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Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

It’s Seoul Good (II): Doing Seoul with 3 Kids – Jjimjilbang at Siloam

September 19, 2018

If there’s anywhere I needed to visit in Seoul with my kids, it had to be a JJIMJILBANG.

Because?

Because this:

Photo credit: https://Aminoapps.com

I needed a reason to put on a sauna “uniform” and wrap my head up in a ‘Princess Leia’ towel bun.

And because watching so many kdramas and k-variety over the years have reinforced this message: you ain’t been to Korea if you’ve not stepped into a jjimjilbang. A jjimjilbang is a korean sauna and an integral part of korean culture. In this huge expanse of space, you would find public baths, pools that rid your body of toxins, grooming and face-care services, entertainment zones, gym, ‘fomentation’ rooms of varying temperatures, and places to sleep and even spend the night.

And so to one we went. The 3 kids, fatherkao and I spent an entire day at Siloam Sauna.

Of course, before we headed there, I did some research on this particular sauna which was a stone’s throw from where we stayed (literally we see the building from Seoul Station), so as to brief the family as to what to expect. That Backpacker has an entire guide to this place (plus an awesome video), and I made tons of notes from just that one blogpost, so you absolutely need to check her post out. (Thank you, Audrey!)

We went in the day, after a light breakfast of Paris Baguette buns, and opted for both access to the bathhouse AND the other floors. We were given a locker key, a set of clothes to change into, minimal instructions in korean about how males and females need to be separated, and in a hurry, we parted ways and forgot to state exactly what time we should meet on the 2nd floor. I just said, “See you later”, and not knowing what to do (the boys were lost!), we kinda only regrouped after some time and searching for one another on the various floors. So much for making notes!

So the sauna is HUGE. It’s an entire building. There are 6 floors in all including a basement. You pay and enter into the changing area on the 1st floor, get completely undressed in a gender-specific area, walk down the stairs to enter the public bath (take everything off; the only thing allowed is a towel). You need to take a bath first before entering the different pools of varying temperatures with various health benefits. There’s also a steam room and a jacuzzi. Becks and I tried every pool except the one with the freezing water. I enjoyed soaking in the warm mugwort one (can’t remember, think it was maybe 60 deg C?) and it smelled medicinally beneficial. Only beware of standing up suddenly because like being in the onsen, sudden movements can result in fainting spells. True story.

We had a good mummy and daughter time together

While waiting for the boys, we found these hot stones to put our feet in!

When we finally regrouped, we checked out Level 4 as a family. Called the fomentation rooms, there are rooms in varying temperatures from sub zero to almost boiling point laden with good stuff like jade and crystal and salt and mud. There are cave-like pods to sleep in for privacy and mats for resting and I couldn’t last more than 5 minutes in any room because the kids were zipping in and out and I had to mind them for fear of disturbing the people who needed their fomentation therapies.

Nat and I lying in the charcoal room

The kids and fatherkao in the ice room

My husband decided to challenge this room that’s 86 deg C! He worked out a good sweat!

Lunch was on Level 2 and I had the best soondubu jiggae (spicy tofu soup) that Seoul trip. The bibimbap (rice with mixed vegetables) was lovely and so were the mandoos (dumplings). My kids ran in and out of the eatery to play at the adjoining kids playroom and watch korean cartoons.

After a short rest, fatherkao headed for a body massage while the kids and I checked out Level 3. There was an arcade and a table tennis room. No surprises there what the kids did.

Ben teaching Nat how to hold a bat

We met 2 teen boys from Singapore a while later and the kids became quick friends sparring in good fun while I just lay on the straw mat right outside the games room and caught some sleep.

Becks wasn’t too interested in being with the boys so she checked out the karaoke room and hung out with me.

Checking out the noraebang, although we can’t sing any song !

She hung out with free wifi while I rested

Fatherkao joined in the table tennis fun

Baduk, anyone?

There is an arcade room too! Guess who was happiest.

The boys played table tennis for a long time and by the time we were done, it was time for dinner. We agreed to spend some time in the bathhouse floor and to soak in the pools for one last time before meeting on the first floor.

When we regrouped again for dinner, our kids’ conversations were all about what they saw in the bathhouse basement. The details were hilarious and I loved it that this experience was something they wouldn’t forget for a long time. Siloam Sauna’s a great place to add to your itinerary if you have even half a day to spare. I love it that we hung out and the kids could explore the place freely. It would have been best if they were interested in taking naps but I got some shuteye and fatherkao got a massage and that was a good bargain already!

