Off to Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai ...

When: October 2014
Kids: Big Sister 10y5m, Twins 7y9m
Flights: Hong Kong - Chiang Mai - Hong Kong on Dragonair
Booked through: Had cheap flights booked on HK Express but they cancelled our flights in August due to schedule changes. Great! Dragonair was double the price and Air Asia was in between but I literally could not be bothered with a 6 am flight departure from Chiang Mai, so we opted for Dragonair. However, we booked the adults on points so we only bought 3 child tickets ... total quite similar to HK Express and better flight times (less late). Got a hell of deal for Rimping Village on Agoda (no payment til early October) about 50% off their published family room price (paid HK$4500 for 4 nights for a family of 5 including breakfast and tax, just had to pay TBH700 per night for an extra bed).

We tried last year on points but no availability and since the kids had to use their kids we ended up in beautiful local Bantayan. We were first planning to go via Bangkok and possibly do a one way by train but in the end we didn't have the time and we just opted for quick and simple direct flight, no hotel changes ... just easy. There is plenty to do and see around Chiang Mai so filling 4 days wasn't going to be the issue. Chiang Mai has lots of things to offer that I am not particularly interested in ... snake farms, monkeys, tigers, elephants, zoos with small cages ... we skipped it all. We just wanted to get a feel for the area, the culture, time to relax and not having to spend whole days in vans going from one touristy place to another. So what did we do?

My Tripadvisor reviews on Chiang Mai can be found here, all the links below are the official links to websites, FB pages and other direct communication. 

Saturday:
- We booked a van from airport to hotel (bought a voucher at the red taxi counter for TBH300, normal car is TBH150), took literally 5 minutes for the van to pull up. Nice friendly driver, the van could easily have fitted 8. 
- Luckily we landed on time at 5.20 pm local time, so by the time we were in the room it was close to 7 pm. Instead of eating in the hotel, which looked a little bit dull (nobody there), we walked the Night Market and had a quick and easy (not the best) Thai dinner, slightly touristy but it wasn't very busy (I think lots of people were at the Saturday night market but that was a little bit more of a hike so we skipped that). We just a few dishes and a beer, quick look around and everybody was happy. 

Sunday:
- In the morning we hired a tuk tuk to Sa Paper & Umbrella Handicraft Center which was a little tacky, but fun to see for the kids. It was still quiet in the morning, we had the girls pick an umbrella to decorate their new room. 
- We asked to be dropped off back in old city and visited 2 temples (Wat Chedi Leung and Wat Chiang Man) which were quite nice and the kids never seem to mind, it never takes too long either and it still gives you a feel on local culture. 
- While looking for a restaurant we couldn't find (wrong location on Tripadvisor map), we eventually gave up and stopped a tuk tuk and had us drop off at Riverside Market across the Iron Bridge, close to the hotel. A fairly nice local feel (slightly upmarket) riverside restaurant. The kids had time to look at the river and have a run on the grassy area.
- We walked back to the hotel for some relaxation at the pool and the kids had a swim at the hotel.
- Later in the afternoon we hired a jeepie to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (about 45 minutes up hill from Chiang Mai) with a beautiful view over ChiangMai, and still busy at the end of the day, lots of locals though.  It's quite touristy going up but worth looking around. Traffic going and coming back was bad, it seemed like every local was out, we should have done this on Monday and not on a Sunday. 
- Dropped of at the Sunday night market, at the Eastern Gate, quite nice but extremely busy and in the end there are no special things compared to the other Night Markets and Bazaars. It was the same, just a million times busier, almost too busy for the kids. 
- After a short cut through a more deserted alley we finally found (we didn't for lunch) Ginger & Kafe (and a look around at The House - home ware store), a nice upscale restaurant connected to home ware stores. Very few tourists, local cuisine and we chose to sit outside as inside looked beautiful but the tables were low and I was envisioning lots of stains and related drama so we chose a regular table outside. 

