Tag: holiday destination

kids ziplining at singha park chiang rai thailand

Zipline for the First Time. Made the More-Than-24 Hour Car Drive Worthwhile!

Posted on by Ms. Elle

Zipline for the first time, and it is the most exhilarating outdoor activity we have done to date. Zip-line consists of a pulley attached to an inclined steel metal cable secured on a slope. The person is attached to a free moving pulley and moves through the cable aided by gravity from point A to point B. In this case, point A is from an 8-storey tall building stretched to point B on the ground across a vast field of Singha Park. Yep, we did it. Zipline for the first time, and it made the more-than-24-hour car drive to Chaing Rai so worthwhile!

Chaing Rai is the northern most city of Thailand, just a few kilometers away from Myanmar in the west and Laos in the east. It is home to the famous Singha Park where this awesome Zipline activity is found, and where the annual Winter Balloon Festival is held.

How’s the experience?

Well, we geared up and took the elevator up. We watched the structures below get smaller and smaller. Anticipation is building up. This is our first time. We’ve arrived, 8-storey above ground. Cool breeze brushed our blushed skin, waiting for our turn. Hooks checked and put in placed, we positioned and got ready to go. Gates opened and with our hearts in our throats down we went. That moment when your feet leaves the platform and into the open seems like forever stuck in a few seconds. That moment you realize “HOLY MOLLY I’M HANGING HERE” and that there’s no going back. And so without any choice, you decide to let go and give the loudest scream of your life. We screamed at the top of our lungs, laughed, screamed, laughed, and screamed some more without reservation. We landed on the opposite side a bit shaky but safe, intact, and SO thrilled and exhilarated! What an experience! We’d like to do it again. And so we did.

We’re looking forward to our next zipline activity. It was awesome and something worth trying!

two kids geared up to zipline for the first time
Singha Park Chiang Rai Thailand

The takeaway for us from this zipline for the first time experience.

  • We thought it’s way too scary for us because of the height. But realized that we’re stronger and bolder than we thought we were.
  • It was a feat to try something out of our comfort zone, and actually loved it.
  • It is great to invest on giving our children experiences they could treasure forever.
  • For us as parents, to give our children a bit of a slack and let go of the worries, the “what ifs”, and just let them have fun.

Have you tried zipline before? How was your experience?

Please let us know by sharing it on the comment section down below or on Youtube. Thanks.

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shocked kids- A Submarine in the Newest and Biggest Aquarium in Thailand

Kids Fed the Fishes in Aquaria Phuket: Exploring the Largest Aquarium in Thailand

Posted on by Ms. Elle

The new Aquaria Phuket is now the largest aquarium in Thailand, as advertised. It is located in Central Phuket Floresta, right at the heart of metropolis Phuket. Phuket is home to hundreds of expats and welcomes thousands of tourists each year. Aside from island hopping, this could be a great destination, especially for families or a group of friends. As expats ourselves, we had the chance to experience it. We had so much fun in Aquaria Phuket. Fish feeding is one of the most enjoyable activities you can do. Explore the largest aquarium in Thailand.

Kids Fed the Fishes in Aquaria Phuket: Exploring the Largest Aquarium in Thailand

Aquaria Phuket is divided into four distinct zones, namely Station Aquarius, South China Sea, Coastal Heaven, and Mystic Forest.

  1. Station Aquarius is a semi-interactive zone as kids are allowed to touch the different species of star fish in a medium size, shallow pool, which occupies most of the space in this zone. You are required to wash your hands before touching them. It is important to note the grabbing is not allowed. In this area, there are also variety of jellyfish, sea shells, and insect preserves.
  2. The South China Sea Zone. This probably takes the biggest chunk of the aquarium. One of the interesting features of this zone is the USS Lagarto, a USA submarine wreckage from World War II, which was found in the gulf of Thailand. Read more of the submarine in the newest and biggest aquarium in Thailand or watch the video straight away of the submarine in the newest and biggest aquarium in Thailand. Here, children are allowed to feed the fishes. So, it has got a walk-in platform that goes all the way into the center of one of a tank. With a bucket of fish worth 20THB (0.65USD), kids can have a top view of the tank and feed the fishes there. Also found in this zone is the largest underwater restaurant in Asia, the ANDASI Restaurant. It has a spectacular view!
  3. Coastal Heaven features marine animals like penguins, red sea turtles, otters, and reef sharks, and many more. My daughter was pretty excited to see sharks in the aquarium. Their advertisement shows a large shark, and so she wasn’t so thrilled to see the reef sharks. Of course, we had to explain everything to her.
  4. Mystic Forest features variety of fishes segregated; one tank for all colorful tiny ones, the other for the gentle giants. On the second floor of this zone, are wide selections of rainforest insects like spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and frog. It also got chameleons and snakes.