Got my towel bun fix!

Made the hubs join me :p

The kids enjoyed the sauna experience on our 2nd day!

~~~

IT’S SEOUL GOOD: Read more on our Seoul Adventures here as the SG Running Man team!

Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

It’s Seoul Good (I): Doing Seoul with 3 kids – Running Man Thematic Experience Center

September 14, 2018

Many people expressed how they never imagined there would be so much to explore and experience in Seoul for 16 days with 3 kids. So I thought I’d start this ‘It’s Seoul Good’ series because Seoul has been so good to us. We pretty much covered our planned itinerary (and more) when we were there in June.

And YES!!!!! there is much to do because Seoul has a place for kids too.

For my mission-loving, Running Man-crazed family, that is.

If your family is like ours and loves Running Man – the long standing variety show (we were fans since Episode 1) – and are old enough to try Running Man-style missions, you absolutely need to form a team and head to Insadong.

A pity we didn’t wear our Running Man t-shirts complete with our name tags like crazy fans.

At Running Man Thematic Experience Center at Jongno-gu, Insadong 5-gil, 종로 1.2.3.4 가동 (it’s at B1/F of SM Duty Free Shop/ Hana Building), you have up to ONE hour to complete all the missions in the place, earn as many R-coins as you can to score a badge. There are 6 experience zones where you can attempt it individually…

As a pair…

Or cheat a little like us if it gets difficult – and tap on team work!

Kwangsoo would be proud.

If you have it planned in your itinerary, get a headstart with discounts from Klook or Trazy or kkday. If not, it’s straightforward to purchase tickets from the folks at the counter. Ask if they speak English and there would be someone who would be able to explain how it works to you.

What was our experience like? To be honest, I knew about it but didn’t think this was something worth our time and money – because ‘is it BO LIAO or not to do this on our holiday???‘ (loosely translated, bo liao is ‘doing something silly’ in Singlish). I had going to this experience center parked at the back of my mind as a back up if we’ve done all that we wanted to do – our cultural tours, our street eats, our NANTA show, our day trip to Nami, our zoos and whatnots, etc etc etc – and it would be one of the last things we might do/ can do if we really ran out of things to do.

So I didn’t tell the fam about it for our day out at Insadong.

Turns out, we serendipitiously chanced upon it while looking for a toilet on the way back from checking out Poo Cafe and Ssamzegil and well, I think we can all guess what happened.

Like what do you mean you didn’t wanna tell us till we run out of things to do?

What were you thinking to not come here on our very first family trip to Seoul?

Hey, we love Running Man, shouldn’t we do this?

C’mon, mama, let’s go, we want to do this now!

Please, it’s gotta be Running Man. Even if it’s bo-liao.

My husband was the one that found me most ridiculous to stash it for like, Day 16.

DUH, no brainer, we are here. Let’s go.

And so, on our 3rd day in Seoul, we had one of the best times of our lives.

Makes us all wanna watch re-runs of Running Man again and again!

This experience just makes me realise that it was a good thing I did not plan for Lotte World or Everland. My kids would not go on rides and coasters but give them Running Man, they will do it again and again.

~~~

IT’S SEOUL GOOD: Read more on our Seoul Adventures here at the jimjilbang!

Happy days Holidays!

Finally Seoul

May 7, 2018

We’re finally headed to Seoul this summer.

Like finally.

I’ve waited so long for my kids to be ready, specifically in the food department; and I am proud to say after so many years of training them to enjoy kimchi, gochujang-based soups and spicy food, they ARE ready.

I know that at ages 9, 8 and 6 we can do a great deal of walking in Seoul. Without much fussing and whining. No way was I gonna lug toddlers to Seoul.

And after so many years of watching Running Man, this trip will finally make sense to them, now that they are older.

Having finite resources, I kept in mind to plan an epic Seoul trip that would be both memorable and awesome – for me and the family . I think travelling with the kids at these ages are great – we can engage in so much conversations, and they actually remember things. Our London and Scotland trip last summer was epic too and till now, we still speak fondly of all the places we’ve seen from the museums and the zoos to the places we chilled at and the things we ate.

And I also had a personal goal way before this trip was made reality: I wanted to learn the language and be at least conversationally fluent and able to read some basic Hangeul before going. I got that going for almost a year prior to this coming trip.

So, Seoul for a good 16 days – what say we!

Our motto for our family holidays has always been IMMERSION. Hang out, chill, take our time. Enjoy the sights and scenes and soak in the culture and soul of that place thoroughly.