Monday:
- Prior to coming I had searched the internet for a half day cooking course with the kids. Figured a full day would be a little bit too much. We chose Thai Secret Cooking for TBH800 per person for half day (full day is TBH1100). We were picked up just before 9 am and we stopped at the local market to buy ingredients and have a look around before heading to May and Jason's house where we picked some more ingredients from their garden before we started making our own lunches.
- After a spicy morning we were brought back to the hotel, and went for a swim.
- Then we decided to walk over the more northern bridge to have a quick look around Warorot Market, a much more local market where you get a good feel of local life in Chiang Mai. Lots of fabric stores as well. 
- Walking further south in the main street where the Night Bazaar is set up, we opted for a TBH200 foot / head / back massage at Le Best ... very relaxing, big place (so no problem if you show up with 5 people), right in the midst of things, clean and very friendly personnel. 
- We then walked back in the direction of Warorot Market to have dinner at Street Pizza, we decided after a morning of Thai food we were entitled for some nice thin wood fired pizza. Great pizza!
- Still  being in the area, we walked back through the night market to the more covered area on the eastern side as the twins were dying for a fish massage (me never in a million years!), TBH100 for 15 minutes full of giggles!

Tuesday:
- After breakfast we ordered a jeepie to Wat Umong (jungle temple) about 20-30 minutes outside the city. Different to most temples, it was quiet and green. 
- The jeepie then continued to Royal Gardens, very mixed feelings about this one but the kids thought it was great for some reason, we spent little bit over an hour there and headed back. 
- Back in the old city for lunch at Taa-Peng-Cat a small cafe with paninis, salads and fresh spring rolls but also milkshakes, smoothies and baked items ... small, friendly and great value. 
- We walked across the street to have a quick look at Wat Pra Singh, another temple (with a very friendly monk explaining things to the kids in English) around the corner.
- Headed back for a swim at the hotel, a beer at the pool and enjoying the nice weather so far. 
- We headed out for dinner to meet friends at Dash! Restaurant, a nice local style building with indoor and outdoor seating. We were planning to go to the Night Market to do some last minute shopping but in the end (after a few beers and tired children), we couldn't be bothered. 
- However, a surprise awaited at the hotel, one of the staff had prepared to have us light a traditional lantern back at the hotel. We all wrote down our wishes, we lightened it and the kids dreamed about where the lantern would have ended up ... I am afraid it was less far than they anticipated! 

Wednesday:
- Slightly grey morning, a first, and since it was our last day we just walked to Warorot Market. After our cooking course I was keen on buying a good and traditional mortar and pestle to make chili paste, spend TBH600). We wandered around for a bit and caught a tuk tuk back. 
- We had an early swim at hotel as we had to leave the room at noon and I couldn't be bothered with wet clothes and not having a place to properly shower, etc. afterwards. We packed up, changed and were planning to go for lunch outside the hotel but it started to pour!
- We decided to have lunch at the hotel, like many others, so it wasn't as quiet and uninviting as it normally looked at that time of day. It took some time for the food to come out, don't think they were fully prepared or staffed in the kitchen, but it was tasty and we weren't necessarily in a hurry. 
- After lunch we headed to the Chiang Mai 3D Museum which the kids loved, great photo opportunities (and I had to make a picture of every single thing!). We had some time left and the kids had an ice-cream at cafe next door before we went back, repacked a few things and before we knew our taxi was there and we were off to the airport. 
- The airport is small, with very few food options once you clear immigration. Luckily they allowed us all in the lounge so we set there for an hour before doing a bit more shopping and heading home. We left on time, arrived early, caught a taxi from the airport (due to Occupy and not knowing the taxi queue at the Airport Express) and were back at 11.30 pm or so ....

So what didn't we do, that many people do (with kids) ... in case you're looking for more options:
- Elephant Nature Park, I didn't feel like spending a whole day there, some reviews said it was too much waiting for something that shouldn't take a whole day. Also my kids have been lucky enough to ride and feed elephants in Laos and Cambodia already. Also, after those experiences I realise that lots of animals are being mistreated. Although in that respect Elephant Nature Park is one of the best but I promised the kids to go to do a real safari one day ... They didn't seem to mind at all. 
- Tiger Kingdom, another one, tigers in cages and people having their picture taken with tigers, feels wrong to me again but my friend went and said she didn't feel the animals were badly treated or drugged. They had a good time, it wasn't one of those things I am interested in. 
- Flight of the Gibbon, this was one I considered the most, wishing it wouldn't cost me HK$4000 for a family of 5, that's a lot of money. Also, I was quite convinced that Big Sister (who's easily scared, she was terrified of the fishes) or Twin B would back out at some point half way through making an expensive activity less enjoyable for all of us, having to beg them to do it, tears, stubbornness ... I just wasn't ready to risk it, not for that much money. Also, again, it's not something I would do anyway, even if I didn't have the kids with me.  Many people I know had a great experience though.
- Hill Tribes, there are many hill tribes around Chiang Mai, some are very very touristy, especially when they're close to the city. The further out you go, the more traditional. As we weren't willing to travel for hours, we skipped all together, I wasn't willing to go to a human  zoo. 
- Doi Inthanon National Park, this was another one we considered quite seriously, a national park, real beauty, nature, etc. but I wasn't willing to spend 2 x 2 hours in the car for it ... I know it sounds silly but with only 4 days, 3 kids, a tired mom and dad, this trip just had to be easy and enjoyable for all. Relaxing, time to do nothing and not spending ours in cars or doing things... 
 - There are more waterfalls, orchid farms, monkey and snake shows. We almost went to the waterfall in Mae Sabut the kids didn't want go ("we always go to waterfalls"). Granted, we've seen waterfalls on almost all our trips ... Laos, Bali and we even have them very close to home, so we ended up at the Royal Palace which they loved (and it was a nice outing) but I still don't get the love part ... at all. 

