First family trip to Phuket 2010

We did a 4D 3N trip to Phuket in June with the 2 little ones and David's family. It was a first overseas family trip for us and the packing before that took days! We booked a 2 bedroom resort at the Marriott Vacation Club Mai Khao Beach at special promotional price and I was really looking forward to it.

The trip turned out to be disappointing for me. Firstly, we made a mistake by not bringing along our helper so we ended up having to wash bottles change nappies, wash children clothes etc all by ourselves, when I dont even do this at home! Then I had to juggle my time between feeding baby, pumping, playing with Kaelyn.. Talk about going for a holiday... Secondly, the resort that we were booked in was very inaccessible, very very far from town and the nearest beach was not great at all. Then, Kaelyn came down with a fever the second night, and there goes the rest of our 'holiday'. We spent most of the time in the room itself or just take short walks around the resort, which doesnt have much to see anyway. But the consolation was that our room was big and spacious with full kitchen, 3 plasma TVs, large bathtubs, coffee / tea / water provided, fridge and freezer etc.

Phuket, here we come!



Kids enjoying themselves at the arcade and watching Playhouse Disney together


Sherryn and Kaelyn having a good time in the luxurious bathtub


Our day trip to the Phuket town - Having seafood, Big Buddha and Wat Chalong




I love the soft and big bed!

The beach - nothing to shout about..

The swimming pool - the kids had a great time there on the first day

Outdoor table tennis

Kids club in the resort, where the kids spend quite some time in


Home sweet home - Sherryn in the bassinet


Some takeaways from this trip:

(1) Bring your maid along if you do not want to spend most of your time focussing on a young kid and a baby. There is no time to relax at all! I feel so exhausted when I came back that I took 3 days to recover. Serious!

(2) Bring along all types of medicine for your kids. You never know when you will need them. We called the local doctor in to see Kaelyn in the wee hours of the morning. Good thing we are able to claim from travel insurance.

(3) Book somewhere accessible if you do not want to be stuck in the resort all the time.

(4) Keep the group small. It is sometimes quite difficult to move with a big group as there was a lot of waiting time, mostly contributed by us! Kids needing a change of clothes / diapers, needing to feed, I need to pump etc etc. So I feel quite guilty for holding the group back.

(5) Do planning in advance. We had no idea what to do and see there and in the end really ended up in the resort most of the time. But it was also partly because of the kids and Kaelyn being sick that prevented us from venturing out.

(6) Keep a bottle of water or pacifier or your breasts handy in the plane when the plane takes off and land. This will minimise wailing from the kids due to the pressure in their ears.

Well at least, the kids experienced their very first ride on an aeroplane!