This year, we decided to celebrate it all by going away on a family vacation like we did last year.
Hubs has been very busy with work in the past few months, and so, he left the planning part to me. It wasn't a bad idea actually, since he wouldn't be as familiar with Sophie's daily routines and needs as I am anyway. (I am also the control freak mama.)
So... yup. Right after I was done with my writing project in March, I planned us a vacation in Hong Kong. Having heard too much about how hectic Hong Kong can be for young travelers, I yet decided to take up the challenge of bringing Sophie with us - simply because I love a good challenge. I booked hotels for both Hong Kong and Macau, purchased entrance/Macau ferry tickets online to save money and skip long queues (very important with an impatient toddler in tow), planned and matched the itinerary to our toddler's routines as well as I could, made packing lists, packed, practised baby-wearing, revved up my fitness level, and read up about our destination. I was the organiser, quack tour guide, the baby-wearing mama, and the bossy wife. It was fun! Hubs took care of the manual labour, GPS, route-planning during the trip, and negotiations with the locals. We worked together pretty well as a team. It turned out to be such an enjoyable family trip, despite the tiny hiccups along the way (more about them some other day, maybe). Sophie had a wonderful birthday vacation... and the adults... well, we celebrated our wedding anniversary up at The Peak, overlooking these grand views:
May the God who made the rolling mountains and the sea... as well as inspired the architects of those spectacular buildings... be the centre of our marriage and family.
What I found especially helpful for vacationing in Hong Kong with my toddler are as follows:
- Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.
- Preparing her for the trip way beforehand, so that she was looking forward to riding the airplane, trains, buses, ferries, cable-cars, etc. I made sure that she knew that I was expecting her to behave in public places too.
- Training her to sit on proper chairs at eateries instead of high/baby chairs - because most eateries are either too crowded or narrow for high/baby chairs or simply do not have any. Period.
- Preparing our hearts, minds, and luggage for a 101 worst-case scenarios. Haha.
- Reading up on kid-friendly places.
- Novomin syrup (for kids) before our flights. It prevents travel sickness and results in drowsiness. Double score. Sophie slept well for an average of 2.5 hours on both flights. There were no other side-effects.
- A good baby-carrier. Although my hip joints felt poorly after a week of baby-wearing (S weighs around 13kg, I think), it saved us from lugging a stroller, even the lightest kind, around, our hands were free to manouevre our suitcases up and down the buses or steady ourselves when the trains were full and we needed to stand, and Sophie eventually enjoyed napping in it so that we didn't have to return to the hotel in the afternoons for her naps. It also kept us sane in crowded places; Sophie couldn't wander off on her own and get lost (or kidnapped).
- A lot of milk powder (1 kg sealed) and a travel dispenser. Hubs and I wanted to eat more economically in Hong Kong (it's very expensive to eat out) and this meant staying away, mostly, from posh restaurants with more international/Western fare. Sophie wasn't too enthusiastic about street/hawker food, and so, we supplemented her meals with milk throughout the day. She's back to her grandma's home-cooked food now.
- Daily pre- and pro-biotics... those which you can find in small, convenient satchets. They sure helped to keep her gut healthy and regulate her bowel movements.
- A hand-held fan and hat for the candle princess.
- Fruit in pouches, purchased from grocery stores. We had no place in our tiny hotel room in HK to cut and store fruit (the room was maybe the size of my dad's attached bathroom in his master bedroom back home; we did everything on the beds and stored our suitcases under the beds; thankfully the hotel room in Macau was much bigger). Fruit pouches were the answer to fibre and vitamins.
- Toddler-friendly eating utensils, which most restaurants do not provide.
- A lot of patience.
For those of you who are parents of toddlers and are thinking of going to Hong Kong (+/- Macau) for a family vacation; if you would like to have a look at my daily schedule and packing lists, please do email me personally, and I will get back to you.
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