Destinations
Tempting Thailand
Warm, quiet beaches. Smiling faces and golden stupas. Kayaking, bamboo rafting and elephant watching! If you’re mulling over options for a family vacation, think Thailand!
Planning a holiday, particularly with small children, can be quite challenging. You do want them to have loads of fun, but as a thoughtful parent, you’d also like to add more value to an overseas trip, like enhancing children’s understanding of other cultures and helping them to appreciate different lifestyles. It’s only too easy to lose out on this noble goal, if “sightseeing” means a bunch of bored young faces trailing behind a local tourist guide!
Involving children more actively in the scheme of things can make all the difference! That’s where Muddy Shoes comes in. Informative and child-friendly, the guide motivates children between 8 and 12 years to find out more about their destination in a fun way and to take pride in organizing themselves for the trip ahead. While you go about sorting out dates, flight details and accommodation in Thailand, your children would have picked up an astonishing number of details about local climate, where to shop, what to pack and how to greet people in Thai. They’ll also surprise you with a wealth of fascinating information about the more esoteric details of Thai street food, why hairdressers are closed on Wednesday, what to explore in Northern Thailand and how to cook Thai noodles!
For facts on Thailand click here.
The general section at the start of the guide provides a broad picture of Thailand’s geography, climate, population, people, languages and culture, peppered with quirky nuggets of information that help children connect what they read with what they see around them. There’s also a little about Buddhism, Thai history and culture in an easy-to-read format that children can enjoy browsing through.
The later sections are structured around the different regions of Thailand which you might like to visit. Here, there is considerable emphasis on attractions that families will enjoy and benefit from visiting. Along the way, Muddy Shoes makes interesting, surprise-filled forays into areas like elephant facts, spirit houses, hill tribes, Muay Thai boxing and silk manufacture!
The guide is a handy ready reckoner, which children can pop into a back-pack. There’s even space provided for jottings, while on the move. The book inculcates among children, the need for responsible travel. For instance, along with highlighting numerous attractions, children are also sensitized to the evils of tourism related shows that may involve cruelty to animals.
For tips on responsible travel click here.
There’s more to Thailand than the well-worn attractions of Bangkok and Pattaya! When you’re done with exploring city hotspots, take off to explore lesser known delights that this gracious country has to offer. The Flight of the Gibbon is a rainforest expedition where you ride through the jungle in a body harness, suspended on a steel cable! Visit Nakhom Pathon, the seeding ground of Buddhism. Sail down Damnoen Saduak, Thailand’s oldest floating market – some boats also function as floating kitchens! Tour historic sites like Ayutthaya, Sukhothai or Chiang Mai. Ko Samet Island has pristine beaches while Ko Chang Island is all emerald jungles, waterfalls and animals. Wherever you go, the gentle hospitality and graciousness of an ancient civilization leave behind indelible memories.
