for a week and I'm trying to nail this packing malarkey!  I've decided to cram Daisy's trunki full of all the kids stuff allowing me more room for books and magazines in my hand luggage - hoorah!  Although who am I kidding, with 2 kids on a plane am I really going to get any peace and quiet...?

Accommodation Review: Villa Baan Chao Lay, Koh Samui

Booking agent:
http://www.samuivillasandhomes.com/

I have talked about this company in a previous post.  You can go for slightly cheaper Boutique villas or more expensive Signature villas that come with chef.  The company are easy to deal with, if you book in advance you get early bird discount and are very family friendly in providing cots, fold out beds, high chairs, childrens cutlery

We were 4 families (8 adults, 4 toddlers, 2 babies) and we chose villa Baan Chao Lay which is located on Lipa Noi beach in Western Koh Samui.

The villa came fully staffed with a villa manager, maid, chef, handyman and it was the staff that made our experience outstanding.  The staff were happy to play with the kids, babysit, offer up cocktails at 5pm and cook the most delicious Thai food ever.

The villa has 4 equal double bedrooms with ensuite of an excellent standard and an enormous master en suite.  This was nice as nobody felt like they got the 'dud' room.  The pool was big and there was a small jacuzzi attached to it that the kids liked to play in.  There was ample living space with DVD player and sound system.  Surrounding the pool was a grassy area for the kids to play on and direct access to the beach.  There was also a lovely outdoor sala with comfy chairs and a great place to enjoy the sunset.

The villa is located on a quiet stretch of beach but you can walk for 20 minutes and enjoy the Nikki Beach Club and other small restaurants.  I truly cannot fault the villa, it is the perfect place for a family holiday.