Hitting the beaches in Thailand
Print Edition
An opportunity to escape the cold Shanghai winter needs to be well planned to get the most out of your precious time and to ensure you maximize your vitamin D absorption. My family and I did the very thing during the Christmas break.
We set off early on a cold and crisp Shanghai morning wrapped in our hoodies, hats and gloves. We avoided the coats knowing only too well they would weigh us down on arrival in the sun. The extra layers of thermal undergarments lend themselves well for this purpose and are much easier to take off just before arrival and squeeze into your hand luggage.
And off we went on a jet plane to Phuket. Our flight was via Kuala Lumpur, which provided a great opportunity to visit W.H. Smiths and stock up on magazines and books for the holiday. Fifty minutes later we arrived at Phuket International Airport.
Booking a nice hotel which has all the facilities to keep the little ones entertained is a must; after all, it is your holiday too. We booked into a lovely resort which offered a studio room. This had ample room for all five of us. We tend to travel light nowadays and have become quite expert in packing and preparing for holidays in the sun.
With three lively boys who are always hungry, I ensure I pack quick-grab snacks such as cereal bars and dried fruit. The sun protection was packed, rash vests and swimming costumes for the children, iPads for traveling and a small selection of action figures for the boys to play with. The rash vests are the best thing ever; it makes applying sun protection to three boys all the more easy. Just the face, neck, arms and legs get a spray of “Bananaboat” factor 50, a five to 10 minutes’ wait and off they go — straight into the pool. The spray is so much easier than cream and provides good coverage avoiding any exposed areas of skin from getting sunburnt.
On our holidays we usually book an excursion for day three or four to break up the week. On this particular holiday we visited the Phi Phi Islands, which were absolutely stunning. My son Joshua who is in Year 5 wrote this about his holiday:
“Phuket is an amazing place. It’s got beautiful things to see like Phi Phi Islands. It’s got Maya Bay where the movie ‘The Beach’ was recorded. It’s also got Monkey Beach where you can feed monkeys and then go snorkeling ... Phuket has got a lot more fun stuff like good waves and Krabi. I would rate it four-and-a-half stars.”
My family thoroughly enjoyed our holiday in Phuket. It’s a welcome break from the cold winter days here in Shanghai.
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