Tips for traveling with kids – from our experiences

We’ve been traveling with our kids for quite long now – my eldest child is 16 and she’d been with us to 3 continents by the time she was 1 1/2 - and we’ve learned a lot along the way. I’m often surprised by how much we perhaps have NOT learned, but we’ve improved a lot ! So here are lessons we’ve picked up over the years, and I’m not talking about the things you see everywhere, like find a theme park or a restaurant with kids menus – I’m talking about real life lessons we’ve learned. 

My mantra I’ve developed over the years is that if your children are not happy traveling, you won’t be either. So if there’s a site or museum you really want to see, or a restaurant you absolutely have to go to, think twice about how happy your children will be. Believe me, if they’re miserable, you will be too. We’re all parents now so this is a calculation you just have to take into account. You may need to improvise, but I promise you, it’s worth it. Ultimately, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of discovery with your children. 

Moments like these make it all worthwhile

 

1. Food. There are few topics more discussed and stressed over when dealing with family travel. That need to hunt down the restaurant with the kids’ menu, or the one ‘western’ style restaurant in some fairly remote destination.I think people sweat over this too much; there is an excitement and joy over discovering and trying out new,  different foods all over the world. We insist on knowing what we’re eating and we’re not overly daring, but part of the experience is trying local foods whether in a restaurant or in a market. Be careful though that the establishment looks clean. If you’re worried about it, see how many local people are in the restaurant – if there are very few, try somewhere else. If you want to try things out but are too scared of foreign foods, hire a guide for a day. Generally they’ll be very good at ordering for you. We found this really useful in China and Vietnam. 

First day in a Beijing restaurant - still willing to try things

 

No, not prepared to try these offerings in Hanoi

 

2. Agenda. Kids often are not good at meandering, something adults often love to do. Our kids need to know the goal of the exercise, the ‘where are we going to land up ? ‘, the ‘what are we actually doing ? ‘ question. So have a goal, an ending point. This also arouses curiosity and can keep them engaged. Of course, some places are made for wandering : Cartagena, Barcelona, London, Antigua (Guatemala), Lijiang come to mind. 

Market day in Chichi, Guatemala - one of our favorite family activities

 

3. Toilets – again, much is made of this, especially in less developed areas. So, surprise, surprise, in our family, almost always it’s the grown ups who make a far bigger fuss over the toilets than our kids. Generally, like with other aspects of traveling, they just seem to roll with it. (I have to admit I have had my less than memorable moments when my kids were very small (and not so small) – trying to change a diaper in a toystore in Amsterdam – they did not like that; unable to leave the car on safari – we used an empty waterbottle; and more recently a very unfortunate scene in a huge indoor market in Beijing. 

Some toilets are worth the wait

 

4. Hotels. Again, our kids never seem to notice much, whether we’re in a 4 star hotel, or a run down place in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. In fact our experience has been that the cheaper the place, the nicer they are,  and never try nickel and dime you for every single thing. Case in point : how many top hotels provide free internet ? we’ve found that the cheaper the hotel, the better the chance of free internet (one of my top travel gripes: when you’re already paying so much for a room, why still charge for internet ?). 

5. MODES OF TRANSPORT – I put this in capitals as it’s so important. Please, please, don’t try underestimate this. If you’re somewhere a little remote, usually in the developing world, and you’re offered a great excursion, think very carefully about the transport. How many times my kids have got sick on a car/bus ride on terrible, windy roads, or seasick, I do not want to remember. And every time I thought why did I not anticipate this ? 

6. Tours. a little bit like 5. Tours of course can be excellent, interesting and sometimes a way of seeing something otherwise hard to get to. On the other hand, they’re unbelievably restrictive. Once on, you can’t get off, and if someone’s bored, it’s a recipe for disaster. Much better is hiring a private guide where you’re in charge and can basically do whatever you want, or try do it on your own. If you have doubts that your children can sit happily through, for example, a one day boat ride admiring the scenery (someone tried to sell us this at the admittedly stunning Li River; we opted for a short private ride instead), don’t do it. 

7. Involving your kids – I mean all the way, through all the stages. For older kids who are somewhat reticent about family travel, do some research with them and let them choose a couple of activities. Let them contact operators or tour guides, or hotels. And let them take lots of photos and videos, if they wish. 

Dani chose to go to Elephant Nature Park - here is her reward

 

Ilani on Franz Josef Glacier - his choice

 

8. Don’t try do too much – this was long a personal failing. I wanted to do and see everything possible, no matter how tiring. I’ve learned over the years that it’s not so much how much you see but the quality of the time you spend together. So sitting at a coffee shop in Guatemala, or strolling through indigenous markets in Asia and Latin America may be time-consuming, but has provided our family with fabulous memories. 

9. Beaches. I have to include this. For us, if all else fails, try get to a glorious beach with wonderful water, and all will be forgotten. 

My favorite photo, Kangaroo Island, Australia

 

Glorious Caribbean

Vietnam – by our 14 year old

Yup, we are in Vietnam, finishing up our first day.

Ok, first thing, the motorcycles. There are motorcycles everywhere. Seriously, it’s impossible to cross a road here because of them. It’s like they don’t have pets here, and instead everyone has a pet motorcycle.

Motorcycle mayhem

Hanoi street scene

We walked around today, and went to a big market. The exchange rate here is 16,000 Dong to the dollar. Isn’t that cool? Today I held a million Dong  note. Wow. It’s not often one gets to do that. They have travel offices  everywhere too, and lots of them, like the Sinh Cafe, have the same name. Apparently they take a name that’s popular or has a good reputation and then copy it to try get business, so be careful !

My brother with 100,000 Dong note in his face. The note represents Temple of Heaven behind him.

