I’ve always envisioned travelling with Lahksa and bringing him along as much as I can. Going on adventures together and exploring the Netherlands and beyond is a dream of mine! So I was really excited and happy for our first mini vacation with Lahksa this year.
We were very lucky to have this short vacation before the Corona situation hit The Netherlands. We were looking for a short getaway and heard about Centerparcs from my Dutch friend (and it is pet friendly!!!). As a Singaporean, this reminded me of the chalet holidays with friends or family. It is a similar concept of a bungalow house for rent with amenities and fun activities to do close by (eg. pool). This seemed like the perfect first time vacation for Lahksa, not too far away and travel by car (vs train or plane)
The first task was to pack for Lahksa. So what did I pack for his first holiday?
- Backpack
- Litter box (in the future we want to get a reusable, foldable kitty litter!)
- Cat food
- Toys (and random stuff that I thought would make the place more like home)
Next was the car ride. Lahksa is not a huge fan of car rides so thankfully it was not a very long ride. Since the car was packed with all our stuff, Lahksa could only stay in his backpack the whole ride.
Then we were finally at out accommodation bungalow! I was not worried about Lahksa being scared of the new environment as he is very open and comfortable with new places. Prior to this he has visited a few other house of family/friends and he always walks around curiously but confidently. The issue that worried me was leaving Lahksa alone in a new environment. We would have to leave Lahksa in the bungalow whenever we went to the pool and restaurants, even at night! Thankfully, Lahksa was such a trooper and never made an issue out of it.
One of the things we really enjoyed about Centerparc Emhof was that we were surrounded by nature. We were lucky to get a bungalow by the water. It was the perfect holiday for him. He could have his daily walk in nature and when indoors, he could watch the ducks and birds that visited our back patio area, facing the water. The big sliding glass doors were his giant tv for that weekend. Even late at night he was behind the curtains watching the nature outside.
All in all, all of us had a great time. It was the perfect short getaway and first holiday for Lahksa. We also had a nice relaxing weekend spending time at the pool (which had many fun slides), using the in-bungalow sauna + jaccuzi and also eating at the various restaurants there. This could be very well a yearly trip!
Also 2 things worth noting down for memories: Lahksa had an insect sting on his paw and also did his first outdoor poop during this holiday.
Nameowste 