Trial travel: THAILAND

First Long-Haul Adventure

For the little pandas'  very first long-haul trip , we tried travelling under 12 hours… so we compromised and met the Kiwi family halfway in Thailand for a whole month. Off we go! 🌏🐼

🧳 TRAVELLING

The overnight flight to Bangkok: Smooth, sleepy, and surprisingly easy. 😴➡️🇹🇭

🏙️ BANGKOK

Landing in this buzzing mega-city, our little panda bears were totally at ease🐼🐼

Arriving at our accommodation, however… that was a different story.
The payment (made through a very well-known booking site 🙃) “could not be verified,” and we were asked to pay again.
Internet access? Conveniently “not available” until we check- in — but check-in wasn’t possible without payment confirmation. A perfect little loop. 🔄

But Mama Panda does not give up. After a bit of polite-but-determined insistence 💪🐻, internet was miraculously granted, the payment was verified, and all unnecessary stress after a 20-hour trip door to door officially resolved. 

After that? Everything went wonderfully.
The little pandas loved discovering Thailand’s capital in a traditional Tuk Tuk 🛺💨.
Bangkok felt cleaner and easier to navigate than Mama Panda remembered — a pleasantly surprising first stop.

Our apartment hotel was in a safe area… yet somehow surrounded by mysterious “hidden” clubs who eagerly tried inviting us in — including our eldest panda. 🕺🐼
We kindly declined (7 years old might be a tiny bit young for Bangkok's nightlife 😄).

We chose delicious food instead — thankfully our pandas adore rice! 🍚

Only for Mama Bear  to later discover that Papa Bear and little Finnbear may or may not have enjoyed “just one” apple juice 🍎🧃… or two 😏 in an infamous club — at least, that’s what Mama Panda firmly believes! 

We did all the classic sightseeing, with the highlight being a breezy boat ride on the Chao Phraya River. 🚤🌅

🏝️ KOH SAMUI:

Then it was time to head somewhere more remote — a whole month of relaxing, recharging, and catching up with family flying in all the way from New Zealand. ☀️🌴

Our rented house was amazing:  colonial old style, huge including pool table and a pool shared between just three other houses. Truly the best decision ever with young panda bears! 🐼🐼💦
They always had friends from Germany, France and England  to play with, discovering that speaking three languages is basically a superpower 🗣️

In addition everything was close enough to keep an eye on them — making it one of the most relaxing times for the parent pandas.

And having the grandparents there made it even more special. ❤️🐼👵👴

The beach was only a 6-minute walk away… though under the midday sun, it sometimes felt a lot longer. 🌞

But the little pandas were rewarded not only with a serene, beautiful coastline and delicious food — they were also showered with the incredible kindness and love Thai people have for children. 💛
They even ended up getting regular free massages. Lucky little pandas indeed! 🐼

Other uninvited guests, however, gave us a bit of a scare: snakes and free roaming dogs passing by the house. 🐍😳
Luckily, they were far more frightened of us than we were of them.

Between thrilling adventures like tree-ziplining , strolling through markets to discover new food, and wandering through forgotten antique villages mysteriously covered in moss…

there was also homeschooling.

Let’s just say it involved complaints, negotiations, and the occasional wobble. 😄✏️

But worldschooling in Koh Samui? Absolutely worth it:

• 🌏 Environmental lessons: The house requested garbage separation — just like home — but the pandas quickly saw that much waste still ended up mixed together and later washed onto beaches. A powerful, real-life lesson in environmental impact.

• 🧗‍♂️ Physics on a steep hill: To reach some scenic spots, you needed actual horsepower. Our neighbours never made it up with their tiny car and ended up rolling backwards — funny in hindsight since everyone stayed safe.

• 🚗 Road safety (or the lack of it): In Koh Samui, “zebra crossings” are decorative artwork. Crossing the street is basically a sprint. Excellent reflex training for pandas.

• 🤝 Negotiation skills: Whether buying something or catching a taxi — always negotiate before getting in. Unless you're in the capital with metered cars, this rule is sacred.

• 🛕 Culture & religion: Visiting serene temples and learning the history and values of Buddha inspired the pandas' later school presentations. Buddhism became their newest discovered religion.

• 🐠 Coral reef education: Seeing both damaged and intact reefs taught them how fragile marine ecosystems are. Thankfully, the Thai government has closed some sites for recovery — a hopeful sign.

• 🐘 Our absolute highlight — the Elephant Sanctuary:
  No rides, no shows, no touching except feeding — all for the elephants’ protection.
  The pandas learned about the dark side of tourism, elephant behaviour, their food (which we prepared) and medical care for older elephants.

  They even discovered the glamorous career path of “Elephant Digestion Helpers” 🐘 — because yes, someone has to deal with 100 kg of dung per day 💩💪.

  In case anyone is currently job hunting… we  believe this prestigious position is still open 😂

Worldschooling also included:

• 🥊 Thai kickboxing: Our pandas loved the training — a real-life ninja academy. The staff were incredibly kind.

• ⚽ Football golf: … with the cattle cheering from the sidelines. 🐮

• 🏞️ A little mountain adventure: Our smallest panda climbed a hill with Papa Bear and was rewarded with a breathtaking view over the bay.

Overall, it was an illuminating adventure that brightened the pandas’ minds and sparked the idea of a world trip. 🌍✨🐼