And now, at Temple of Heaven, without the note

Oh! I forgot to blog the coolest part. Last night we went back to Hong Kong for a night to catch our flight here. We stayed in a really awesome hotel. It had a mall inside of it! The mall was huge, too, it was like four floors. And the hotel room had keys that replied to a sensor, and lots of other cool features. And an amazing breakfast. It’s a shame we had to leave at 7a.m.

Today we met some students from an organization called Hanoi Kids. They are university students who volunteer as guides around their city for a morning to help them practice their English. We walked around Hoan Kiem Lake, which is the heart of the city center, and then went to the Temple of Literature. It was interesting, and had lots of turtle statues everywhere. Turtles are very important animals here. Unfortunately, it was sometimes hard to understand their English; I know my dad couldn’t understand a thing and he just kept nodding his head. It is great for their English though – maybe we were just their first tourists.

With Hanoikids at Temple of Literature

There is so much pollution here! The skies are always grey, too because of it. A lot of people wear masks on their faces to block out the pollution. The masks do however make great, cheap gifts for my friends at home.

More motorbikes

A couple of  nights ago we went to the water puppet show. There was singing and musical instruments, and puppets on water. Interesting, but it got a bit boring after a while. Better than the Dongba show, anyhow. (something we saw in Lijiang, China – supposed to be a big tourist attraction, but it was ridiculously boring). Yesterday we went to the Perfume Pagoda. After a long bus ride, we went in a small, wooden boat for an hour along the river. It was us five plus our guide, and just one woman rower, who never seemed to get tired.  It was really beautiful and you could see herds of ducks, and water lilies. There was thick forest on both sides of the river, and you could imagine all the Vietnam war movie scenes there. There were mostly women rowing the boats, because it is supposed to be the easiest job. I didn’t think it looked too easy. We then took a cable car (how many have we taken already?) up to the pagoda. I thought it would be a real pagoda, you know, a building. It wasn’t. It was a cave, with Bhudda statues, and  offerings people had brought (this one guy brought a whole rooster, still intact), and a lot of incense. There were monks, too. I think I might be allergic to incense. After that we walked down, which was not really a hike, it was more like a walk along a road that was under construction through little houses and shops. There were dogs everywhere. They looked like strange looking mini-German Shepherds. And there was a monkey, and many, many chickens.

On the boat to Perfume Pagoda

Working on the river

Yesterday we went to Halong Bay. Our boat was so cool because we slept on it, so there were some cabins, and a deck. We had a buffet lunch, with the most courses I have ever seen. Everyone else had seafood. Except us. We had some very odd dishes, like taro cakes and vegetables we couldn’t name. We then went to a cave (we’ve now been in 3 caves in 5 days!). It was okay, although it’s called the Amazing Cave, so it’s obviously very popular. The boat was way more fun though. We went to a beach, and my dad and Ilani swam. Why, I don’t know. I thought it was freezing. Dinner had about as many courses at lunch. They gave us dragon fruit for dessert. It’s this really strange fruit that has a white inside with black polka dots.

Halong Bay

And then a really exciting thing happened…I got help with my math homework! I have been struggling with it since the trip started, and the textbook (as some of you know) doesn’t provide instructions. Luckily some students from Dartmouth Business School managed to figure it out (after many tries).

This morning I was woken up when the boat crashed into something. I don’t know what. We went out to a beautiful lagoon, where there were supposedly monkeys (I didn’t see any). We then went swimming! It was kind of cold, but still fun.

It’s really amazing when you can look at your window and see the beautiful water, and all the rock formations. And other boats! There are so many other boats out on the bay. It must be a very popular tourist attraction. I can see why.

Halong Bay

One observation: Outside the boat, whenever it stops, there are people trying to sell you stuff! They have raft type boats, and little stores inside of them. Amazing. I think this was one of the best things we’ve done so far.

Young businessman on Halong Bay

So, this morning we got up early so we could go to the museums. We visited the Ho Chi Minh museum, which was interesting. We then tried to go to Ho’s mausoleum, but it was unfortunately closed. After that we tried to go to the Military History Museum, which I really wanted to go to, but it too was unfortunately closed. Very disappointing. So instead we went to the “Hanoi Hilton” prison museum. That was pretty interesting. We then walked around a bit more on the crowded streets of Hanoi, tasting some interesting food and bargaining with shopkeepers a little more. (we traded in one of our brand new Rough Guides Vietnam for a photocopied Lonely Planet Cambodia with a guy selling books on a tray he carries around with him – somehow he got the better book and some of our money)

'Hanoi Hilton'

These are some things I’ve learned, and my observations about the parts of Vietnam we’ve visited:

There are motorcycles everywhere. There are barely any cars, but everyone has a motorcycle. It’s amazing how many people you can fit on one! Three adults and a baby…two adults and two kids…you can fit whole families on a motorbike. It’s also really funny to see these people that are all dressed up for work, in suits and ties, or high heels, riding on their motorbikes with their pollution masks.

This seems to be in China and Vietnam so far, but many people have extremely long hairs sticking out of their moles! Some of them must be inches long. It’s amazing. Usually one doesn’t see that in the U.S.

There is far less spitting here than in China. I think I’ve only seen maximum three people.

The people trying to sell you stuff are a bit less persistent. In China, some of them would grab onto you, or just not yet you leave. Here most of the time they leave you alone after you make it clear you don’t want whatever they’re selling.

Hanoi is I think the liveliest place I have ever seen. There are always people walking around, sitting on the sidewalks cooking food, selling stuff, etc. There is so much life….

