It was winter, which means time for our family getaway to break up the freezing cold Melbourne. This year we chose Phuket-Thailand simply because Harvey is half Thai, and it was about time! Both Jaz & I would like Harvey to learn about his heritage.
Packing for Thailand was easy as we had been there so many times. It is a resort holiday, so all you really need is swimwear, shorts, dresses and t-shirts. Since Harvey was 2.5 years old, things we would have taken in the past like sterilisers etc were no longer required. My key focus of packing for Harvey were activities to keep him entertained throughout the flights and when we are about in the resort and restaurants.
Since I was about to embark on a business venture with my friend/business partner I thought the trip would be great timing for me to trial out the activities that we had carefully selected for the the Busy Bags. The activities definitely entertained Harvey for at least half of the flights!
Trailing out Mama’s busy bags while on the plane and at the airport:
On the first day we went to the Thai Temple with our friend Prue who used to live in Melbourne. Even though neither Jaz or I are very religious, we thought it would be nice for Harvey to visit the monks and be blessed.
It was very hot and Harvey struggled with the heat a bit on the first day, however since it was monsoon season, there was rain during the first couple of days which made things bearable for us. Our holiday daily routine was quite relaxed – wake up, golf buggy down to breakfast, hang around the pool bar or watch some T.V shows, head into town, eat and then taxi/tuktuk back to the hotel.
Trialing out Mama’s busy bags and keeping myself busy:
As usual, for our last night, Jaz & I normally reflect on our holidays and of course wished that we could have another week longer. Here is what we learnt from our trip:
- A “Trunki” suitcase is definitely a great travel gadget for toddlers. The bag itself is not particularly spacious, but it held Harvey’s teddy, blanket and books which was enough. The advantage with Trunki was that Jaz was able pull Harvey everywhere at the airport. It was fun for Harvey, less carrying for Jaz and it also made getting round the airport a bit quicker.
- A pram is not required: Jaz & I decided not to take our mountain buggy nano with us since we already had the Trunki to help us at the airport, and if required we could always buy a cheap stroller in Phuket. We definitely did not need the pram or miss having it throughout our trip.
Disco Tuk Tuk 
Song Teaw - Don’t wake a toddler! Yes, we all know this but boy oh boy there were several occasion that we needed to wake Harvey up – our little prince has turned into a monster!
- Don’t push sleep times too much. A few nights Harvey was up quite late -as Jaz & I wanted our daily cocktail and to have a little romantic time as a couple. Harvey was absolutely a train wreck by the time we got him to bed – in future we would have a babysitter for a night or two.
Completely exhausted from the heat and not enough sleep. - Pacific island heat is much more friendly than South East Asia heat! None of us struggled with the heat when we had our Fiji getaway last winter. In Phuket, both Jaz and Harvey struggled big time – especially when Harvey was tired and grumpy and wanted to be carried. The time of year may not have helped – it was especially hot and humid – perhaps a different time of year would be better.
The trip back home was a bit less exciting as we were all exhausted. We picked a night time flight to minimise our jet lag. We even got to see either Mercury or Venus over the horizon before we landed back home.
The Harvey Karuna Method 