And I am hoping this is immersion enough!

Kao Family 16D15N in Seoul, Korea

Day 1:

  • Arrive and settle, chill and be completely present

Day 2:

  • Myeongdong and Nanta show in Myeongdong

Day 3:

  • All day Jimjilbang at Siloam Sauna

Day 4:

  • Children’s Grand Park

Day 5:

  • Insadong & Dongdaemun: check out Tapgol Park & Poo Cafe!

Day 6:

  • Cultural Learning Day: Gwangwamun Square, Gyeongbokgung, Bukchon Hanok Village + Gwangjang Market for dinner (yep, I planned the trail in this order!)

Day 7:

  • Noryangjin Fish Marekt and Yeouido Hangang Park; do the Hangang cruise at night if we’re up for it, if not just watch the Rainbow Fountain at Banpo Bridge

Day 8:

  • CoEx Mall and Gangnam – shopping! And maybe Kimchi Museum?

Day 9:

  • Explore Hongdae Day: go to Ewha and Hongik, then cafe-hop and check out Thanks Nature Cafe (see sheep), Molly’s Pop (try exotic flavours ice cream) and Meerkat Cafe (see meerkats)

Day 10:

  • Free and Easy – revisit what we didn’t get to do or do something we enjoyed a lot and can’t get enough of. I am guessing maybe go to Children’s Grand Park again or stroll along Cheonggye Stream

Day 11:

  • Same as Day 10, maybe do CoEx Aquarium (feeding programmes are from Tuesdays to Fridays)

Day 12:

  • Day trip to Nami Island and Petite France

Day 13:

  • Namsan Day: go by cable car and head to observatory; chill

Day 14:

  • Explore Yongsan and do the muesums – War Memorial Museum, National Museum of Korea, Children’s Museum; stop by Yongsan Electronics Market

Day 15:

  • Free and Easy – shop, eat, pack in this order

Day 16:

  • Have breakfast in the neighbourhood, go early to Incheon Airport and explore!

===

I’m hoping this is immersion enough! Share your experiences if you’ve been to Seoul, and hit me with recommendations, if any!

 

Happy days Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Dunfermline, Scotland – and 5 things to savour with kids when you’re there

July 14, 2017

Cold and rainy Dunfermline, Kingdom of Fife, Scotland

Cold and rainy Dunfermline, Kingdom of Fife, Scotland

One huge reason why we decided to head to the UK with the entire family in tow this summer was because we had family in Scotland, and we wanted the kids to reunite with their granduncle and grandaunt again. They come to visit often, but we’ve never visited them in the UK, and so Fatherkao and I thought it would be an adventure to take the kids all the way to the Kingdom of Fife.

Sounds really like heading back to medieval times.

Fife, still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife, is a historical county of Scotland. Fife is divided into 3 districts: Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North-east Fife. We flew to London first, then took a Virgin East Coast train for about 5 hours to Dunfermline, where we would stay with family for a week. That became our base to explore Perth, Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Much little is known about Dunfermline, except that it’s the hometown of the great Mr Andrew Carnegie, one of the greatest philanthropists our world has ever known. There’s certainly more to the town and former Royal Burgh called Dunfermline, and here it is, 5 awesome things to do with kids (Motherkao’s version) in Dunfermline, as experienced by us.

If you ever head there; you’re welcome.

1.  Have steak bakes at Greggs

Arguably you could say that you can find this awesome bakery all throughout the UK and you don’t really need to go to Dunfermline for it. Tis’ true that you can get your sandwich and pasties and score a £2 steak bake and coffee lunch easily anywhere anyway. But I say, it’s tastier here in Dunfermline for the reason that it is waaaayyyy colder here with summer hitting 10-14°C and having your piping hot pasty, pizza, calzone, bacon roll or bake dripping with steaming bubbling goodness for breakfast or lunch is one of the best things we ever did in Dunfermline.

Awesome hot piping bakes

And for sure, it was also tastier because we savoured hot bakes on a cold rainy summer day with family.

2. Spend a day at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries

This spectacular £12.4million place was recently built in Dunfermline and houses a museum, exhibition galleries, local history Reading Room, new children’s library and a mezzanine café with stunning views over the landscaped garden to Dunfermline Abbey and the Heritage Quarter and features the world’s first Carnegie Library. You could easily spend a day or days here FOR FREE. We walked through the galleries again and again, learning the wonderfully rich history of the former Royal Burgh of Dunfermline, about Robert the Bruce and the history involving England and Scotland, their kings and their queens – stuff that my Literature and History classes were made of.

