FTC disclosure- This trip to Thailand was sponsored by Dramamine. I certify that I truly do have motion sickness and these are my true opinions about the brand.
#Keepitmoving: The Ziering’s Thailand Adventure
On June 24th we packed up and took a trip across the world to Thailand. Ian and I always dreamed of going to Thailand. We had planned to go there for our honeymoon but the plans fell through. We were so excited for this opportunity. To be honest the idea of 21 hours of travel with the kids was a little intimidating, but we were fully committed. Leaving at 2am, the kids were exhausted and actually slept for most of our flight! It was incredibly easy and I would definitely suggest a late night flight for families wanting to take a big adventure.
We landed at our final destination in Bangkok and took a cab through town to stay in the Anantara Sathorn Bangkok Hotel. The kids were prepped on how to say Hello and Thank you in Thai so they were really excited to greet our hotel staff. We spent our first day relaxing and enjoying the pool in preparation for our big adventure the next day. We started our day with the Bangkok Temple and Market Tour from Thai Tour Guide. The kids loved our tour guide, and she loved them just as much! They took us on a grand adventure through the city starting with speed trains, then on to boats then buses. I was so glad I brought along my Non Drowsy Naturals from Dramamine for the family. Since having the girls I get serious motion sickness in any moving vehicles. It has ruined many of our vacations because I am just too nauseous or sleepy from the medication to keep up. With the Non Drowsy I am finally able to keep up and feel great!
We ventured through town to The Grand Palace and visited many other temples. It was absolutely beautiful. Honestly the kids were a little bored with touring but loved all the modes of transportation in between! The boat ride and meeting the monks were their favorite part of the day. In Thailand, the Ziering girls were a big hit and they felt like movie stars everywhere they went. Everyone wanted a picture with them. This kept them excited to keep it moving while mom and dad soaked in the amazing history and culture. After long days of touring the girls kept early bed times of 7pm on this trip and were always ready to go by 5am. We didn’t get to see much of the night life in Thailand but for a family adventure it was perfect.
Our 3rd day in we took a tour to Ayutthaya to see the old version of Thailand. These Temples, destroyed by wars of the past were amazing to tour. The girls thought it was one big playground and loved running through them (and of course stopping to respect each Monk) Our tour guide was amazing, she made sure to let the girls know all the rules and also helped them speak Thai throughout the day. As this time of year is Monsoon Season we were expecting rain and on this day had an epic downpour. We were all soaked to the bone but loved it. We ended our day after the rain, with a private long tail boat around the historic ruined city.
Bangkok, Thailand
Next we were off by air ! After 3 days of touring history we were heading to the Islands for a few days of pools and beach. The kids were thrilled. They were ready for some snorkeling and beach games! We arrived on the Island of Koh Samui staying at the beautiful Bandara Resort & Spa. As soon as we hit the beach the kids saw Wave Runners and Ian was on it. After taking his Non Drowsy Naturals he was ready to hit the Ocean Waves. They cruised around at sea and had the best time. I stayed on land for this one to catch some fun videos! Our next day the hotel helped us rent a private boat and captain and we spent the day cruising from private island to private island. We all went snorkeling and relaxed in beautiful lagoons. The 3rd day there were took a large group tour on a large boat to Anthong National Marine Park. The boat was rockin and rollin and the kids were ready to take their children’s Dramamine this day. It seemed like the entire boat, except for the Ziering family was sea sick on our way there! Once we arrived we spent our time jumping from the boat, snorkeling and kayaking. On this day Penna got stung by a Jellyfish! She was actually excited about it because we don’t have them on our beaches. The captain said most grown men cry and he couldn’t believe she was giggling while he was cleaning it! For our last day there we enjoyed the beach and resort then ventured into the cutest night market and town to enjoy some Thai food and live music with the kids. They had some amazing restaurants! We were shocked at how beautiful and great all the food was. There was also non Thai options available for the kids, but mine were loving the Pad Thai. The girls fell asleep on the chairs beside us at the end of dinner so Ian and I ended up with a kind of date night dancing next to our table and enjoying the culture that evening. We both had to carry a kid home but it was worth it!
Koh Samui, Thailand
On day 7 we were off again! This time we were flying north to Chiang Mai. We were so excited to get there and check out their famous Night Market. It was the first thing we did! We explored street after street of food, fashion and souvenirs. It seemed like it went on forever and I highly recommend checking this out in Chiang Mai. Preparing for the golden temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep I purchased some golden pants from the Night Market just for photo purposes!
Heading up to the temple the next day was a journey like no other. When we say the windee mountain our driver was about to take us up to get there we promptly all took our Dramamine. Living in the Hollywood Hills we are really used to windee roads but this one was like no other! There would have been no way I would have been capable of touring this without my Dramamine for Motion Sickness. When we finally made it to the top, the temple was amazing. There was a long stairway lined with dragon snakes to reach the top. Once there you take your shoes off to tour the golden temple. (The kids loved having to take their shoes off all the time, especially in the Thailand heat and humidity) I also recommend wearing shoes that slip on and off easily but are comfortable for walking.
After the temple, since we all had taken our Dramamine and the kids were anxious to do something fun, we took them GoKart Racing. This may have been one of the highlights of our trip and they are still fighting about who won and who crashed more. While on a family vacation, especially one that you are touring lots of cultural and historical sites, I think it is really important to break up the adventures and give the kids something fun and exciting to look forward to. This activity, although short, was the perfect balance for everyone.
Our last day there may have been the most magical of all. We took a 2 hour trip to the jungles of northern Thailand to an Elephant Sanctuary to visit the most amazing creatures. These rescued Elephants were so happy being free to run around, splash and play and interact with people. Compared to the African Elephants we recently met, these girls were very small and very social. One of the Elephants had a special attachment to Mia and Penna and followed them around all day on our hike through the jungle and to the streams. It was the perfect ending of this amazing ten day journey for all of us.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
For more Ziering Family Vacations check out- Alaska