This, by the way, is another helpful website when travelling to Chiang Mai. 

All in all, a nice, simple and easy trip. To be honest, I am generally disappointed in Thailand. I love the food, I love the people, I love the culture, but I find it sooooo touristy compared to Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines ... You need to search hard for the real local feel, it's such a shame, but at the same time we're part of the problem as well, we're going there too. So no, I won't be going back. I am happy we went, it was great, nice food, lovely people, fantastic service, an excellent family holiday ... but besides Bangkok I decided to focus on my favourites in Asia. I am now looking at Taiwan for Easter, hiking, lakes, mountains, good food ... Japan for October, need to brush up my Japanese ... and still want to go to Burma / Myanmar ... 

"Single" mom stopover in Kuala Lumpur

When: July 2014
Kids: Big Sister 10y1m, Twins 7y7m
Flights: Hong Kong - Kuala Lumpur - Amsterdam - Kuala Lumpur - Hong Kong on Malaysia Airlines
Booked through: Flights booked through Sunpac (needed the stopover and my husband on a different itinerary on partly the same flights) after researching online for the cheapest flights to go home to Europe for the summer while having a nice stop over on the way. This was my 4th visit to KL but the kids hadn't been yet.

Stopovers are a great and cheap way to see more of the world ... Istanbul, Dubai and this summer it was going to be Kuala Lumpur. My husband had decided to join us later so we could fly back together instead of spending 3 weeks home alone at the end. The result ... mommy was spending 4D/3N in Kuala Lumpur with the kids. Sounds like a bad and crazy idea? Not at all, looking back I can say it was super easy and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Of course it helps that the kids are very good travelers and have relatively easy personalities in general. But it's also all about having the right attitude, being flexible and prepared!

I booked the Shangri La in Kuala Lumpur, exactly 24 years after I was first there, as a teenager. Got a great deal, 3 nights pay 2 in a Horizon Club Room floor (it was less expensive than 3 nights in a regular room). I got a complimentary rollaway for big sister and the twins and I shared the king bed. Really couldn't beat the rate for a 5* hotel and the value for money was excellent. Great breakfast, complimentary afternoon snacks and evening drinks ... with kids, honestly, the best deal ever. It's number 1 for a reason in Tripadvisor.

I wasn't going to drive myself crazy with sightseeing from 9 to 5 with three kids in tow. After all the kids were tired from a long school term and this was basically a relaxing stop before heading to Europe. At the airport, we booked an airport premium car transfer just after customs. Smooth, easy and safe. We spent the afternoon at the pool, ordering some satay, having snacks in the lounge and watching a movie in the king bed together which we borrowed from the club.

Next day we walked over to KLCC and the Petronas Towers and visited Petrosains, a very hands on science museum. It was super quiet, kids got lots of personal hands-on attention and we stayed for over 2 hours but could easily have stayed longer. They loved it. Cool, quiet and educational, and not too expensive (we got the family package). Yes, there is a lot about oil, a non-renewable energy source, but still interesting and lots of things to learn, see, touch and try. After our visit we had lunch in one of the mall restaurants, Chinoz on the Park. Nothing special but they had kids menu, could sit outside and the environment was relaxing. We spent most of the afternoon at the pool before having some evening drinks and heading to the Pavillion Mall by taxi and had dinner at the kids' favourite Din Tai Fung ... they're all over Asia and always well received!

