Despite people's bemusement at the notion of bringing his 16-month-old daughter to Bangkok and Hua Hin, Thailand's child-friendly culture and superb customer service made the trip a winner, writes Richard Brophy
AMUSED GRINS and "are you mad?" were the most common responses we got when we told friends and relatives we were going on holiday to Thailand with our 16-month-old daughter, Jasmina. It seemed that my wife Nives and I were insane to bring a toddler to a country unfairly stigmatised by backpackers and sex tourism, and to endure an 11-hour flight to get there.
The fact that we were travelling in April, the hottest month in Thailand, when the temperature exceeds 35 degrees and humidity levels reach 70 per cent, must have made us seem even crazier to those who rolled their eyes in bemusement when they heard our plans.
Thankfully, we had done some research and avoided areas where there is a risk of malaria, but our GP nonetheless recommended that Jasmina get inoculated against hepatitis C and that we only drank bottled water. We were also advised to avoid the midday sun from noon to 4pm. We travelled on a night flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok with child-friendly Lufthansa, which meant that we all slept for most of the journey. The flights cost €900 per adult, round trip, plus a small fee for Jasmina. It was a really good flight, leaving Frankfurt at Jasmina's bed-time of 8pm, so she could naturally sleep through the night. They even gave her a baby bed, which let her sleep for eight hours, and the staff were very accommodating. All the young children on the flight were treated well and given toys to play with.
For the first three nights, we opted for an easy introduction to Thailand, staying at the Peninsula in Bangkok, sold as a five-star hotel but way beyond in luxury and service - so incredible that seven stars would be deserved. Star six: you are in a studio apartment with a TV in the bathroom and access to three gorgeous swimming pools and a wellness centre. Star seven: meals served on an outdoor veranda offering a spectacular vista of tourist boats, freighters and the hotel's junk ferry services traversing the Chao Phraya river. Anything you wanted on the huge buffet, from traditional Thai breakfast of noodles and steamed vegetables, papayas and mango, to the European one of 20 different types of muffins and pastries, plus eggs and bacon and anything else done any way you wanted. I feel a little embarrassed saying this, but the colonial atmosphere of being waited on by staff in white coats and gloves who anticipated our every need - and Jasmina's - made this so much more than five-star service.
Refreshed and relaxed, we hired one of the Peninsula's drivers to take us on the 3½ hour journey to Hua Hin. Hiring a driver worked out to be more expensive (about €100) but much quicker than the train service, and it also allowed us to stop along the way to visit the Damnoen Saduak floating market.
Hua Hin is a small coastal town on the Gulf of Thailand, in the south of the country. While it does not have the same profile as Phuket or Ko Samui outside Thailand, it is one of the most popular destinations for indigenous holidaymakers. Bangkok's professionals escape the capital's hustle, bustle and congestion to Hua Hin for long weekends, and the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej - the world's longest-serving monarch - has a holiday residence just outside the town, but no longer visits due to failing health.
Hua Hin is also attracting a growing number of European visitors, some of whom go on golfing holidays - the surrounding area has the greatest number of international-standard courses in Thailand - and others, like ourselves, who just want a quiet family holiday away from mass tourism.
We arrived in Hua Hin a few days before Songkran, the Thai new year festival and the country's biggest annual celebration. While the celebrations go on for three days in some parts of the country, bringing everyday life to a standstill, in Hua Hin, Songkran is only a one-day event.
It was worth being in Thailand for the celebration, as it is the only time you will see the polite and smiling Thais letting loose, which means they get a little drunk but don't get into fights. All they really do is soak each other with water and bring traffic to a standstill on the main street with convoys of cars and jeeps. By 8pm the chaos had ended, as the revellers made their way home.
Holidaying in Thailand during Songkran also has its advantages. April is off-season, which means that accommodation is cheaper and generally more available - our villa in Hua Hin cost €1,500 for nine nights, including breakfast. While some shops and businesses were shut during the celebration, there are convenience stores at every street corner to buy essential items.