Morning exercises at Hoan Kiem Lake

Kangaroo Island, Australia – by our 12 year old son

We flew from Sydney to Adelaide then drove to the ferry to go to Kangaroo Island. When we arrived, we went to  Seal Bay where we went on a guided walk on a beach with lots of sea lions lying down and doing different things. Some of the babies were swimming in the ocean and others were walking on the beach and calling to try and find their moms. It was really cool. 

Seal Bay

Seal fun

After that we stopped at Kelly Hill Conservation Park to look for echidnas which kind of look like porcupines mixed with small anteaters. It is a Monotreme mammal which means it lays eggs. It is one of only  2 animals in this family, the other being the platypus.  We went along the path and didn’t see anything until we saw this guy and he said he’d seen one at the start of the path. We ran back to the start and couldn’t find it, but then my mom and sister saw it next to the path. It was really exciting as echidnas are very rare and lots of people haven’t heard of them.  We also saw 2 Kangaroo Island Kangaroos – one was an adult and one was a joey. 

 

Elusive echidna

Long nosed echidna

Then we went to Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to  find koalas. We walked down a wide path with eucalyptus trees on either  side. We saw 3 koalas really low down in the trees and one making really loud sounds and running on the ground. We were able to get very close to the koalas. Then we drove to our hotel, Kangaroo Island Wilderness Resort.  On the way we saw lots of Tammar Wallabies and a few more kangaroos. In the evening at the hotel we saw a kangaroo and more wallabies and we got to feed one. There were also some Bushtail possums and one with a baby in its pouch. 

 

Getting close to a koala

This koala's had enough for one day

The next day before breakfast we saw a baby wallaby in its mom’s pouch. Then we went to the Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park. The Remarkable Rocks are a bunch of really weird, big granite rocks. We climbed up some of them. It was really fun.  After that we went to Admirals Arch a place where New Zealand and Australian Fur Seals are found. We walked down a boardwalk and saw lots of fur seals. Some of the males were play fighting. 

Remarkable rocks

More Remarkable Rocks

Then we went to this place called Little Sahara where we went sandboarding which is where you go to the top of a sand dune and sled down it. Sometimes instead of sitting on the sled I would stand on it. It was really fun, although very hard work because after sledding down, we had to trudge up the very steep dunes. Also, we all had sand in our hair for days after that. 

Trudging up dunes at Little Sahara

My brother boards don the dune in his Barcelona shirt

The next day was my brother’s birthday and we first went to Kelly Hill Conservation Park again where we saw another echidna. It walked across the path right in front of me. It was really cool. Then we went to Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where we saw more koalas including a baby that was jumping from one tree to another and one running around on the ground. We also saw some Cape Barren Geese. Then we went down this really bumpy road to Hanson Bay beach. On the way we saw 2 heath goannas which look like big lizards with blackish tails. When we got to the beach we went swimming. We were surprised that this beautiful beach was totally deserted. We played in the water and my mom and sister built sand statues. 

My brother and me with our new pet echidna

Hanson Bay - my dad's favorite photo

Hanson Bay fun

After the beach we drove to Kingscote, the largest town on the island, although actually a very small place.  When we got there we went on a nocturnal penguin tour to see fairy penguins which are the smallest penguins in the world. We saw some of the adults molting and we saw some babies. We saw  3 babies together that they thought might be  triplets and scientists from Sydney were going to come to get blood samples, because if they were triplets, they would be the first triplets ever in the species. It was very interesting. 

Cute penguins

The drive back was very dramatic. It was very dark and possums, wallabies, kangaroos, and koalas were constantly crossing the road. My dad had to keep slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting the animals. We were all very relieved to get back to the hotel without harming any animals. 

Next day, our last, we spent going back to the places we’d been before. There was one last piece of big drama. Having crossed by ferry onto the mainland, we were driving towards Adelaide when my parents discovered they’d somehow left our passports at the hotel on the island. As we were flying from Sydney to New Zealand the next day, and could not get the ferry back because it was full (and we would have missed our plane to Sydney), they become quite frantic. In the end, they managed to get the passports flown to Adelaide and my dad collected them, although he had to spend the night in Adelaide. When he met us next morning at Sydney airport with 5 passports, we were all quite relieved.

Thailand – our interesting, sometimes exciting, sometimes strange trek experience – my daughter’s report

From Chiang Mai we drove to a town named Chiang Dao. We then sat in the back of a pick-up truck and were driven to a small hill tribe village of the Lisu minority. It was very small and there were chickens and pigs everywhere. We then walked to a cave. Out of all the many caves we’ve been to on this trip, this one was by far the best. It was pitch black, and there were stalactites everywhere. We had to crawl through extremely narrow passages following our guides who didn’t speak a word of English. We got very dirty, but it was ok, because at least the company who we had booked through had given us each a packet of the most spectacular cookies we’ve had. They were the perfect mixture of sweet crunchiness and a filling of nice gooey jam.

My brother venturing through a crack

In the cave

Into the darkness

After that we had lunch in the village. I ate rice. Not the greatest meal. We then hiked to a waterfall, having to cross little streams and walk across logs. Then we walked up a steep hill to the village we would be staying the night in.  We reached  our village, which didn’t really seem like a village. It was a few houses here and there. I think we had this idea that there would be streets and a few shops and something to do.

