This blogpost vaccinates 95 children!

UNICEF currently has a great campaign! For everyone who posts the text in Swedish below, and pings theire blogg at Twingly, Apoteket Hjärtat, will donate 95 tetanus shots to the UNICEF vaccination campaign in Afganistan. Spread the word people, it just takes a few minutes and might save lives!

"Den här bloggposten vaccinerar 95 barn Just nu söker UNICEF en hälsospecialist till konfliktområden i Afghanistan. I tjänsten ingår bland annat att massvaccinera miljontals barn mot stelkramp, polio och mässling. Jag skulle gärna ta mig an uppdraget, men eftersom jag inte kommer loss så publicerar jag den här bloggposten istället. Då vaccinerar jag nämligen 95 barn runtom i världen mot stelkramp tillsammans med Apotek Hjärtat. Det är också bra.
Jag är med UNICEF i kampen för varenda unge. Vill du också vara med och förändra barns liv? Bli Världsförälder här: unicef.se/bli-varldsforalder. För 100 kronor i månaden är du med och ser till att barn över hela världen får vaccin, medicin, rent vatten och utbildning. Har du en blogg och vill vaccinera ytterligare 95 barn? För varje bloggare som publicerar den här bloggposten mellan 16 april och 13 maj så skänker Apotek Hjärtat 95 stelkrampsvaccin. Läs mer och hämta bloggmaterial på unicef.se/sprid-budskapet/bloggkampanj "

Travelling to Hua hin with Children

There are many aspect of travelling with children, safety and things to do are at the top of the question lists. We’ll try to sort it out for you! And as always, we welcome questions and ideas, just post them as comments or email us and we’ll address them a.s.a.p.We'll start with safety and get back to the things to in the next post.

Safety

First and foremost, Hua hin is a safe area, no need to be more concerned than anywhere else in the world. However, Thailand is a tropical country; there are different aspects that you might want to consider, depending on age obviously.

For the youngest, 0-2 years

Vaccinations

It’s getting more and more common to take your maternity leave and head off for a few months to Thailand for example. Before leaving your country, make sure that you go through the vaccination program that your country is providing and that you get the necessary shots that you might want to add. Plan well ahead so that your child gets the necessary protection. 

Sun screen

This will be debated forever and ever and I will not get in the middle of it. In my view, be smart. Small children should avoid the sun. Keep them away from the sun between 11-3. The other hours, let them wear UV-blocking suits. 

Food

If you are still breastfeeding, good for you! No need to think at all.. If your child is old enough for formula, then I would take it with me, the Thai equivalents are sweet and nasty in my opinion.. If they are old enough to eat? Well great! Let them eat Thai food! Bring a mixer or buy one if you are staying for a long time. Use common sense, obviously less spicy is a good idea, avoid the saltiest and sweetest food. If you are not sure if your child is allergic to peanuts, avoid that to. Mix it with some milk and voila!  Fruit, what a great thing. Let them eat as much as they want, yeah yeah sugar yeah yeah. Fruit, freshly grown, eaten ripe =  A lot better than the stuff you get in a nestle jar and gladly serve to your children at home.. =) One thing though, pineapple, be restrictive for the youngest. It’s a fruit that might be a bit hard for their tiny undeveloped stomached to handle. Not saying never give, saying don’t let them drink pineapple shakes 3 times a day.  Fluids are also important, they will sweat more ergo need to drink more. Bottled water is the only thing you need, readily available everywhere. When they get tired of that, give them some watermelon, lots of fluid there too.. 

For the older children

Safety will here consist of paying attention to traffic, be careful with the waves and again sunscreen. I’m not too concerned with advice for older children when it comes to safety, because it’s not much different to what it will be in your own country. One thing that I want to point out though is the water, there are strong currents at both beaches but the main beach has higher waves and also stronger currents. On a windy day, you need to be careful not to swim too far out or even walk too far out. At the beaches you also have jet skis, banana boats and parasails. You need to pay attention to those to, jet skis for example apart from being involved in several scams, they are also often drive way to fast and if you are out swimming, your head might not be to visible for an oncoming jet ski.

If you happen to be in accident and need medical attention

Hua hin offers good hospital care and as a tourist I would go to either  Bangkok Hospital or San Paolo hospital.  Both offer good care, I’d say that Bangkok hospital is a bit more specialized and would be my first choice if it’s something serious, but for normal care (cuts, smaller car accidents etc). I’d use San Paulo. There are also several other options, policlinics, Red Cross and many many more but as I said, the 2 above is the first choice. 

Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin
Tel: 032 616 800
Email: huahin@bangkokhospital.com
Theire webpage

Sao Paolo

Tel: 032 532576-85

Getting around Stockholm

When you are a temporary visitor in a city, transportation is essential to be able to explore it to its limits. First part is getting from the airport to town and depending on the airport you have a few different options

Arlanda

You essentially have three ways of getting from the airport to your destination. What might surprise you is that Taxi is usually the cheapest solution but it depends on how many you are, where you are going etc.

TAXI
Readily available outside the terminal at Arlanda they drive on fixed prices to any destination in central Stockholm. The prices vary a bit depending on the company but should all be around 470-500SEK and the price should be written on the outside of the car. Don't ever go by meter, the prices are fixed! If you are more than 4 persons you might want to consider preordering a large taxi that takes up to 8 people, ask your host to help you with this.

Arlanda express
The fastest and most environmental friendly way of getting to central Stockholm. It takes about 20 min to get to central station and the trains run all the time. Unfortunately it's expensive so usually it doesn't make sense if you are more then 2 persons but there are exceptions. Usually they have a weekend special where you can go 2 adults for less and a summer special where children go for free etc. Problem is that once you hit central station you will still probably want to take a taxi to your destination.. However, if you are going to Arlanda during rush hour, this is unbeatable! To see the current prices please check out their webpage where you can also buy tickets in advance: Arlanda express

Airport busses
The cheapest way of getting to central station. It takes quite a lot longer then a taxi due to all the stops and they don't run as often as the trains but is a cheap way of traveling. Again, you will however be dropped off at central station and have to make your way from there to your destination. For prices and schedule, check out their webpage: Airport busses


From Skavsta

First things first, Skavsta is quite a long way from Stockholm, despite what Ryan air says, so don't be surprised if the journey takes a while. From here I would only really recommend travelling by bus. A taxi is ridiculously expensive so this is a big no no if I were you.

Airport busses
The busses matches all arrivals/departures so you rarely have to wait for it. A good idea is to buy a 2 way ticket right away since it's cheaper and it saves you the hassle of doing it twice. For schedules, prices and more, check out theire webpage: Airport busses

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Around Stockholm

Public transportation in Stockholm is really good if you don't happen to be here during the winter when the occasional snowstorm brings everything to a stop.. It's run by SL and if you are here for a few days you can get a visitors pass that are good value. When you get a pass you can go on the commuter trains, the metro, all the busses and trams plus a few boats so it's a really good idea. SL has got a good visitor's page that you can reach from here: Public transportation in Stockholm

Stockholm City bikes or as they are more commonly known: "Alvedoncykel"
The advil bikes.. Yes, sponsored by the Swedish version of Advil, these bikes are readily available all over Stockholm. They are cheap, really smart way of getting around and good for the environment. Pick up a bike at one stand, drop it of at another, never have to worry about locking up your bike or where to store it at night. Join the movement! See their webpage for prices and more info: Stockholm City bikes