We started the day with some nice fresh bread from the bakery for breakfast and then proceeded to drive to Emmen – home to one of the most popular zoo in the Netherlands.  It isn’t really a huge zoo but it is a nice, spacious zoo with lots of open area; with only a ditch that separates visitors from the animals.

A magnificent view as you walk to the zoo

It’s about 25 km away and a half an hour drive from Center ParcsHuttenheugte. Kids from 0-2 years old go in for free, but those above 2 years old would have to pay the following prices:

3 to 9 years: €17
10 to 64 years: €19.50
65 years and older: €17.50
disabled people: €17.50
groups of 20 persons or more: €18.50

The zoo is divided into several sections: The Biochron (a museum about the history of life on Earth), the butterfly garden, the sharks in the aquaria, the Afrikahuis, the tropical AmeriCasa, the Aziëhuis and the penguin school.

Spud was a little unsure about the butterfly garden and kept whining about wanting to “go to the zoo” even though we told her that she was already at the zoo.  She only stopped asking to “go to the zoo” when she saw some giraffes and zebras. She didn’t think the lions were part of the zoo, and was more than happy to venture out to the playground. (Funny, how the mind of a child works!)

Squirt, in the meantime, was only too happy to be strolled around. He fell asleep in the stroller for his morning nap, and was very excited to toddle around with his swanky new shoes when his sister explored the playground.

According to Spud, this is THE zoo!

Father-son shared a joke

Squirt toddling sround

On the other end of the zoo (and I mean a complete OTHER end where you would have to walk out of the main outdoor zoo area and walk a few kilometers to get there), there was a spectacular play expedition area called the Yucatán. It is an indoor area covering more than 17,000 m2.

We did not take the kids to explore the entire place, but I reckon that if the kids are a little older, they would enjoy the place immensely for hours on end! Instead, we confined them to a small-ish area where they can let off steam before we head back to the bungalow. At one point, Spud gave me a heart attack while I was minding Squirt – from the corner of my eye, I saw Spud almost jumped off a 3 m ledge to a pole after she saw a 10 year old girl spiraled down on it. My heart skipped a million beat, and had I not turned around in time and prevented her jumping of the ledge and trying to grab the pole, I reckon she may have broken a bone or two! *Gasps*

The road to Yucatan

Spud & Squirt playing explorer

Even though we both we more focused on the kids than on the animals this time, for us, any vacation would not be complete without a trip to the zoo. It was indeed an enjoyable day at the zoo.

They were so worn out from the sun, the wind, the walk, the playing and the chasing around that they both fell asleep blissfully as we drove back to our temporary home at the De Heuttenheugte that afternoon. 

Unfortunately for us, both Silver Bullet and me could not do the same!

Finally OUT!

The afternoon flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam got us to our destination at slightly after 8.30 pm on a Thursday night – 2 hours past the kids’ bedtime. They both were so knackered that they nodded off almost instantly the moment they were belted-into their respective car seats. They didn’t bother with any protests when we put them to their newly assigned beds after their shower.

Jet-lagged was to be expected. Both Spud and Squirt were restless throughout the night and between the both of them, they probably woke us up 10x that very first night.

I can’t quite recall what we did in the first few days and with nothing actually planned for the first few days we were there, we took it real slow.  We did things on the fly. To fight off jet-lag and to get ourselves synched in with the new rhythm of time, we do anything and possibly everything we could to keep us awake;  one of which included giving the kids their first professional haircut on the first morning we were there. At a professional salon.

Spud took it like a champ – she sat still throughout the entire session and listened to instructions well. Although she did not like the sound of the hair-dryer too much (scary, she said!), I think that she enjoyed the overall experience!

Squirt in the meantime, cried his bloody guts out. He hated the clippers and screamed bloody murder for the entire 5 minute hair-cut. Good thing that the lady who cut his hair was unfazed. In all honesty, I don’t think any hairdresser in Bangkok would be very willing to give a hair-cut to a wailing baby. (I didn’t have the heart to snap a picture of a stressed out, over-stimulated, over-tired and jet-lagged baby…)

We had some visitors over the next few days, and the kids have, once again been able to meet their great-grandparents who are already approaching 90 years old. It was really heart-warming to see them interacting together.

While we had spent most of our time chilling out, we also got busy with a little preparation that needed to be done for a trip to a holiday bungalow in the Northern part of Holland for the week to come.  This time, the drive to the holiday bungalow was only an hour-half long; not half as long as the previous one we went to.

This would be the first time in which the four of us would be spending our time together in a foreign and strange place all by ourselves, with no additional pair of hands to help us out for more than 3 straight days…

The thought of putting the kids to 4pm every day and only releasing them from their respective bedrooms after 8am was extremely appealing…