We decided we’d walk around, and came across the best wildlife we’ve seen. My dad quickly exclaimed “It’s a tiger!”. It was an overlarge pig with hair and stripes. That creature had to be the definition of ugliness itself, and imaginatively enough, we named it ‘Tigerpig’. We then watched the villagers play soccer in their interesting traditional garb, baggy brightly colored pants that looked as though they could have come out of Aladdin. I ate rice for dinner again (wow I can’t wait ‘till we get to Sydney!). It was then about six thirty, dark, and there was nothing to do. But we couldn’t go to bed that early. We finally went to sleep in our thatched hut. The villagers must think we’re crazy, paying money to come sleep on the floor of their hut! For their part, our hosts showed that even in this place, they knew how to have a good time ! They drank – it looked like all kinds of alcohol – until late into the night, getting louder and louder as time wore on. My mom, getting sick from the strange food, and possibly getting a little crazy, started worrying there were ‘bandits’ (her word, not mine) outside who may try attack us crazy tourists at any time. So she insisted my dad get up from his mat and latch the ‘door’. Considering the whole hut was made of bamboo and anyone could walk straight through the ‘walls’, it seemed an odd request, but maybe it made her feel better.

Outside our hut

Incredibly ugly, strange tigerpig

'Village' we slept in

Next  morning we packed up and went back to our hotel, from where we would be doing the second part of our trek.
When we were almost there, driving in the back of our pick-up, this guy got in for some reason. He was old and had strangely dyed hair, was carrying a bag of odd meat, and holding a machete. Wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of him. Anyways, he asked us all these questions, and commented on how my mom had three nice daughters. I can’t imagine how anyone could think my brothers were girls. He then asked my mom, very indignantly, “who are you?” and we could not figure out what he meant. We finally figured out it was “how are you?” but still a bit out of place. He proceeded to ask us how long we were here for, and we thought he meant in Thailand, so we said ten days. He then threw back his head, and exclaimed ‘WOW!’ very strangely.

We came back to Chiang Dao, ate a second breakfast, and drove to the elephant station with our guide. The elephant Ilani (my brother) and I rode on was very large, and kept sneezing on us. This was a bit unpleasant because it would shower us with sneezes, since it is such a large animal. Our mahout was not very nice, and kept screaming at the elephant, and hitting it with a pole. He then asked us if we wanted to ride on the elephant’s neck, so we did. My mom and Benjy’s mahout was a lot better. Apparently, everything he said he would sing, which is a little strange. The elephants took us to our first village, which was the best by far. The people were dressed in their traditional dress, and their teeth were stained black from betel juice. We visited the school, where the children are learning English as young as four years old. One of them tried to hold us hostage.

On our elephant

My mom and brother seem to be having a better time

Lisu village from vantage point of the elephant

My mom then left since she had been feeling sick, and we walked to our next village. Along the way our guide decided to entertain us by singing us a song that went
“Elephant, elephant, have you ever seen an olophent, long nose, two eyes…” We could not figure out why he said elephant the first time and olophent the second. He then sang it in Thai, (chang, chang…) and there were the same words  for olophent and elephant (chang), so clearly they must be the same thing. The whole olophent thing was a mystery to us. From there our day became stranger. We sat in a village for forty minutes waiting for our car. The village had about two people, and was the least exciting place ever. Our guide decided to entertain us with some magic tricks. Finally we left, only to go to another village with not one person in it. We walked down the street, and were overjoyed to see a shop where we might be able to purchase some refreshments.  We had to share our vehicle with some Danish people on the way back because theirs broke down. Our guide decided that we were hungry, so proceeded to tell us two folk tales that we couldn’t really understand. One was about a man who killed his mother with a lunch-box, and the other was about a guy who killed his wife with a vegetable. He was sitting there smiling away the whole time. The moral of the story? Don’t kill people just because you’re hungry. We had packed lunches, and for some reason the rice had all mushed together so that it was a square rice popsicle or lollipop. My tofu was like a tissue in food form, or water. It had absolutely no flavor.

After this odd lunch we went on a bamboo raft. It was pretty bad. It was unbelievably boring, and there was elephant poop floating around everywhere, and getting stuck to the raft. Yuck. It was all rather weird, because the trip was advertised as being wonderfully scenic. Having done similar things on the Li river in China, and then in Vietnam, we understood how beautiful the surroundings could be. But here there was nothing, and even if there was, we had to concentrate really hard to keep our feet away from the elephant poop that kept encroaching on our rafts. The best part of that day was probably getting back.

New Zealand 2008 highlights by my 12 year old

Maori show

Coromandel beach

With my dad at Hot Water Beach - careful, that water is really hot !

Preparations at Hot water Beach

Zorbing down the hill; uncontrollable laughter inside !

In January 2008, after visiting Asia and Australia, we traveled to New Zealand for two weeks. Here are some of my highlights of that great trip! 

When we arrived in New Zealand we drove to Rotarua where we would we spend the next 3 nights. We went to this place called Te Puia where they have geysers and mud pools, which are pools of boiling mud, which look kind of like small geysers. 

Thermal activity of Rotarua

After that we went zorbing. Zorbing is where you roll down a hill in a zorb which is like a big inflatable hamster ball. We drove to the top of a hill and the people working there would put water inside the zorb. After that you had to dive into it into the water. Then when they told you to, you would stand up and push against the side of the Zorb to start it rolling. It would roll down really fast and you would be sliding, rolling over and trying to run inside it while it rolled down in what looked like an uncontrollable spin. It was one of the funnest things I have ever done. We did it twice. 

Human hamsters in the zorb

Next day we went to the Lady Knox geyser where the ranger put a bar of soap in the geyser to make it erupt. It was kind of disappointing and felt artificial. After that we went on a walk where we saw more mud pools and a steaming lake with lots of different colored minerals in it. It was really cool. On the walk we saw a Pied Stilt, which is a very small bird with very long legs. That night we went to a Maori dinner, a hangi, where we saw a Maori performance, which was fun. They did a great haka, which we’ve seen many times by the New Zealand rugby team (the All Blacks). The next day we drove to the Waitomo glowworm caves on our way to Taupo. We walked into this big cave and the guide showed us the long glowworm strings, which the glowworms use to catch food. Then we went on this little boat inside the cave and saw thousands of glowing glowworms. It was kind of disappointing though because the whole thing was pretty quick and we’d made a long detour to get there. Then we continued our drive to Taupo. 