We stayed at the Putahracsa resort, which we booked online. Unlike the main hotel chains, most of which are located on the town's outskirts, Putahracsa, which has only been open a few years, is a more intimate resort, located just off the town's main drag.
It has three different restaurants, access to the town's main beach and spacious self-catering villas, each with sunloungers and a balcony. Thankfully, our villa was next to a much-needed splash pool.
In this informal setting, we felt very much at home. Although the staff greeted us in the traditional way, saying " Sawadee Kha" ("Hello") with a slight bow and their palms pressed together prayer-like, they treated us like old friends rather than paying guests.
They happily played with Jasmina every day and babysat for us on a few occasions - it wasn't part of the official service and was informally organised (about €10 per night). We knew that Thai culture is extremely child-friendly, but we couldn't get over how much attention they gave Jasmina - nearly every passer-by smiled and waved at her.
In general, the customer service was superb. Friendly and polite yet sincere and understated, the experience is a world apart from the phoney US-style and the non-existent Irish approach. The Irish tourism industry could learn a lot from the way Thais treat their guests, especially the way they look after children. Staff in shops and businesses smiled and played with Jasmina - including the owner of a massage parlour, who tried to teach her the xylophone as we enjoyed a traditional foot massage - while in some restaurants, the waitresses happily minded her while we ate.
On our last night in Thailand, one of the staff at Jasmine's, a restaurant that we had visited a few times, bought her a toy as a goodbye present. A small touch, but one that sums up the Thais' attitude towards children.
While Hua Hin has many attractions, including a five-mile beach that stretches the length of the town, we decided to limit our activities. We had visited the floating market on the way to Hua Hin, and only went on a few excursions: to Monkey Mountain, the palace that King Rama VI built outside the town in the 1920s and the town's railway station.
When not sightseeing, we slipped into a leisurely routine, dictated by the heat and our daughter's needs.
Following a leisurely breakfast, Jasmina would go for a sleep and we'd soak up the sun. In the afternoon, when it got cooler, we'd go for a swim and afterwards eat pad Thai (chicken and noodles) at one of the street stalls in the town centre. Later on, we'd wander the night market and buy silk scarves and incense sticks - after a bout of good-natured haggling, instigated by the stall owners - or browse the counterfeit Prada and ubiquitous Rolling Stones T-shirts before retiring to a nearby restaurant for a cool beer, some fresh squid or a prawn curry.
As we neared the end of our stay, we had become so used to our surroundings that we were greeting the stall owners and tradespeople we saw every day on the dusty streets.
On our last day, Jasmina was upset as she sensed her first Asian adventure was over. As we said goodbye to the staff at Putahracsa and loaded our luggage into the car for the drive back to Bangkok airport, she wasn't the only one who felt they had left a little part of their heart in Hua Hin.
Lufthansa ( www.lufthansa.com) flies from Dublin to Bangkok via Frankfurt. We booked with Trailfinders (01-6777888, www.trailfinders.ie). Both the Bangkok Peninsula Hotel and the Putahracsa resort offer discounted rates if reservations are made online. See www.bangkok.peninsula.com, and www.putahracsa.com
Where to stay, eat and go when visiting Bangkok and Hua Hin Go there
Where to stay
Bangkok
We stayed at the Peninsula hotel (333 Charoennakorn Road, Klongsan, 00-66-2-8612888, www.bangkok.peninsula.com). It is located on the banks of the Chao Phraya river, and is one of the city's best-known five-star hotels - but double rooms cost €165 per night during the low season if the reservation is made online.
Hua Hin
The self-catering villas at Putahracsa (22/65 Nahb Kaehat Road, 00-66-32-531470, www.putahracsa.com) are ideal for holidaymakers with young children. The resort is five minutes from the town centre and the villas have large bedrooms, a sitting room, a balcony and a sun-lounging area. DVDs and toys are available from reception and there is a free shuttle service into town. Putahracsa faces onto Hua Hin's beach, and it also has splash pools and sandpits.
