First snow adventure with the kids

I haven't had a snow holiday since moving to HK 5 years ago.  We used to go quite a bit from Tokyo as it was so accessible and we didn't have kids then!  My daughter turns 4 in April and I would absolutely love her to get comfortable on the slopes so I'm planning a trip for us to Niseko, Hokkaido next February 2013.

Luckily a friend of mine went this year with her kids so she is full of advice.  I have also been in touch with a helpful travel agent, Ashley at Holiday Niseko:

http://holidayniseko.com/

Ashley has provided me with a lengthy list of accommodation options and I'm as usual (!) spending hours on Tripadvisor working out the best one.

We've decided to go a few weeks after Chinese New Year to save money and avoid the crowds.  Cathay run a direct flight to Sapporo in Hokkaido and you then transfer to Niseko by bus (3 hours)

A snow holiday with the kids is a new experience for me so hopefully I'll have lots of good tips to add to this blog!

Hirafu by night... can't wait...

Planning your trip - New Zealand!

One of my favourite pastimes is planning our vacations.  I'm a bit of a geek, I get lost in website after website of advice and itineraries, get my spreadsheet out and get excited!  I spend hours reading reviews of accommodation to ensure I pick the right one and fret over transport connections, prices and what the weather will be.  But.. I love absolutely every second of it.
I have been in planning mode again, this time for a potential trip to New Zealand in November.  I wanted to share some great websites I've found:

Tripadvisor
Goes without saying this is the big daddy of trip planners!  I can't get enough of it!  I put a question up on a North Island forum and within 1 day someone has written me the perfect NZ itinerary

http://www.kidsfriendlynz.com/
Great insight into where & what to do with kids in New Zealand

http://www.wotif.co.nz/
Accommodation galore at discounted prices

http://www.tourism-newzealand.co.nz/Maps.html
More of an official guide to New Zealand with some good maps

BA - Bassinet & Car Seat Pictures

On my BA flight to London recently, they offered me the 'car seat' for my 6 mth old baby.  BA gives priority to babies in terms of age so the youngest babies get the box-like bassinets and the older babies get the car seats unless you are very unlucky and they have run out....  You don't have to buy your child a seat until they are 2 years old.
I was a bit apprehensive at first as I wasn't sure if she would sleep well in something that wasn't flat.  After an initial hiccup of me shaking the car seat with a scarf draped over my head & hers to create darkness she actually managed a good 7 hours.
On the way back I got the bassinet which she only just fit and again slept fairly well.
My advice for bassinets/car seats is to be pushy (in a nice way) from the moment you arrive at the airport, reminding the check in staff that you WILL be needing one for the flight.  They might not know which type you will get but if you keep asking for it, they should provide one.

 BA Bassinet on the 747

BA Car Seat on the 777

The bassinet table also provides some much needed extra storage!

Sedating children on a plane

I'm all for sedation for myself, I'm a nervous flier so pre babies I used to enjoy a Xanax and glass of red wine!  I used to give my 3 year old some Calpol and Piriton (antihistamine) before every longhaul flight.  However, I'm not actually convinced it does much.  On my most recent flight back from the UK, my friend had some Phenergen liquid.  We promptly gave it to the 3 year olds and they passed out within half an hour!  My daughter slept for longer than she's ever slept on a flight before although she did wake up rather groggy. In conclusion I will be buying my own Phenergen and adding it to my list of travel necessities.  It can also greatly help jetlag at the other end

Please note these are my views only and if you want to give it to your child do your homework and read the facts!

http://www.drugs.com/phenergan.html

What I packed in hand luggage: 12 hour flight from London to HK

Here's my hand luggage list for a flight taking off at 7pm UK time.

I think I did quite well this time although we were delayed on the ground for 2 hours so I wish I had packed the DVD player!  I also forgot to pack any snacks for Daisy but luckily enough when we were delayed the BA crew handed out some pretzels.

• Passports and birth certificate for baby
• 2 sleep nappies for Daisy (3 yo)
• Piriton (antihistamine) and nurofen sachets
• Grobag for baby
• Little soft baby book
• 1 food bib and 2 soft bibs for baby
• Cool pack containing 3 Ella's Organics pouches
• 1 cool bottle bag containing 1 sterilised bottle with water ALSO 2 further sterilised bottles, 1 container of 3 Aptamil powder servings, 1 Aptamil cartons
• 5 baby nappies, wipes, metanium nappy cream
• Spare plastic bag
• 3 dummies
• Spare sleepsuit
• It was Daisy's birthday on plane so some cupcakes and birthday card

All in all I think I packed much better than on the way over.  To save space you definitely don't need a big changing mat.

Hotel Babysitting Services

If you are going to use a hotel's babysitting service, always check in advance the terms and conditions. I was recently stung, having planned a fun night out in Macau, to learn that the hotel would not provide a babysitter for my 7 month old, only for children over 1.
Babysitting services are often expensive (so budget for this on your holiday planning!) and usually require a minimum of 3 hours.  The other thing I've just discovered is that they will charge per child - double the cost for me!
We've used many hotel babysitting services over the last 3 years and I have always been happy with the sitters provided.  Whilst the baby is normally asleep, I try to prepare my 3 year old by explaining someone fun is coming to look after her while mummy and daddy go out.  Our most recent babysitter in Langkawi came armed with chocolate biscuits so Daisy was delighted.

A kid friendly minibreak from HK: Macau!

My father in law is in town so we decided to head to Macau for the weekend.  I booked the hotel and ferry tickets through my friendly agent (Daryl at Concorde Travel) and off we went.
This was a particularly busy weekend for Macau travel due to the public holiday but I would always recommend booking your ferry ticket in advance as the standby queues can be long and no fun with kids.
The journey is one hour and we took the Cotai ferry direct to the 'Vegas' strip.  We were staying at the Galaxy Macau, one of the newest hotels and took the Galaxy shuttle direct from the ferry terminal.
In true Macau style, the Galaxy was over the top glitzy and gold but the service was good and we checked in fairly quickly.  Even though I had prebooked a cot and rollaway bed, neither were in the room but they arrived quickly.  And I have to say the cot was the nicest I have seen provided by a hotel!

I had booked the Galaxy as it has a big wave pool and I thought my 3 year old would love this.  Indeed she did and she was also rather taken with the fab kids pool and man made beach.  In addition to the bouncy castle, there is a designated 'Kidz Island' indoors which hotel guests can use free of charge.  Children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult.

The hotel would not provide a babysitter for my 7 month old (only children over 1 year) - BTW THIS IS A GOOD FUTURE TIP TO ALWAYS CHECK THIS IN ADVANCE.  So we took the kids with us over to the Venetian (free hotel buses to the Venetian complex) and ate at the delicious Brazilian restaurant there
FogoSamba
The rooms were spacious and clean.  There's a big shopping mall within the complex with pharmacies, coffee shops, designer stores and restaurants.  I would say for the wave pool, this hotel was a lot of fun but I preferred the vibe at the Hard Rock and would probably stay there again.