The next day we went on the Tongariro Crossing, an 11.5-mile hike in Tongariro National Park through mountains, craters and volcanoes. We had to take a bus there and back so we had to finish in time to catch the last bus (there are only two). The first bus was scheduled to leave at 3.30 and since we had arrived on the later morning bus, if we wanted to catch the 3.30 bus back, we would have to complete the hike in less time than some of the people who started over an hour before us. The first part of the hike was an hour of flat walking. After that we climbed the very steep part called the Devils Staircase. There wasn’t really a path for that part so you would just climb up the rocks anywhere. My dad was carrying all our water (10 liters) and at the top he was covered with sweat. At the top we passed right next to the volcano that was used in the filming of Lord of The Rings for Mount Doom. Then we walked into this huge flat valley and then we scampered up this slope to the top of the Red Crater. At the top we walked on until we got to this steep drop where we ran down this slope with rocks and loose pebbles covering the path. At the bottom we got to the Emerald Lakes. We ate lunch next to the Emerald Lakes, which are green and shimmery. After that you walked through the Red Crater. When we reached the Ketetahi hut, abut 1-½ hours from the end, there were so many people there that we realized the wait for the second bus would be very long. So we decided to go really quickly to catch the first bus, which meant that me, my little brother and my dad had to run the last part to get our places and keep a place for my mom who was not far behind us. Tongariro crossing was definitely one of the best hikes I’ve ever done! 

On the Tongariro Crossing

'Mount Doom'

On the way down to Blue Lake, Tongariro

After reaching Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, we took a two-hour ferry ride to the South Island of New Zealand. The ferry had 10 floors with 2 movie theaters !  The ride, through the Cook Straits, is spectacular, and starts preparing you for the glorious South island. When we got there we drove to Motueka, near Nelson, and then went to the beach at Kaiteriteri, where we played cricket and had dinner. Next morning we went back to Kaiteriteri and did a kayak tour in Abel Tasman National Park. First we kayaked for about 45 minutes to Split Apple Rock, which is a big rock that looks like a split apple. It is one of the most photographed places in New Zealand. We stopped at a beach there and went in this cave where we saw a Fairy Penguin. Then we swam at the beach and started kayaking back. On the way back we saw another Fairy Penguin swimming in the water. When we got back we took a water taxi to Bak beach. On the way there we saw a bunch of New Zealand Fur Seals. At Bak beach we did a walk to this other beach. When we got close to the end of the walk we took the low tide route, not realizing the tide had come in. We had to climb over all these rocks, and then walk through waist high water to get to the beach. When we got to the beach we swam until the water taxi came to take us back. On the way back we saw a pod of about a hundred Bottle Nosed Dolphins jumping and swimming next to the boat. It was incredible! I had never imagined New Zealand to have good beaches, but I was so wrong ! The beaches here, and at the Coromandel were spectacular. 

Beautiful waters of Abel Tasman

More Abel Tasman

The next day we drove to this place called Buller Gorge where they have the longest swing bridge in New Zealand. First we went across the swing bridge, which swung a lot and was fun. Then on the other side we walked down this little path to the Buller River where we went on a 40-minute jet boat ride. The boat went really fast and sometimes would do spins at a really high speed. We got drenched, which was great fun! Then we went back up the path to this tower where we went on this thing called a Comet Line where you get strapped into this seat and you go really fast down and across the gorge on a zip line. It was really fun. 

Fun at Buller Gorge

After that we drove to this town called Hokitika where we spent the night. The next day we drove to Franz Josef glacier where we were going on a hike on the glacier. At first they did not let my brother Benjy do it (because he was only 10) but when we told them he had done the Tongariro Crossing, they changed their minds! We got our crampons and boots and then we walked through a little forest to this glacier carved valley. We then walked on a really steep path up this cliff where we had to use ropes and chains. It was really exciting. After that we got to the glacier and had to climb up these steep ice stairs for an hour. After that our guide found a crevasse and we climbed through it. It was really cool. Then we walked around on the glacier and had lunch. We went higher until we got to this ice waterfall where a meter on either side of us were very deep crevasses. Then we headed back down. On the way back our guide found an ice tunnel, which we went into twice. It was really fun. Franz Josef glacier is one of the only 4 glaciers in the world that is in a rainforest, and one of the others is a few miles away at Fox Glacier. 

On the glacier

In an ice tunnel on Franz Josef Glacier

Great shoes, hey ?

Our last great adventure was in Wanaka. My sister and me had asked our parents if we could go skydiving, and we were quite surprised when they said yes! My grandparents, who were with us, were horrified, and they were very relieved when on the day we couldn’t go because it was raining too hard. But the next day was beautiful, so off we went. We went up in a small plane strapped to these professional skydivers that we would jump with and who would pull the parachute cord. When we were at 2,000 feet it looked high, but we were going to 12,000 feet! When we got to 10,000 feet, even the mountains looked tiny! It had been decided I would go first (as the youngest) with my mom next (as the most scared), followed by my sister, and finally my dad. As we reached 12,000 feet me and the guy I was strapped to moved to the edge of the plane and smiled for a camera on the wing. (See my photo). Then we jumped off and it felt like I was going incredibly fast (which I was!). We flipped and then fell for 45 seconds before the parachute opened and we drifted down to the ground. It was probably one of the funnest things I have ever done. After that we went lugeing down a small mountain in Queenstown – that was fun, but not like jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet ! 

With my sister, and grandparents before our jump

One, two, three, GO!!

That's me, I promise

Definitely New Zealand is an incredibly exciting destination filled with beautiful places and amazing things to do. You should go there ! 

