The Choos goes to Bangkok on AirAsia!

Its my 2nd trip to Bangkok this year (first bkk trip here), but I cannot be more excited. Because, I am lugging with me 2 Bangkok virgins! Can you believe it? Der has NEVER stepped foot into Bangkok ever, and of cos not Jerry. So I was super excited to show them around. It’s been a while since Jerry took a plane too. His last trip was to Hong Kong, and that was when Jerome was still in my stomach! We haven’t been travelling much with 2 kids at all. Truth is, its really not easy trying to handle 2 toddlers with just us two…(at their age!). The husband can really only handle 1 while travelling.

I do travel quite a bit, and is usually fuss free when I am travelling alone. Today, I am going to share with you some of the tips and tricks that I adopt when travelling with a kid. A little goes a long way. (p.s. find out how to qualify for 2 free KidZania passes and more!)

Der has been prepping Jerry for days before the trip and telling him that we are going to ride in an airplane, and I think our last trip to the airport helped Jerry put things into perspective. He was really excited when we got to the airport and kept asking me, “Mummy, are we going to take a plane now? Where is the aeroplane?”

We checked in our luggage upon arrival, which is extremely smooth since we have already done web checked-in the night before. We have gotten ourselves premium seats, which means we get priority boarding, priority bag tags, and extra leg room, only for a very small price to pay ($15-$17 depending on the seat selection). Priority bag tags can be quite the time saver, not having to wait for your luggage to appear, especially on a very full flight. It’s especially great since our schedule upon arriving is a little tight, and we were rushing to fit into the afternoon session of KidZania into our Saturday (read our KidZania adventure here).

When the bag turned moved away from the conveyor belt and disappeared, Jerry almost broke into tears. I jokingly said our bag is gone and he thought our bag is going to be lost forever. I had a hard time consoling him and explaining that the bag went into the plane first so that we don’t have to carry it with us. He just kept staring in the direction the bag went for quite a while.

I know my luggage is HUGE for a 3D2N bangkok trip. Don’t judge. I wish I can pack even lighter, but I tried. 60% of the stuff in that luggage belongs to my kid. Like he has clothes for hot weather, cold weather, extra clothes to change out, pyjamas to sleep in, tons of diapers for the kid which is bulky, kids’ shampoo, moisturizer, sun block, hat, milk powder, bottles, washing brush.. you get the gist. I am already quite conservative this time round I think! When he was much younger, kiasu mummy here lug boiled water along the trip as well so that he doesn’t have to drink mineral water or water from weird sources! I learnt to let go when as the kids grow older, but there are some stuff that I rather have extra than nothing at all!

I know what some of you might say, just go there and buy! I also know, but for short trips like that where time is already so precious, I don’t want to waste another 1-2 hours hunting down a convenience store and then lugging the stuff back to the hotel or lugging them everywhere I go! All those stuff is heavy, so I opted to pre-book luggage space! I rather have my hands free to hold my kid than to lug the luggages, and because its BANGKOK, I pre-booked up to 40kg of luggage space on my return trip so that there is room for my shopping spree! Travelling with kids just changes your priorities sometimes. But ahem, shopping is *still* a priority here. Heh.

We have some time to spare before boarding, so we went to have a light breakfast. Jerry gets to eat his favourite soft boil eggs while the husband and me had some hot drinks and shared some toasts.  I love watching this kid slurp up his eggs. He is pretty egg crazed!

We located our boarding gate, and cleared the security. While I was packing back my computer, and gadgets back into my bag after being scanned, this kid grabbed my camera and snapped a picture of our plane. I thought this was too precious a moment to miss and stopped whatever I was doing and whipped out my phone. He really loves photography and I have given him a set of my old camera. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the sense of responsibility to take care of his own items yet so I didn’t let him bring it on the trip. He will lose it in minutes!

And as we got nearer… a thousand and one questions with our plane.

Thankful for our premium seats, we didn’t have to wait long since we had priority boarding and were amongst the first few to board. But before that, can I just flash another picture of the skies that day? I somehow, quite love the picture below, but can’t put a finger why so.

I love travelling A LOT. Ok, A LOT is probably an understatement. I used to jet away at every. single. opportunity but I have since toned down after having kids. The behaviour is toned down, but not the heart. My heart will usually thump like crazy (in excitement) knowing that I have a flight to catch!

And we settle in! I like how Jerry gets into his seat and immediately look for the seat belt to put it on. It must be the daily practice in daddy’s car. It is something that I emphasise a lot and the car doesn’t moves when the seat belt is not on and they don’t get anywhere. It is really more for their safety than anything else, and of cos, peace of mind for me.

We settled in our seats and were waiting for the entire plane to board (it’s a full flight!)… so we take a wefie! I secretly adores Jerry plump red lips! So cute! And of cos, a picture with daddy too.

And LOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!! The amount of leg room we have! It is super shiok! Know what is the best thing? I don’t have to worry about my kid kicking the seat of the person in front! His legs are way too short! So much benefits – comfy parents, less nuisance from the kid. The husband is a super happy man.