Museum fun: navigating our way around

The famous people of Dunfermline

Which I thoroughly loved.  I studied English Literature and History for most parts of my growing years wearing school uniform, and museums excite me.

 

Role playing was fun – costumes of kings and queens

 

View of the Dunfermline Abbey

Rainy day at the Galleries

Anyway.

The kids were made to read, listen, watch and just appreciate the immersion of being at the Library and Galleries. And since it was a rainy day that day and we didn’t fancy walking around in the rain and in the cold, we spent a good time just soaking up the quaint little town this way.

Enjoying comics from the comics shelves

Role play time

Hanging out with the Gruffalo

The Very Hungry Caterpillar read and reread

Enjoying the Children’s Section of plentiful books!

I must say the library is one of the most impressive I have seen – and that the civic mindedness everyone has towards the care of books, and the consideration of others around was truly worthy of respect.

3. No sweat at Pittencrieff Park

I have never known what it’s like to play with abandonment in midsummer day till I watched my three kids in their child-likeness embrace the swings and slides at Pittencrieff Park.

And what a joy it was capturing these smiling faces.

The sun’s shining down on us but we ain’t feeling it

So many times they asked for Dada to give them a push and they got bolder and bolder on the swings

Fun times!

Of swings and merry-go-rounds in 14°C weather – we could go on and on since the sun doesn’t set till 10.30pm in summer!

Back at home, I can’t even last beyond an hour in the park or the playground. The humidity, the mozzies and the relentless heat would usually end up killing most of the fun. And the kids would end up sweaty, grumpy and very quickly quarrelsome.

Not here in this park. Not in this weather. Not on this holiday.

We could even take time to roll on grass, lie on grass and smell the flowers.

Big thanks to Mr Andrew Carnegie who many decades ago made this park possible for the people of Dunfermline. Granduncle told us the story of Junior Carnegie not being allowed in parks as a little boy because places as fun as these were only for the rich, and that he swore he would make it big enough to make parks free for everybody.

So here we are.

4. Hello again, Dennis the Menace

I grew up a Xennial and lived a largely analogue childhood where I would watch Dennis the Menace on tv (no cable last time) and then read lots of Beano Annuals. There was also Heckle and Jeckle, and Looney Tunes and He-man and Flintstones on tv for most part of my preschool years and so you can imagine it was such a blast to the past for me stepping into Brewers Fayre at Crooked Glen at Fife Leisure Park that has a Beano-inspired indoor playground.

Having lots of fun at Brewers Fayre at Crooked Glen, Fife Leisure Park

The kids were, of course, just happy to have indoor playground time. And the husband and I were just happy to be revisiting childhood once more having dessert and sipping coffee/wine.

5. Getting on the train and enjoying the view

The view of the countryside and of coastal England from London to Edinburgh and then to Dunfermline was a breathtaking one. Gives a whole new meaning to counting sheep because plenty of sheep was what we saw. Including oxen and horses, quaint cottages and pavements lined with flowers blooming in full glory.

Train rides are made of these

…Lots of snacking

… Lots of drawing and doodling

…Chattering and reading and bonding

Beautiful views are soul food.

The beautiful sights to take in

The town of Dunfermline was beautiful and rustic and I loved it every time we got on to the car or train because the view outside the window never looked so good. So good that it recharges and refreshes the soul.