Day 3 started with the Hop On Hop Off bus ... not one of my favourite things to do but I figured it would be good way for the kids to see Kuala Lumpur in a safe and easy mode of transport without having to walk for ages. The bus loop itself is too long (apparently 3-4 hours in total and lots of stops aren't very interesting), so you kind of have to plan ahead. We stopped at Chinatown (Petaling Street) for a little bit, then headed to the National Parliament for some pictures (it stopped there for 5 minutes), visited the KL City Gallery (lots of fun for 30 minutes) and looked around Merdeka Square area. We got off at KLCC and had a drink at the Skybar on top of the Traders Hotel with an excellent view of the Petronas Towers. Obviously the kids spotted the play and water area in the KLCC park so they had a little splash on our way back ... one of the twins literally slipped one second after taking her shoes off so she was soaked all the way back! After our usual afternoon ritual ... snacks, pool, shower and a drink ... we headed to Bijan restaurant for a Malaysian dinner. Unfortunately they had buffet style only (not my thing) due to Ramadan, but with lots of grilled fish, satay and banana fritters the kids hit the jackpot! Would still recommend it, albeit a little touristy (quite a few Chinese taking pictures of every single food item available).

Our last (long) day started at the Bird Park which was the number one priority for one of the twins. Even though I believed the place needed a huge overhaul, the kids thought it was great, especially the picture opportunity with the birds. The place just looked run down, the educational center was pathetic, but luckily we were early so it was quiet and enjoyable. But to be totally honest, I thought it was too expensive for what it was, but again, the kids had a good time and it was fairly educational. We headed back to KL Sentral with a taxi and then hopped onto the monorail which was high on the other twin's list. However, it must have been, literally, one of the least efficient public transport system I have ever experienced in a developed country. Stations were out of order, super slow, long waits between trains ... a taxi would have been cheaper and about five times faster. The girls and I weren't too pleased but it was his big wish from the minute he saw the rail from our hotel room so we had a go ... but won't be doing it again, he can just tick it off his list!

After some quiet and packing time, we headed to the pool for the last time. Thank god the hotel allowed us a complimentary late check out at 6 pm, so we hung around in the club afterwards, had some dinner at the hotel and headed to KL Sentral to catch the KLIA Ekspres for our midnight flight, just 28 minutes. A taxi would have been about the same in terms of money with the 4 of us, but it bought is some time, kept them awake and they thought it was exciting to try a different "Airport Express". It's very convenient especially when you're checked in at KL Sentral and you don't have much to carry or do anymore. Free wifi as well. As always the kids did great on the 12 hour flight, it was smooth, on time and we hit Dutch soil at 6.30 am local time and they had a decent amount of sleep (about 7 hours).

Kuala Lumpur alone with 3 kids? Definitely doable. Safe? Yes, I'd think so. I haven't felt unsafe at all. I made sure I left most of my money and bank cards in the hotel safe as I heard about bag snatchers, especially on motor cycles. I just used a back pack during the day which had everything we needed in one place. Was careful when using my credit card (and mostly used the one with a pin code except to pay the hotel), and I only got them out when I was able to keep an eye on my cards as my card was copied 14 years ago and thousands of Dutch guilders had been taken out of my account about 6 months after returning from Penang. Úsed metered taxis in the (early) evening and stayed in the popular areas ... KL might be less safe than Hong Kong but it's still safer than many European and American cities. And as always common sense is the most important.

There are plenty more things to see in Kuala Lumpur with children ... or even slightly outside the city like the Batu Caves and Melakka, so you could easily spend a short week there without running out of things to do.

I've reviewed the hotel, the attractions and Bijan restaurant on Tripadvisor as well, so go to My Tripadvisor to read my contributions for more details.

Lazy, friendly and relaxing Vientiane & Vang Vieng

When: April 2014
Kids: Big Sister 9y11m, Twins 7y5m
Flights: Hong Kong - Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines, Hanoi - Vientiane - Hanoi in Lao Airlines and Hanoi - Hong Kong on Dragon Air.
Booked through: Flights booked through Sunpac as I never found these flights online (only more expensive through BKK with Thai and even our flights weren't super cheap), hotels were all booked direct through yet again an extensive Tripadvisor search! In Vientiane we stayed in Green Park Boutique Hotel for 3 nights and Riverside Boutique Resort for 3 nights (we had 2 full days in Vientiane and 2 1/2 full days in Vang Vieng).