Last day, Milford Sound

Portugal, summer 2007, Sintra

Moorish castle

Palacio da Pena from the Moorish castle

We’re going to Sintra today but Jaoa’s breakfast is so good, we get a very slow start. Somehow, without the kids, our pace is lazier, and we don’t feel so agenda driven. So it’s way past our intended start time when we actually head out.

We take the train to Sintra on a steaming hot day. Sintra is bustling and packed with tourists. We try find some iced coffees to cool off but it seems nobody in Sintra makes them, so we go look for the sights. Sintra caters expertly for tourists – they have a shuttle bus to take one to all the points of interest, so it’s easy to get around. We start at the Palacio da Pena, a kind of kitschy mock Gothic structure Rough Guide calls ‘a wild fantasy of domes, towers, ramparts and walkways.’ It’s packed with tourists which surprises us a little as we haven’t seen too many in Lisbon. Apparently they’re all here, today, with us. I’m also encountering guidebook problems, as for some unknown reason I brought the library’s Rough Guide which has started falling to pieces on our arrival. That’s a lesson – always bring your own guidebook and allow for a lot of wear and tear.

After a while we move on to the Moorish castle. It’s much less crowded and much hotter. Maybe the two go together. It has spectacular views and is a wonderful sight, but it is now incredibly hot and we have to work out how much touring stamina we have left. We explore for a while before getting the shuttle back to town.

We get a tram to the beach, Praia das Macas, which is packed with locals enjoying a perfect day. Unfortunately we have to swim separately because we don’t want to leave our belongings unattended but we enjoy a refreshing dip in the Atlantic. Then we have more fish, but not bacalhau, at a restaurant on the beach, before heading back.

Moorish castle

Lots of walking and baking at Moorish castle

Palacio da Pena

On our last day in Lisbon we take it easy. We spend most the day strolling around with no clear plan. We find that is the big difference between being with our kids and being without them. With kids, you must have an agenda : a clear idea of where you’re going and what you’re going to do when you get there. Without, you can wander around and soak it all in, and Lisbon is a great place for doing just that. It’s filled with narrow, old streets full of tiny shops and houses and calls for a lot of time to do little.

One thing we do is go to the Castelo, Lisbon’s splendid old castle/fort located high on the hill not far from our B&B. It has a little village within its outer walls and is a very impressive and enjoyable excursion. From there we wander around the Alfama a little more, before trying to catch the Mercado da Ribeira, Lisbon’s great covered market. Unfortunately our pace has been too leisurely because it’s already closed.

View of Castelo, Lisbon

Lisbon from the Castelo

Typically charming Lisbon streets

Eventually it’s time for dinner. We find an incredibly atmospheric small restaurant in the Alfama.We’re outside, and right in front of us, life is going as normal. People are taking in laundry, playing soccer, doing chores, arriving home from their day. It’s fabulous, compounded by Liora’s dish of grilled chicken which is sublime and I promise myself I’ll get it next time.

Cambodian reflections by a 14 year old

So, we made the decision in Hanoi to come to Siem Reap, Cambodia for a few days to see Angkor Wat, and all I can say is that it was definitely worth it. I think we all had a great time, except for maybe the heat, which we will have to get used to since we are now on the plane to Thailand. These are some things I noticed, things we did, and memorable experiences:

1. We visited a lot of temples. There are soooo many of them everywhere! They were mostly built in the 11th to 13th century by a king. The murals on the walls were very detailed. We played hide and seek in some of them, and it is basically impossible to find someone. (Dad’s note – from the outsidfe some of the temples can look misleadingly small. Once inside, they have tunnels, chambers and areas that go on seemingly forever.)
2. We did some shopping. Whenever we got out of the car there were children trying to sell us stuff, “Hey lady, ok you buy from me, one dollar.” We asked some of them their ages, and kids who look like they’re ten or eleven are fifteen. Everyone is much smaller here.
3. To every question we asked, our guide would answer “yes, yes of course.” I don’t think he spoke English too well. (Dad’s note – it’s true. Our guide Chanta, spoke atrocious English, almost impossible to understand, and no matter the question – even if it was not a yes/no question, the answer was ‘yes, yes, of couse’).
4. On the subject of English, many people spoke fabulous English. This is probably because Siem Reap is so touristy. It is a city basically built on tourism, and people coming to see Angkor Wat. Some of the people, like the kids trying to sell stuff, speak great English. We asked them, and they also learn how to say stuff in Japanese, French, Korean, and can obviously speak Khmer (the language that is spoken in Cambodia).
5. We went to a show a few nights ago, and it was almost as good as the Dongba show. ( a traditional music performance in Lijiang, Chine – numbingly boring) It was Cambodian dancing, but it was really boring. So we spent most of the time eating ice cream.
6. This afternoon we visited an incredibly impoverished area, called a “floating village” because all the houses are floating in the river. It was really sad.
7. Another sad thing we did was visit the landmine museum. So many people in Cambodia are injured by landmines. You see people begging and playing music for money everywhere, all people who have lost arms or legs from land mines.

Shopping

With our strange guide, Chanta

My mom and brother

My dad

I liked visiting Cambodia, it was really different from any of the other places we’ve been to. I think it was my favorite place so far. Except for the heat. If now is the cold season, I can’t even imagine what the hot season is !

Floating village

My family at Angkor Wat

Ankgor Wat – by a 12 year old

something to kiss

We woke up and drove out to the Angkor complex. First we went to Angkor Tom which was one of the biggest Khmer cities. We went to Bayon temple which was really cool. It had 54 towers with 4 huge faces on each tower. We walked in and went around into these corridors. Every wall had patterns and drawings carved into the sandstone that was used to build the temples with designs that had a huge amount of detail. Bayon was built in the 12th century and still most of it is intact. In the center of the temple was a shrine where people can burn incense and pray to the Buddha. It was really interesting, cool, fun and incredible.