Town views

Love these houses

Dunfermline at 10.30pm

Soul food is good “food” for kids, especially city kids who are inaundated with screen time, worksheets, and schedules of tuition, swimming, enrichment and all the et ceteras. They need to learn to look out of the window, count sheep and do nothing, all while imagining and inventing a world in their imagination on road trips and train rides.

~~~

We’re missing summertime Scotland like crazy now, back in humid and hot Singapore, and wishing big time for some more wanderlust dust to be sprinkled upon us once more.

Goodbye, Dunfermline

Becks Kao Holidays! Invites & Tryouts Product Reviews The Kao Kids

Worry-free luxury for a holiday – Review of Original Sprout (again)

July 6, 2017

OS_Motherkao_review2017 (1) - Copy

When you tell me that a brand believes in an ethical philosophy of promoting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle, I am definitely one happy user. I love sustainable brands and products.

And I want my children to love them and make supporting them part of their lifestyle when they start making consumer decisions as they get older.

Which is why while on our UK holiday last month, the kids got to enjoy their baths and the best skincare with Original Sprout. We were acquainted with the brand when the Kao kids were younger (we fell in love with the Miracle Detangler, and have been using it ever since) and now it was only befitting that I would lug the Original Sprout Natural Shampoo, Deep Conditioner, Miracle Detangler, Scrumptious Baby Cream and Hair & Body Babywash all the way to London and Scotland where the weather was colder, the air was drier and worry-free luxury in baths (and post bath, for skincare) was what the entire family could benefit greatly from while away from home.

Enjoying daily bubble baths with the Babywash in the tubs in our AirBnB apartment

Enjoying daily bubble baths with the Babywash in the tub in our AirBnB apartment

Becks using the Miracle Detangler religiously every morning and after every bath

Becks using the Miracle Detangler religiously every morning and after every bath

For effortless combing

For effortless combing

Applying to dry skin - our skin wasn't too used to the harsher water and colder weather, especially when we were in Scotland

Applying to dry skin – our skin wasn’t too used to the harsher water and colder weather, especially when we were in Scotland

I love it that Original Sprout was the brainchild of a mom who loved her daughter so much she had to create a product that could effortlessly detangle her daughter’s hair, and that it’s a brand that believes in utilising ingredients that are free from synthetic hormone disruptor, oestrogen disrupting ingredients, sulphate and parabens.

I have to say if you have a daughter with long hair or thick hair or tough curls, this Detangler (definitely Original Sprout’s bestseller) works instant magic. I never needed to go through another day where I have to hear Becks scream ‘ouch’ whenever I comb her hair, or when she tries to work through the hair on her own, even though she already has pretty fine hair to begin with since this Miracle Detangler came into our lives.

Happy to share that Original Sprout is back, and is now available at Watsons, Guardian, Kiddy Palace, Motherswork and 1010 Mothers & Child Essentials. Alternatively, you can purchase Original Sprout online on at www.originalsprout.com.sg.

Happy to have lugged them all in our luggage last holiday and pampered ourselves with worry-free luxury.

~~~

Disclosure: We are users of Original Sprout since we did a review for the brand when it first launched in SG back in March 2014. Original Sprout sponsored the products we packed in our luggage and all opinions here are our own. Unless we love it, we won’t share it. We’ve loved it since the day we used their products!

Going Out! Happy days Holidays! The Kao Kids

London numbers

June 2, 2017

1 hour delay due to inclement weather.

13.5 hours on a full flight.

1 hour to clear customs.

15 minutes from the airport to Paddington Station.

 

Waiting for the Heathrow Express

Waiting for the Heathrow Express

London Dreaming_June 2017_Kaosgotravelling (2) - Copy

London Dreaming_June 2017_Kaosgotravelling (3) - Copy

 

 

Onboard the Heathrow Express

Onboard the Heathrow Express

Paddington!

Paddington!

6 hours hanging out with 2 grumpy, tired kids, 1 especially prone to hissy fits.

7 hours behind in local time and severely jetlagged.

2 chirpy birds up and awake, tinkering around our AirBnB apartment at 4 in the morning, local time.

1 superbly supportive and strong spouse, tirelessly making things happen, like breakfast at 5am with only 5 hours of sleep.