It does feels a little like business class luxurious, but only with a small price to pay. Of cos, the seats aren’t magically bigger, but with more foot space, everything just feels wonderful and not cramped. And happy. And perfect.

See? Even with a huge backpack right in front of my leg, there is still sufficient space. Me likely.  And you know what else the space is good for? For entertaining bored kids on board. Don’t know what I mean?

The kid gets to wriggle around, stand, stretch his legs and move around, all within our leg space and close to us, without even leaving our seats. Kids get crankier in more confined spaces so it is always good to have some space for them to move their limbs a little. It’s the same for adults too!

Amazing how a little more space can breeds so much creativity from a kid. Am sure he found the flight a lot more enjoyable too! I got a sad face from Jerry when the seat belt sign came on and I had to buckle him back into his seat. Awwww…  I took the opportunity to teach him how to read the seat belt sign, and listen for the *deng* sound so he know what is going on and what he needs to do on the flight. Distraction is key, plus, I always believe in empowering kids with the knowledge as soon as they understand so that they can help themselves when required.

I ordered some light bites for us on the flight, but more so for the kid. My kid is always eating non stop and considering that it is a 3 hour long flight, Jerry would likely be hungry and needs to eat something.

Do you know that AirAsia has the best inflight meals among the low cost carriers (aka budget airlines)? Their selection is amazing if you pre-book together with your air tickets, and the most important part is, it’s freaking cheap! As cheap as peanuts. It’s really affordable and nothing more than a food court meal! I was quite blown away since my memories about the food on low cost carriers’ is something like $4 for a bottle of water or $5 for a cup noodle.

Times has definitely, changed.

I know I haven’t been travelling much these 2 years, but I am honestly quite blown away. Check these out, all starting from $5, with free mineral water! Pretty wow, right? Did anyone notice the kid’s meal? These are just the selections available on my flight, the full menu for the other flights is even more mind blowing. Why go hungry when it is only a small price to pay?

p.s. AirAsia’s inflight meals are among the best and most affordable! 

My Exotic Mango dessert is yummy. I was hoping for some coconut  but it tasted equally aromatic without. I’m sure a lot of research went into putting this on the menu. I had it all by myself since both my boys were sleeping!

When the kid woke up, the first thing he asked was….”what is that red packet on the table?”

He was super excited when he found out it’s pancakes, and immediately asked me to open it up for him..

It’s a joy to watch any kid eat heartily, and I was very glad that he didn’t take one bite and push it back to me. In fact, he finished almost everything all by himself. I stole a mouthful and it is very delicious. No wonder he didn’t offer it to me.

And before we know it, 3 hours is over and we land. No drama from my kid, no screaming and all it good and well. I wouldn’t mind travelling like that. Quite a breeze!

We were seated at Row #1 and of cos, we get to exist the plane first! I think in all my years of travelling, I was never the first person to step out of the plane. Neither did I this time, because Jerry did. He sure clocked some milestones on this trip! Before we alighted, the pretty stewardess wanted to take a picture with him, but Jerry was so shy he didn’t look into the camera.

And then, OFF HE GOES!

The last time I landed in Bangkok was in Suvarnabhumi International Airport and it was so packed that I had to wait quite a while for the queues to ease before I could get out. This time round, I had a pleasant surprise! I didn’t even need to connect to the free wifi because I was out of the airport within minutes.

We totally enjoyed our flight. 3 hours being stuck with a kid and nothing to do is a long time, but I managed to distract the kid with things other than a gadget/mobile device and am totally pleased that there is no meltdown from either kid or parent.

If you are going Bangkok soon, do fly AirAsia. With 6 direct flights from Singapore to Bangkok daily, I love the options in timing that it offers and could I say the timing is perfect? The first flight out is 10am in the morning and arrives in noon in BKK, just enough time to make your way to the hotel and check in. It’s last flight out is at 6pm and you get back in SG at 10+pm, perfect timing to maximize your day.

Here’s a promotion shoutout!

AirAsia Free Kidzania Bangkok Passes Giveaway!

Spend $300 in a single booking (SIN to BKK) and get a pair of KidZania passses FOC! The promotion is till 14 Dec 2014. Just make sure you fly before 31 Dec in order to qualify. You can view the FB promo post for more details. Do read the conditions to find out how to collect the tickets. Also, every 3 guests in a single booking entitles you to a 90-min massage voucher (read more). Else just flash your boarding pass to enjoy 20% discount if you are travelling in a smaller group.

One last tip from me. Do you know your AirAsia boarding passes also gives you extra privileges in Thailand? You can flash them and enjoy up to 30% discount at these participating venues:

• Madame Tussauds
• Siam Ocean World
• Nanta Show
• Art in Paradise in Bangkok
• Siam Niramit  and more!

Never knew your boarding pass is so cool right? You are welcome. If you have travelled to Bangkok with AirAsia before, I would love to hear your experience. This is not my first experience on AirAsia. I have travelled with them many times, and I know it is definitely not the last. Do check back soon on more updates on our Bangkok travel escapades.

Disclaimer: The Choo family clocked in a fun trip to Bangkok, courtesy of AirAsia and its partners. All mentions are based on our own experience, and any similarities is purely coincidental.