This trip had been on my radar for a long time. I saw an article about 2 years ago on the hotel in Vang Vieng and it simply looked stunning. Little did I know about Vang Vieng as a party place with many injuries and even death resulting from alcohol, drugs and crazy people jumping of swings and diving boards into the river and potentially breaking their necks. A quick google search told me all about it (including You Tube videos), and it wasn't pretty (unless you're 20 years old and on an adventure?). However, the Lao Government has cracked down many bars and facilities in 2012 and Vang Vieng is working hard on changing its image and attracting a different type of tourist. I found several blogs from families who had travelled to this region with kids and highly recommend it, so that gave me confidence boost that we could pull this off as well. The bottom line is, Vang Vieng is utterly beautiful and worth visiting. And even Laos' small capital Vientiane deserves a visit!

Again, this is not a trip for those who rely on kids' clubs, child meals and lots of activities scheduled around children. There is no beach in Laos! We travel as a family, not just for the kids. Our children are well used to that and enjoy visiting temples, strolling through a park, playing in the river as long as they have regular breaks, a nice lunch, a swimming pool at the hotel and a treat here or there. For some reason they always find something interesting or something they're mesmerized by. At the Green Park Boutique Hotel the bar staff spent hours teaching them 12 different ways to fold a napkin ... and big sister photographed every single Buddha statue in Vientiane's tacky Buddha Park.

Green Park Boutique Hotel

We left for Vientiane with a short transit stop in Hanoi (1 hour 10 minutes) which is fine for an airport the size of Hanoi. We transferred to Lao Airlines which we have flown to Luang Prabang (click on the link for our trip review back in 2010) as well. We arrived in the early evening and were picked up by the hotel (the airport is only 4 km out of town so you're in your hotel in basically 10 minutes). Lao Airlines' safety record has improved greatly and there have been no accidents since 2000 until a plane crashed during bad weather and a typhoon near Pakse last year. One fatal crash in 13 years can happen to the best airlines unfortunately, however there are apparently some safety reporting issues that Lao Airlines has to work out. We flew both legs on a 3 year old Airbus 320 which are being serviced by Vietnam Airlines (a Skyteam member) in Hanoi. Staff is friendly, plane clean and the flight is only 50 minutes. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the product and Lao Airlines just has to continue working on the getting all the correct safety documents in place to back that up. I do believe they are capable of doing so, or I wouldn't have flown them.

Vientiane must be one of the world's smallest capitals with only 350,000 people, it's basically a village. It doesn't have a huge range of places of interest but you can easily spend 1 or 2 days there (I would suggest no more) depending on your pace. We stayed in the Green Park Boutique Hotel (for a review, as always, check My Tripadvisor) with a lovely pool (a must when travelling with children plus March through May is the hottest time of year and temperatures easily reach 40 degrees Celsius, and yes ... it did) a little bit out of town but close enough to walk (if it's not soaring hot) or use their hourly shuttle.

We visited a number of temples (Wat Si Saket, Wat Ho Pra Keo), Pha That Luang, the Cope Visitor Centre, Patuxai Monument and Buddha Park which is a little over 20 km out of town near the Friendship Bridge to Thailand. There is a big night market near the Mekong River, with lots of "Made in China" goods but still OK for a good stroll (we preferred the one in Luang Prabang). Most sights close at 4 pm which is on the early side so keep this in mind. Partly thanks to its French influence Vientiane offers quite a lot of good restaurant options with good quality food from basically everywhere in the world at very affordable prices.

Where did we eat? The first night we had some snacks after arrival in the hotel, nice quality, friendly service but of course at a slight premium. The next day we planned to go to Makphet for lunch but they were still closed due to Lao New Year, when we arrived the next day ... they were "open" but still closed for customers unlike the notice on the door and the reason for coming back. We had a good experience at their Phnom Pehn restaurant so eager to go but it didn't work out. We ended up having our first lunch at Aria Italian Culinary Arts, great air-conditioning (it was super hot and we weren't interested to look around long as many restaurants were actually still closed due to Lao New Year, especially Lao cuisine ones). Great pizza, real Italian owners and home made ice cream. We had dinner at Lao Kitchen, which we'd also highly recommend. Nice food and friendly service. The next day (after going back to Makphet again first), we ended up at Le Banneton, a lovely French bakery with nice bread, sandwiches, salads and desserts. We had dinner at Douang Deuane, nice food (not as nice as Lao Kitchen in my opinion), it was super hot inside (doors wide open but even the fans brought little relief) and big sister wasn't feeling great so we kind of cut the dinner short and skipped desserts. Tripadvisor offers plenty of suggestions and there sure is lots of choice at super affordable prices. I don't think we spent more than US$30-35 for lunch / dinner for 5 including bottles of Beer Lao while dining out.