1 sensible child (which makes me feel very strongly that from age 8 onwards is the age to bring any child on a long trip) who has been channel grazing across 4 British home shopping channels all morning. Hurhurhur.

~~~

We are here in London, in awesome midsummer weather where the sun rises at 5am and sets at 9pm and where the Kao kids can get their fix of rolling hills and vast expanse of spaciousness and rich culture.

Where it’s also the much needed time I need to reconnect with the family and be fully present.

Hopefully, we will be returning with 5 hearts full.

 

Going Out! Happy days Holidays! The Kao Kids

UK dreamin’

May 28, 2017

child-997231_1920

There’s dirt on my shirt
And leaves in my hair
There’s mud on my boots
But I don’t really care

Playing outside is so much fun
To breathe the clean air
And feel the warm sun

To stomp in a puddle
Or climb a big tree
Makes me quite happy
Just look and you’ll see

Dirt on My Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy

 

Food, glorious food! Holidays! Milestones and growing up Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

5 things to do with kids, the ‘chill-and-live-like-a-local’ version

December 5, 2016

We’re having the luxury of time here in Bangkok living like (and with) the locals for the second time now. The last time we did this was last year where we lived at The Hub Residence at Ramkhamhaeng and walked daily to the tennis court 5 minutes away so that Ben could get his intensive training in the mornings.

This year, we’re doing the same. Except that we’re not at The Hub this time due to their new minimum 6-months rental policy. We’ve found decent and simple lodging nearer the beginning of Soi 4, and are super stoked we’re just next to a 7-11 and literally a minute’s walk away from the glorious street food prepared and cooked by the same locals who could still remember us from last year.

The kids pretty much delve right into being at home in BKK and know the drill well – no balking at street food (the locals here take pride in what they prepare), say thank you and hello with palms pressed together in a slight bow, smile whenever things get lost in translation and speak in English slowly, and watch out for cars before they cross even the tiniest of alleys.

When in BKK living at the outskirts beyond the tourist façade of malls and high rise, here are 5 things to do to experience life as a local. Or at least, here’s 5 things we have done.

Go ahead and try it; the experience might surprise you.

1. Be ferried down the soi, the local-way

Right in front where we live, there’s a hut with parked motorcycles on the left that ferries people from place to place and pedal carts queued up to take groups of people down alleyways (with seats enough for 6 and pedalled by a local) on the right. Hop on to a pedal cart for 5 baht or onto a motorbike for less than 30, and you can get ferried from one end of the alley to the other (or beyond, perhaps!) without having to walk!

Definitely an experience for the kids on a pedal cart and a luxury for those whose legs are aching from walking too much!

Getting a ride on the pedal cart

Getting a ride on the pedal cart: the uncle pedals hard all day to get people from Point A to B

2. Play old school video games at arcades/shopping mall

A 10-baht coin slotted into any arcarde game machine is great mileage. It lasts for 15 minutes. Put 4 in and you get an hour of rest while your boys expend their energies.

Totally worth it.

Game: 40 cents Brotherly bonding: priceless

Game: 40 cents
Brotherly bonding: priceless

My father taught me how to drive

My father taught me how to drive

At the arcades in the city centre, the games are double the price (20 baht for a race car cheap thrill) but still, they are great ways to hang out with the locals or hang out like the locals. Many of the local school kids are there dancing their para-para-dance and might even challenge you in a bike or car race.

3. Explore community malls

We checked out The Commons at Thonglor and frequently go to The Mall at Ramkhanhaeng, and The Nine. These are awesome community and neighbourhood malls to be in to watch the world go by. You can sit at cafes, eat lots of crepe cakes, pretzels and donuts, and take lots of pictures. Best part is, everything where we stay (in the area of Ramkhahaeng) is almost ten times cheaper than anything in the Greater Metropolis like Siam.

The Commons has an entire storey for kids that allows for free play (if you get food and drinks) and facilitated play (200 baht for the 1st hour); methinks this is great if you want to just chill out but your kids are raring to go. I hear they also run holiday camps like crafting and cooking. They also organise block parties where you can hang out and participate in community-building activities, similar to our RC and CC activities back home.

The Commons at Thonglor, the latest community mall in Bangkok

The Commons at Thonglor, the latest community mall in Bangkok

It's not a huge mall at all; merely a space for people to hang out, but there are interesting things around

It’s not a huge mall at all; merely a space for people to hang out, but there are interesting things around

Like these giant fans to cool the space

Like these giant fans to cool the space

And lots of space and stairs to monkey around

And lots of space and stairs to monkey around

The Kids Common is where kids can have fun

The Kids Common is where kids can have fun

And where play matters

And where play matters

Driving around in a cloth bus and using all our imagination

Driving around in a cloth bus and using all our imagination

The top yard has lots of space to chill out and a herb garden to explore

The top yard has lots of space to chill out and a herb garden to explore

Lego fun at Kids Common

Lego fun at Kids Commons