Angkor Wat

    After that we went to Bapoun which is another temple that was built 200 years before. We climbed around and saw a lot of detailed pictures. It was really cool and we went walking around and going through different tunnels and looking around everywhere in the temple. It was really fun and interesting.

    Then we went to this temple with really steep stairs where we walked around on top and then went back down. It was really fun.

    Then we went to Elephant Terrace which is a place where the king would sit and watch elephants fighting, cock fighting, dog fighting and tight rope walking on the 12 temples opposite it.   On the walls was a mural of elephants fighting and actors performing. There were these figures that were demons that held up the platform we stood on. Next to all the steps were statues of elephants and on the platform were statues of lions. We went into this deep open corridor where the whole wall was covered in detailed drawings, patterns and designs. On every corner was a big snake statue called a Naga which can have 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 heads. The ones here all had 9 heads. It was really amazing.

Elephant Terrace carvings

On our way to lunch we saw a troupe of monkeys. There were baby ones small ones and really fat ones. They were really cool. We stayed there for a few minutes watching them eat bananas that people had given them. Some of them were picking lice and bugs out of the others’  hair. Some of them were climbing this tree and trying to get this piece of cloth out of it. When they finally did, some of them got stuck in it and others ripped pieces off and played tug of war with it. There was one that was swinging from a branch and then jumped off. It was really funny.

    After that we ate lunch at this Khmer restaurant and had really good food.

    Then we went to Angkor Wat, the biggest religious building of any kind in the world. We went in across this bridge because there is a moat going around it. Angkor Wat has 9 towers, but some have been broken over time. We went into the main level and while we were going on the path a monkey casually walked across the path in front of us. We walked around the bottom floor and saw these amazing murals telling stories about different things. One showed a war the Cambodian people fought and won during the Angkor period. There was also  one with a village with details like a turtle biting somebody, a pig running around and people cooking something over a fire.

Monkey making itself at home in Angkor Wat

We then went up to the second floor where all these monks were walking around. There was this shrine where there were sacrifices inside. We couldn’t go up to the top level because there was renovations going on.

The we went to this mountain called Phmom Bakheng. We rented an elephant and my sister, brother and I rode on it. It was really fun. When we  got to the top there was this temple which climbed around on until my parents came. We sat on the top of the temple watching the sunset. It was kind of boring after the first 5 minutes. We left early and walked back down.

We then drove back into town and went to this market called the night market which is built around tourism. We looked around and I bought a t-shirt. After that we went back to our hotel and went to sleep.

    We woke up and went out to Prasatan, Srah Srang, Banteay Krei, and this temple called Preah Khan which didn’t look very big when we first saw it, but when we went in it was really big and I got lost and our guide wanted to find me. After walking through Preah Khan we went and had lunch and then went to Ta Prohm which is this temple where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed. It was really cool because there were a lot of really big trees growing all over it. After that we left and went back to our hotel. It was a really fun day.

Amazing Ta Prohm

    On the way out we saw another group of monkeys and we fed them bananas. There were a lot climbing the trees and more walking around on the ground. After that we went back to our hotel and went to sleep.

    We woke up and went out to this land mine museum where there were a lot of land mines and other bombs from the Cambodian civil war. It was really interesting, but very sad.

    After that we drove to a temple called Bantey Srei. It was a small temple, but had very detailed carvings. It was very cool and interesting. Then we went to this temple that the Khmer Rouge had camped around during the Cambodian civil war. The Khmer Rouge were the people that ruled Cambodia during the Cambodian civil war and killed many people.

    The temple was just recently opened to tourists because they were clearing away land mines in the area. There were holes in the floor of the original entrance made by the Khmer Rouge because they would shoot there for fun. We walked around and saw a lot of it. Then we left and drove to this boat to go to this floating village. When we got to the village we went between the houses through the village. All the buildings were floating like the houses, shops and schools. All the houses were really small and looked like they were going to fall over. The people seemed really poor. We then landed at this one place where we saw this crocodile farm and a fish farm. There was this shop where you could buy stuff, but we didn’t. Then we went back and started driving to the airport to get on our flight to Bangkok.

Landmine warning

As we were driving to the airport we stopped at Angkor Wat to look at it one more time. We went in and walked to the gate, but we were not allowed in because it was too late. On the way back we saw a monkey, but we couldn’t stay and watch it because our guide said the airport was an hour away. We got to the airport in about 3 minutes and went in to go on our flight to Bangkok.

My family at Angkor Wat

Carvings

Elephant Nature Park, Thailand, December 2007 – a 14 year old’s perspective

Banana snack for elephants

 For 2 days and a night we stayed at the Elephant Nature Park. They have 32 elephants, some of whom are orphans, or handicapped. They are all domestic elephants who have been mistreated and abused. Most domestic elephants in Thailand are abused and mistreated, and often have to go through a brutal training ceremony called Pagan. They also have 42 rescued dogs, and a bunch of rescued cats, water buffalo, and cows. It was amazing if you love animals!

 On our first day we got to feed the elephants (they each eat huge barrels of food. I think it’s 10% of their body weight each day, and they weigh a lot!). They grab the food with their trunks, and stick it into their mouths. It’s really sweet. We also bathed the elephants (twice) which was fun. The elephants walk into the water, and their mahouts (trainers sort of) have to roll them over, and then you can throw water on them with buckets or brush them. The babies would roll around and jump on each other. They were adorable. After that we watched how they trained the babies. They give them treats, like training a dog. Then they kiss people. Well, they put their trunks on people. Later we bathed them again.

