Thailand with an 18 mth old

[mamatochompers]

Hi all,

man... I just posted this on the Lonely Planet forum and got such a hostile response from one very opinionated soul... How dare a person be so selfish as to travel with a baby... Makes me appreciate how civilised this place is!

Anyway, we're planning a short trip to Thailand this February with an 18 mth old. One of the places we're planning to visit is Ko Pha Ngan. Does anybody know of a good town to stay with a young child? I wanted to do some snorkeling and hopefully also have access to tours inland, and preferably stay somewhere with a little bit of life beyond the accommodation we choose. Does such a place exist on KPN?

Also, would people recommend visiting Chiang Mai with a young child? Is there much to keep them entertained? Does anyone know if it requires particular vaccinations? (he's up to date with his routine jabs). Is there the sufficient medical infrastructure there?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

[Nai]

We went to Thailand recently with a 2 year old and we had her vaccinated against Hepatitis A which was recommended by our GP. I think it was worth it given that children that age do have a tendancy to put pretty much everything in their mouth!

I don't know wbout the places you are planning to go to but we spent 2 weeks in Phuket and Bangkok and had a ball. We did some boat trips, an elephant safari, went to the beach, spent time in the pool, did the markets etc and had a wonderful time. DD still talks about it.

Another thing - DD was diagnosed with a peanut allergy just before we left and we thought it would be a nightmare but it was actually fine. We had no issues at all. None of us got sick and we ate really well. I would have no qualms in taking your bubs along. :P to the Lonely Planet people.