Play area that's chargeable because kids get to craft under supervision

Play area that’s chargeable because kids get to craft under supervision

4. Do as the locals do + watch Thai tv for cultural immersion

December marks the beginning of mourning for the Thai people who are grieving the passing of their late king. And every now and then the tv zones out from its regular programming and broadcasts funeral rites and rituals happening live at the Grand Palace. What a great way to be immersed in the history and culture of of a country through tv broadcasts, in a time like this.

Beyond that, my kids would sit in front of the tv to watch Boomerang and cartoons in Thai. Even if they have no idea what’s being said, the constant listening in gives them the immersion I’ve always hoped they would get. They can say some simple words in Thai, which is not bad for a start!

When we head to the malls, we also take the time to walk around the various exhibitions and appreciate the many artwork and installations in memory and honour of the late Thai king. We left flowers where they were freely available for anyone who wished to pay their respect and stood in silence to watch the many videos the malls were playing.

rememberingtheking_bkk_dec2016-4

One of the many picture exhibition happening right now at the walkway between MBK and Siam Discovery

One of the many picture exhibition happening right now (time of writing: Dec 2016) at the walkway between MBK and Siam Discovery

Taking a moment to watch a video of celebrating King Bhumibol's life

Taking a moment to watch a video celebrating King Bhumibol’s life

The pictures even have QR codes to scan so you can download it for keeps

The pictures even have QR codes to scan so you can download it for keeps

This art installation by a local artist features some form of kinetic energy to light up a rendition of lights making up the face of the late king

This art installation by a local artist features some form of kinetic energy to light up a rendition of lights making up the face of the late king

Step on the platform, and this comes out - how brilliant!

Step on the platform, and this comes out – how brilliant!

This installation features lots of heart-shaped people as a reminder to show love and compassion to people around you and the less fortunate (it's even some form of a charity drive!) because that's how they'd like to remember King Bhumibol

This installation features lots of heart-shaped people (and free “hugs”!) as a reminder to show love and compassion to people around you and the less fortunate (it’s even some form of a charity drive!) because that’s how they’d like to remember King Bhumibol. That’s really also what he exemplified in his life.

The kids got to learn a little more about King Bhumibol’s significance in Thai society and history, and it was, in my opinion, an honour to mourn together with the people. We also tried as much as possible to wear dark colours every day.

rememberingtheking_bkk_dec2016-8

rememberingtheking_bkk_dec2016-9

Leaving a special flower as a mark of respect at the atrium of Siam Paragon

5. Savour the sights and smells of street food

Nobody really cooks at home, I hear. The locals settle their breakfast, lunch and dinner at the roadside street stalls and that pretty much is their way of life.

Our rule-of-thumb for street food: food must be cooked in high heat (which means we don’t really patronise the carts that sell fruits or som tum).

We love it that we get to try everything from fried dough fritters and pork porridge to beef noodles, phad thai, wanton noodles and chicken soup right at our door step. Not to mention the freshly made Thai tea and local desserts from flavoured soy milk to coconut pancakes at such an affordable price.

The locals who make a living selling street food are a hardworking bunch who never fail to tirelessly show up to cook – every single day, including Sundays and public holidays – and we have so much respect for them; we love to stand around to watch them prepare the food we want to tabao back.

They have so much pride in what they do.

This was such a godsend: I'm hacking away with this awful cough and the porridge every morning with so much ginger and spring onions and flavourful meat balls is so much comfort

This was such a godsend: I’m hacking away with this awful cough and this porridge is what I have every morning with generous slices of ginger and spring onions and flavourful meat balls is so much comfort. I’m so regular that the stall owner just knows what to do when she sees me.

How comforting

How comforting

Dough fritters for 20 baht

7 dough fritters for 20 baht which is old school youcharkway, except that it’s pop-in-your-mouth-bite-size!

Having a feast after tennis, and it's only 9 in the morning!

Having a feast after tennis, and it’s only 9 in the morning! Ben is having pad thai freshly made and the rest of us had pork soup (fatherkao), porridge (Becks and me) and some sort of coconut and yam kueh (Nat & helper)

This.

This is the best part of being in Thailand. There’s nothing not to love, and we’re enjoying every day we’re here living like we’re one of them.

Becks Kao Holidays! I can't categorise such entries Nat Kao

What to do, where to go, what to get: when your children fall ill in BKK

December 1, 2016

Guess I’ve earned some creds to do this post now, now that I’ve survived two days with very sick children in Bangkok.

So it happened that on the morning of our very early flight to Bangkok, Becks woke up radiating heat like an overworked, cranked up truck engine. She was feeling hot to the touch and queasy the whole plane ride. Apart from giving her pain relief and oiling her like crazy with essential oils and then with ru yi oil I grabbed from Eu Yan Sang at Departure, there was really nothing we could do to make her feel better. The stewardess onboard the plane tried to do her best, cheering her up with the kid’s pack and putting up the DND sign so she could get uninterrupted sleep, but still, Becks was feeling as awful as awful can feel.

