Who doesn’t wish for a long, extended vacation and what better than a 21-day family vacation in Thailand.We planned our vacation sometime in January when things get really cold out here. Perfect time to hit sunny Thailand where the average temp was 25 to 26 degree Celsius. As soon as we landed in Bangkok, we had an immediate connecting flight to Phuket.

Our first stopover was a dream. Phuket is a must visit destination while in Thailand. Sunny, white sandy beaches crystal clear blue waters and plenty of action day and night. There is lot you can do with your children in the daytime. Best is the Phi Phi Island tours by speedboat, a favorite day trip for all vacationers. The Phi Phi archipelago comprises six islands — Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh, Koh Bida Nok, Koh Bida Nai, Mosquito Island, and Bamboo Island, and is located only 45 minutes away by twin-engine speedboat from Phuket. This exhilarating island-hopping tour takes you to no less than four islands with several stops or sightseeing slows down at their most beautiful bays and beaches: Monkey Beach and Laem Thong on Koh Phi Phi Don; Maya Bay, Pi-Leh bay, Loh Sama Bay and Viking Cave on Koh Phi Phi Leh, Bamboo Island beach, and last but not least, the beautiful tiny island of Khai Nok situated a few miles off Phuket’s east coast. What a day!

In the evening you can do the Phuket FantaSea Show. With trapeze artists, a cast of hundreds, performing elephants and other animals and an exotic storyline that blends tradition with fantasy you’ll have a wonderful evening out here. But the extravaganza doesn’t stop there as FantaSea also hosts one of the biggest buffets in Asia and is set in a theme park that offers carnival-like games, lots of shopping opportunities, a Palace of the Elephants, a Similan Adventure Centre and several other food outlets. It’s spectacular, it’s extravagant, and it is impressive and great entertainment value for all age groups. After the shows and some awesome Thailand dinners, we would drop the children at the hotel room and head out pub hopping until wee hours. Phuket has the best nightlife experience I can think of.

Our next destination was Krabi. We took the road this time and enjoyed the 3 hours drive across some scenic locations. The roads are smooth as silk and the drive was a pleasure. Krabi is in contrast to Phuket; charming, laid-back and quiet. The main beach almost feels like you have a beach to yourself. For some excitement you can take a short tour to Railay Beaches and caves and do not miss Koh Poda, Chicken Islands perfect place where we experienced snorkeling for the first time. It was really exciting for both my daughters. For the first time in their lives they went deep-sea swimming and the underwater sea life has to be really experienced personally to realise the richness of the oceans that Thailand has been blessed with. We stayed for three days in Krabi and flew back to Bangkok from where we immediately headed straight to Pattaya.

Pattaya was another extreme to Krabi. Crowded and wee bit noisy. But nevertheless it packed enough excitement the moment we landed. Para sailing, deep sea diving and the Amazing Coral Island tour. Only 45 minutes boat ride west of Pattaya, the idyllic beaches of Koh Larn (Coral Island) offer a change of pace from the upbeat dynamism of Pattaya beaches and make a perfect day-trip. Do not miss the Alcazar Cabaret Show in Pattaya. It’s been said that if you want to see beautiful ladyboys, go to Tiffany; but if you want to see a great show, head over to Alcazar. Pattaya has made good of its long-time love affair with ladyboys. Extravagant costumes, convincingly stunning ladyboys, spectacular stage sets are all part of a grander show that delights you with non-stop fantastic entertainment, from the Russian stage to K-Pop to Persian harlem and even outer space. Whether you are in for the beautiful ‘ladies’ or the show, you’ll get your money worth at Alcazar.

After two nights in Pattaya we headed for our final destination – Bangkok. Bangkok is ‘an all-out attack on the senses’, meaning a fascinating combination of weird and wonderful sights, sounds and smells. Choose three, five, or try to fit them all if you feel up to it. In the day time we did tours of the Grand Palace and Wat Prakeaw, Wat Arun, Damnoen Saduak floating market, mind you it is a bit far — 100 kms or more than an hour’s drive outside Bangkok. But if it is your first time then it is absolutely worth the experience. Also if you do love wild life of the flora and fauna kind, do not miss the Bangkok Zoo, and don’t miss the Elephant show it is awesome.

You can do a whole lot in Bangkok, frankly the four days we had wasn’t enough. We shopped until our feet hurt and ate until we reached bursting point. The street food is the best in Bangkok and you can have a real good meal for Thai Baht 200 per person. Shopping for clothes is an endless journey, from street fashion to high-end boutiques, you can find them all here. We still had a lot to explore, maybe we will do it the next time. Insha Allah!