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.

Flight Review: Bangkok to Koh Samui (40 mins to 1 hour)

I couldn't book us on to the direct flight from HKG to Koh Samui so we went indirect via Bangkok.  The only benefit to this was that we cleared immigration in Bangkok and avoided the often lengthy queues at Koh Samui.

Despite the long walk between gates, I do love Bangkok Airways.  Anyone flying with them gets access to their lounge which has loads of free food, newspapers and computer terminals.  I think they might be the only airline to provide this and it's great for kids.

Outbound we were on one of their little propellor planes (1 hour) and inbound on a jet (40 mins).  They serve a meal on both legs and the staff are very friendly.  On the jet there are tvs that hang down from the ceiling but on the propellor there's nothing so make sure you bring an activity for your kids.

We were able to bring our buggy direct to the gate and I kept my baby in the Baby Bjorn for the duration of the flight.

I have also just signed us up for their Frequent Flyer programme which I wish I'd done years ago!

Immigration, HK Airport & a new baby

For HK Residents, I believe (although not 100% sure) kids have to be around 11 to get an ID card.  Therefore if you are traveling with your little ones, gone are the days when you can jetset through the electronic immigration aisle.
You will now have to queue in the HK Resident channel (although there never seems to be a massive queue here) and if you look really harassed and have a screaming baby they may usher you through the Diplomat Channel if there's nobody there.
My 3 month old baby does not have her visa yet in her passport.  I have her visa on a loose bit of paper (note to self, must not lose this!) and I always travel with a copy of her birth certificate.  I have had a bit of bother the last few times I've been in and out of HK as they take their time looking at the visa paper and questioning the passport.  So it's better to be prepared with the birth certificate and never forget your own HK ID card!

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport - aka the marathon airport

If you are transiting through Bangkok's International airport then make sure you leave plenty of time to catch your connecting flight.  I swear it took about 45 minutes to depart our plane, pick up new tickets from the Bangkok Airways transit desk and then walk the ten thousand miles to the domestic flight gates!  Be sure to keep your stroller and not check it all the way through to your final destination as you will need it.  And you can stick toddlers on the luggage trolley for a nice ride!

The never ending walkways....

Flight Review: Cathay HK to Bangkok

We've just come back from a fantastic villa trip with a group of families to Koh Samui.  More on that later as I thoroughly recommend the villa company we used.

Unfortunately as it was Chinese New Year, I couldn't get us on to the direct Bangkok Airways flights so we flew via Bangkok.

As the flight was 9am, we decided to use the In Town check in the day before so that we could leave a little later the next morning.  Thank goodness we did this as a few hours later my other half developed gastro and was pretty much useless for the next 24 hours.

The plane was one of Cathay's ageing 777s so although it was a bit ropey looking, the seats by the bulkhead were generous.  It was also nice to be sat in a 3 by the window.  Even better was the fact that by total coincidence friends of ours with their children were sat directly behind us.

The skycot was pretty big so the baby was happy and Daisy and her friend played happily for 2 hours underneath the skycot.  As always, the Cathay staff were friendly and helpful.  Cathay will always provide a nappy pack including nappy, nappy sack, Mustela cream and a kids pack.  We were able to take the buggy straight to the plane and then it was waiting for us as we got off at Bangkok.