By the time we reached our rented apartment at Ramkhamhaeng, she was hitting 39 deg C already (yep, we brought our thermometer – a must when you travel with young children); and so did Nat, who began to look unwell, ran a temperature as high as Becks and knocked out the moment he hit the sack.

In a time like this where homecooked teochewmuay was out of reach and simple clear broth was almost impossible to find, I was glad for 7-11.

And so I fed my children few spoonfuls of porridge (grabbed from the quick bites section which the staff helped microwave), topping it up with warm water (congee in Thailand is more sticky than watery), and started sponging them like crazy after they filled their tummies.

It was a good thing we lugged several packs of fever patches along so they could keep a cool head while they slept. Having said that, BKK is never short of over-the-counter meds supplies at 7-11 or Boots Pharmacy and fever patches, Paracetamol, cough drops are never out of reach anywhere you go.

Kids took a nap shortly after, but they woke up feeling worse.

And then it was time to make the call: ride the fever out or get medical attention.

So I’ve been told by my friend that in Bangkok, the top three hospitals are Bumrungrad International Hospital, Bangkok Hospital and Samitivej Hospital. He kindly drove us to the Samitivej Hospital with a Children’s Centre located at 488 Srinakarin Rd Khwaeng Suan Luang, Khet Suan Luang, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10250. It was about 7pm and the wait was not excruciating (an hour or slightly more), considering we’ve all waited for more than 4 hours at KKH back at home. The staff there could converse in the English Language fairly well, but you need to speak slowly and clearly. In the interest of time, I had my friend translate when we saw the doctor, because I really felt more comfortable with some translation rather than speaking slowly when my anxiety got better of me.

Forms there are also a bit tedious to fill  – they ask you for soooo much info – so always check with the nurse if filling in the birth weight or AGPAR score is even necessary. In my case, it wasn’t.

notwellkaokids-1

Getting examined

Getting examined

Anyway, service, hygiene, standards and quality of care at Samitivej were excellent and we had an absolutely pleasant experience there. The meds were similar to the ones my PD would give the kids, and the pharmacist was able to explain perfectly how to consume and when to consume the meds.

The bill, well, that’s another story.

Nonetheless, given the circumstances of having two kids running very high temperatures, I would highly recommend going there, should you ever encounter an emergency in Bangkok with kids.

The kids were given antibiotics for a bad throat infection, and a cocktail of many other meds in case they threw up / had runny nose / needed rehydration / had diarrhea from the antibiotics. Syringes were provided generously and so were child-sized face masks. There was drinking water available everywhere we turn in the hospital so you can consume the meds straightaway.

On our way home, we headed to a pharmacy (most close at 11pm, yay) to stock up on Vitamin C and other forms of supplements like milk tablets, DHA gummies and multivitamins. We’ll be needing them daily for the duration of our stay there, and so it was good to get it on Day One. The MaxValue supermarket chains are also 24 hours, and so we stocked up water by the 6-litre tubs (we buy the Aeon brand) and then headed back so the kids can get some rest quickly.

On hindsight, I think we did pretty well and were well-prepped to hold out for the interim with what we packed, which included:

  1. Probiotics – Neobiotics is the brand we buy
  2. Fever meds – Ibuprofen and Paracetamol
  3. Antihistamines – Fedac
  4. Regurgitation & gastric meds- Zantac
  5. Cooling fever patches
  6. Essential oils – peppermint, lavender, lemongrass
  7. Hand sanitisers from Dettol
  8.  Our trusty Braun ear thermometer
  9. Pull-up diapers (lots of them) – kids are toilet trained but with the amount of water they are made to sip so ever frequently to cool and hydrate, diapers are absolutely needed when they are ill and too lethargic to make toilet runs
  10. Betadine throat spray quick relief of painful throat infections

And so with the meds, the hourly sponging last night, the troopers are finally on the mend.

(Self) Examination Holidays! The Kao Kids

December Prologue Twentysixteen

November 30, 2016

I’m fighting a cough that wouldn’t go away for a month already and it’s terribly exhausting. Every night, my mind is filled with so much to write and reflect as the year comes to an end and the children are growing up so quickly before I can take stock of how the year has gone by for us but every night I am hacking, hacking, hacking away for the whole of November.

And so as time whizzes past me and my children are moving up one academic level in their learning milestone – Primary 2, Primary 1, K1 – gulp! OH MY! – I am making myself a promise to give them a little more of me in the December of twentysixteen.

And so away we go, back to where the warmth and love and kindness we’ve received the last time round, this time of the year, to be together.

Goodbye November: the Kao Kids looking out to see where December is taking us

Goodbye November: the Kao Kids looking out to see where December is taking us

This is proving to be a bit challenging though; one of them has a high high fever now and is throwing up and the other is also starting to feel ill.

Appreciate all prayers and love sent our way.