Where to eat
Bangkok
We ate at Le Lys (104 Narathiwat Road Soi 7, Prapinit, Thung mahamek sathorn, 00-66-2-2871898/ 6754474, www.lelys.info), an offbeat French/Thai restaurant that left us change from €20 for a three-course meal for three people.
We also ate at the Paragon's food hall (991 Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan, 00-66-2-6901000, www.siamparagon.co.th) and at street stalls.
Hua Hin
We ate at street stalls, at the fish restaurants of the night market in the centre of town (Petchkasem Road, www.tourismhuahin.com/markets-huahin.php) and in Jasmine's (17/2 Selakam Rd, Hua Hin, 00-66-32-532545, www.huahingolf.com) in the town centre.
Although delicious, you will likely tire of Thai food, and there are a number of excellent Japanese restaurants in Hua Hin, the best being the minimalist Hagi (1 Damnoenkasem Rd, 00-66-32-51202138, www.sofitel.com).
The Market Village shopping mall (Phetkasem Rd, www.marketvillagehuahin.com), just outside the town, also has two very good, reasonably priced Japanese restaurants. There are a number of good Indian and European restaurants on Naresdamri Road in the town centre, the street on which the Hilton is located. These include Taj Mahal (31/1 Naresdamri Rd, 00-66-32-512613), Coco 51 (Soi 51, 00-66-32-515597, http://huahinmedia.com/coco51.php), and La Paillote (174/1 Naresdamri Rd, 00-66-32-521025).
Where to go
Bangkok
Bangkok is big and dirty and its congestion is as bad as Dublin's, but the city's Skytrain system, which covers much of the central city and its commercial, residential and tourist areas, makes it relatively easy to navigate with a toddler. A one-day pass, offering unlimited use costs 120 baht (about €2.40) per person, and infants travel for free. www.bts.co.th/en/index.asp.
We resisted the urge to visit the many Buddhist temples dotted around the city or the vast Grand Palace - the official residence of the king of Thailand from the 18th century to the mid-20th century, and a must-see if travelling without a young child - and instead spent a day at the vast Paragon shopping centre (991 Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan, 00-66-2-6901000, www.siamparagon.co.th), located just off Siam Square in the city centre. Shopping and going to malls appear to be favourite pastimes of Thailand's emerging middle class, and the air-conditioning provides a welcome retreat from Bangkok's relentless afternoon heat.
The Paragon is also home to the Siam Ocean World aquarium (00-66-2-6872000, www.siamoceanworld.co.th). The biggest of its kind in southeast Asia, its seemingly endless collection of sharks, giant rays and poisonous pufferfish provide a welcome day's distraction for any curious child.
Hua Hin
The Damnoen Saduak floating market, about an hour's drive from Hua Hin, in the Ratchaburi province, is the oldest and biggest floating market in Thailand, and well worth a visit. While most of the boat stalls on the narrow waterways predominantly peddle kitschy souvenirs to tourists, the market is still a colourful sight and worth a stop-off if you are driving from Bangkok to Hua Hin.
The restored beachfront teakwood Maruka Thai Yawan palace is located on the outskirts of Hua Hin. Designed by and built on behalf of King Rama VI - about whose life the film The King and I is loosely based (the Thai authorities have banned the film as they felt it insulted the monarchy) - and completed in 1924, the Thai monarchy still occasionally uses the palace.
Outside the town, Monkey Mountain provides stunning views of the town and surrounding bay area and has one of Hua Hin's biggest temples and monasteries. A trip to the mountain also allows tourists to come in close contact with the spider monkeys that live in the area. A word of warning: do not approach the monkeys with plastic bags, as they assume they are full of food and will attack you.