Here’s a short video of Derick and Summer Thailand in Aquaria Phuket. This video shows the Station Aquarius and The South Chine Sea Zones only.

Would you consider bringing your family and friends here? What feature of this aquarium would you be looking forward to seeing?

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11 Things to Enjoy in Samila Beach, Thailand

Posted on by Ryan

Samila Beach is one of the two beaches in Songkhla Province in Thailand, the land of smile. It is famous to locals and tourists alike; one’s visit to Songkhla is never complete without stopping by Samila Beach. It’s a 2 kilometers stretch of beige sand, from the mermaid statue at the south end, near PB Samila Hotel, to the northern end where the magnificent sculpture of Nag the serpent is.

It is a major stop over for tourists coming to Songkhla from Malaysia, Singapore, or nearby provinces. A tour of Songkhla is incomplete without coming here, after all the symbol of Songkhla is found here.  For now, let me share with you some of the things that you could enjoy in Samila Beach.

Here are list of things you can do when in Samila Beach

1. Frolic in the beach, and the best time to do this is late afternoon, when the sun is still out; it’s warm, but not scorching hot. The water is low and calm; it is safe for children, and a perfect time for swimming and sunbathing. In terms of swimwear, there are no rules. Wear whichever you are comfortable in. People are tolerant, courteous, and generally are just minding their own business.

2. Picnic or read a book. A large portion of Laem Samila is shaded by canopies of tall Pine trees. Benches are available, lounging at one of them with your favorite read is another awesome way to relax at Samila beach. If you are with friends be sure to bring a picnic mattress and some snacks from the nearby 7-11 or local food stalls, lie down, relax and gaze up at the blue skies, feel the cool sea breeze, and “chat the noon away.”

3. Enjoy local snacks. Along Laem Son Rod, there are variety of places where you could grab something to eat. As mentioned there’s 7-11 just outside BP Samila Hotel near the roundabout. There’s an Amazon Cafe for coffee aficionados, which is right in front of the beach, on the hillside. And there are plenty of local food stalls along the road selling variety of street food, deep-fried hotdogs, deep-fried shrimp-pancakes, papaya salad, grilled meats, variety of local drinks, and Thai ice cream.

4. Play bubbles. This one is for the kids and kids at heart.  There is no need for you to make your own bubble concoction, you can rent it there for 30 baht (0.91USD or 3.81RM).

5. Horse riding. Yes, you read it correctly. For 150 baht (4.55USD or 19.07RM) you can go on a horse ride, and gallop the whole stretch of Samila beach. I know what you’re thinking, horse manure. Of course, horses do their thing there (they can’t help it ^_^), but it’s owners look after this and see to it that their horse is not soiling the beach. So what they do is they use tissue paper to collect the manure, and place this in a plastic bag (yep plastic bag), and dispose of properly in a bin.

6. Fly a kite. The beach is a nice place to fly a kite. There is no shortage of space and wind. In the afternoon when the water is low, it exposes a vast area of the beach, a totally great place to enjoy kite flying.

7. Beach volleyball. Samila beach has been a regular venue for Beach Volleyball competition which includes the Asian Beach Volleyball Championships and  the AVC Asia Beach Volleyball Championships. Next year, June 19 to 23, 2019  Samila Beach will host the 2019 edition of the men’s and women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships.

8. Take a photo with Samila mermaid statue. One of the most photographed part of Samila Beach is the Bronze Mermaid Statue.  It had been the symbol of Songkhla for over 50 years. Sculpted in 1966, this blackened bronze statuette was the work of master Jitr Buabut who was honored as a national artist and awarded a visual arts award in 2002. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 100.

Another prominent statue found in Samila beach are the Cat and Mouse which represents Songkhla and the Island in front of Samila Beach respectively. There is a bit of wonderful history behind these statues which I will be sharing in the next post.

9. Sunset photography, Wedding photography or selfie. Samila beach can be a sight to behold especially during sunset. Visitors could not help take photos of the beach or take a selfie with the sunset, or the long stretch of khaki sand, or the bright azure sky, or the lush green, shady Pine trees, or mermaid statue at the background.

10. Walk and feel the sand. During the late afternoon when the water is low, it exposes a long, off-white powdery sand, a perfect time and place to re-connect with Earth; ditch your footwear, walk, and feel it. After a days work or a long, cold stay in a conference room, or after long hours of being cramped up in a vehicle, wake your senses up and get your daily dose of vitamin D and “sea” by hanging out on the beach.

11. Dine. And after all these, it is time to fill your growling tummy with fresh, yummylicious seafood or any Thai cuisine of your choice. You don’t have to look far, as there are several seafood restaurants along Laem Son Road just outside the beach shore.

So there you go. I will keep this post updated for what’s up and what’s new with Samila beach.

If you have comments, suggestions, and questions please leave them at the comment section below or you could send me a message at my Facebook page which you could find at the right side bar of the post. Thanks.

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