Bath time - that's my little brother in blue

In our free time we played with the abundance of dogs, which was nice because we haven’t been able to play with any dogs since we got to Asia because they might have rabies. They were also really sweet. When I was in our room (a thatched hut), one of the dogs just came wondering in. This happened again later. That night there was a bonfire, and we released these paper lantern like things with candles into the sky. They looked like stars.

The next day we bathed the elephants again, and fed them. I fed an elephant, Jokia,  who had been blinded by people. I also fed an orphaned baby named Hope. This was the best thing we’ve done on this trip so far. It was amazing, especially since I love elephants and animals so much!

A friendly kiss

Bathing in the river

Elephants putting on their natural skin lotion - dust and dirt after a bath

Portugal 2007, Tomar, Obidos, and final days

We leave Evora and stop at a mall on the road. We really want to find some Portuguese music Cd’s as we’re listening to radio RFM whenever we’re in the car. Problem is, although we like a lot of the music we have no idea of names of songs or artists, and because of this and the language barrier, we can’t explain to the sales person what it is we want. So we settle on a few things and go back to the car to find out what it is we’ve bought. Incredibly we’ve bought the one song we most wanted ( for the purists it’s Andre Sardet - Quando eu tu falei de amor – an astonishingly beautiful song)  and I’m confident we’ll actually listen to it once we get home (we always buy foreign music when we travel and rarely listen to it again) which we do.

We drive out of the Alentejo, listening to our music, in the direction of Tomar. It’s somewhat out of the way, but we’ve determined it’s the kind of place we’ll like so we’re happy to detour. We park the car and walk to the Museo Luso-Hebraica Abraham Zacuto, a fifteenth century synagogue now preserved as a museum. It is apparently one of very few to survive the fifteenth century inquisition (most people think of the inquisition as Spanish, but King Manuel, under pressure from Spain, joined in later) and very interesting. It has letters and messages from people all over the world and is very sobering.

We trek up the hill to the Convento de Cristo, Tomar’s main attraction. It was built by the Knights Templar back in the twelfth century and is set on a hill overlooking the town. The view from the top is superb, but it’s the actual structure that impresses. Firstly it’s huge – there’s no way we can see most of it – and the art and architecture is amazing. It’s agreat place to wander around, and when we’re done inside, we stroll through the gardens outside surrounding the walls. it’s really all another example of the terrific surprises this country keeps serving up.

At the bottom of the hill we locate our room for the night at Residencial Sinagoga, the name of which is about it’s only interesting feature. It’s the most basic, blandest room one can imagine, so the old travel cliché – the room is only to sleep in – is very apt. Strangely, Rough Guide describes it as a ’smart place’. We can’t really see that.

We go out to look for dinner. There are very few places on offer and we crisscross the town numerous times. It’s our second last night in Portugal and I really want grilled chicken, similar to what Liora had our last night in Lisbon. But I haven’t been able to find it anywhere so I’m a little frustrated. We walk and walk but whereas the tourist attractions in Tomar are spectacular, the eating establishments are less so. So eventually we give up and have an expensive, less than satisfactory meal. We walk on a while and stumble upon a small carnival like celebration apparently a fundraiser for the local soccer team. It’s a lot of fun, VERY authentic, and we love it. There’s agreat smell coming from somewhere so we walk towards their food area. It’s grilled chicken, plain and simple, no frills attached, just what I wanted. My mediocre expensive meal was filling though so I have to pass up this opportunity. Luckily, the authenticity of the whole experience makes up for this.

We wake up next day after a slightly uncomfortable night at our residencia. I forego my morning shower as the towels are rock hard. The place was cheap though and does offer a semblance of a breakfast. We drive out of Tomar and onto Obidos. My original plans had us skipping Obidos as being too touristy but it’s so well situated on the way to Lisbon that it seems we must go there.

We park in the overflow parking – there are a lot of cars and busses – outside the walls and go in. It is packed with people, so it lacks the charm of the empty Alentejo towns like Marvao and Castelo de Vide, but it is buzzing and beautiful. There are no cars within the walls which is nice and the main drag which climbs slowly uphill is one long pedestrianized street which is chock a block with tourists and souvenir shops. That’s not all that bad for us as we are in fact looking for gifts for our kids, which unfortunately we’ve left till the last minute. except of course for our soccer crazy youngest child Benjy – we bought him a Portugal shirt in Lisbon and could have done that fifty times over in this soccer mad country. We wander around until we eat a simple tuna lunch at one of the restaurants, all of which seem to have the same menus.

After that we climb the old walls all the way to the old Castelo – now a pousada – at the top. It’s an excellent walk – not nearly as hair raising as the books suggest, but with wonderful views of the town below and the teeming activity. We walk back down as the tourist hordes (we’re part of them, just not packaged) start leaving.

We’re spending our last night in Sintra. Of course we’ve already been there, so we’re in no great hurry. When we get to our lodging, Pensao Residencial Sintra, our very friendly hosts encourage us to visit Quinta da Regaleira, a fantastically fun villa with incredible gardens. The house is full of mythical themes, apparently commissioned by a mining and coffee tycoon known as Monteiro dos Milhoes (Moneybags Monteiro). As entertaining and interesting as the house is – and it is – the gardens are even better. They wind uphill packed with fountains, grottoes, lakes and some underground caverns. It’s a wonderfully fun place and not for the first time we realize how much our kids would have enjoyed this.

Afterwards we go for dinner. Alas, still no grilled chicken (we have baked chicken, very good, but not what I wanted). In the morning, we’re off early – the route to the airport is jam-packed with traffic but very easy- return the car and the cellphone to Hertz, and fly out.

An amazing trip in a terrific country.