The hotel arranged our transfer to Vang Vieng (3 hours which turned out to be a little more with our super careful and friendly driver) for US$100 (transfers tend to be more expensive than in Cambodia, may be related to gas / car prices, not sure but it was a general trend). The road is fairly smooth, I'd say better than in Cambodia and overall not a bad transfer at all. We arrived in Vang Vieng at lunch time.

Riverside Boutique Resort - Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng has beautiful surroundings, lime karst mountain ranges, a river flowing through, country side, kids playing in the river after school, the Lao population getting on with their daily lives ... it's stunning. Many outdoor activities like visiting caves, rock climbing, canoeing, rental bicycles, tubing in the river (also for sober people) and basically relaxing. The city of Vang Vieng still has a back packer focus with lots of not too great restaurants (the most frequently heard complaint about Vang Vieng).

We stayed at the Riverside Boutique Hotel (sister of Green Park Boutique Hotel) and this by far your best and highly recommended choice in Vang Vieng. A beautiful setting, lovely pool, nice rooms, very friendly service and extremely affordable for Western standards. Nice restaurant where we had lunch (after arriving from Vientiane) and dinner on the second night after finding out French restaurant Cafe de Paris was closed. 

As mentioned, restaurants offers everything, there is a lack of focus and the quality is not fantastic. However, hopefully things will change as the town is still changing and there are some good options available. We had dinner for 2 nights at A.M.D. restaurant, literally 100 meters south of the hotel. Very local, basic, family owned restaurant with great Asian cuisine, highly rated in Tripadvisor. The kids loved it, especially the Banana Fritters! We had lunch at the Organic Farm with decent food and nice shakes but kind of an uninviting, not very service oriented place, only a tuk tuk ride away. We didn't really see the "farm" (not sure where their website pictures were taken) and when we asked nobody really seemed to bothered, a truly missed opportunity in my opinion. Next to the Riverside Boutique Hotel is Le Verandah (a small hotel restaurant) which has some nice options (also for dinner, happy hours, etc.) with a beautiful setting on the river. You can simply walk there through the Riverside Boutique Hotel's garden. We also looked into an apparently great pizza place, Pizza Luka, but found the setting uninviting and it looked fairly "dead" when we were there, but given the reviews the pizzas may be worth trying!

We didn't do much, we basically relaxed, walked around, crossed the bridge next to our hotel (a tiny fee applies), played in the river (very clean and clear as it was dry season and it has a good flow as well) and checked out the country side. We visited Tham Chang, a "cave for beginners" (lit, as most caves aren't so you'll need head lights and guides) about 1 km away from the hotel with a small swimming hole. The climb up (stairs) gives a beautiful view of Vang Vieng. The following day we went to the so-called Blue Lagoon and another cave, Tham Phu Kam. It's quite a hike up (not suitable for very small children, ours did fine but there are no regular stairs so it's truly a "hike") but it only took us 10 minutes. Going down was slightly harder but doable. The cave isn't lit so you need head lights which they rent at the bottom (everybody advises to bring your own though) and you can also get a guide (could be a 10 year old child, so be warned). We weren't interested in getting lost in a huge, dark cave in Laos with 3 kids so we basically went up and took a peek inside to see the little temple (plenty of daylight through the various openings) before descending and have cool down time in the Blue Lagoon. The kids couldn't get enough, we rented tubes for 10,000 Kip and they had a blast. Plenty of shade, snacks and drinks available and nice cool water. If you go in the morning it won't be too busy. The ride over by tuk tuk is seriously dusty in dry season but offers a nice view of the country side and I'd say it's definitely worth going.

The hotel arranged a transfer back which took slightly under 3 hours. We had a much longer lay over in Hanoi this time so it ended up being a long day leaving the hotel at 9 am and arriving back in Hong Kong just before midnight. Vientiane airport isn't huge but offers some restaurants and is overall comfortable given it's size. Hanoi is slightly larger and we basically spent some time sitting at Burger King and surfing the net.

We find that Laos is definitely worth visiting. The people are lovely, the food is nice, there is plenty to see, it's not overtaken by tourists just yet and it's a little bit of an adventure. It still has a little bit more of a back packer focus but newer boutique style hotels are popping up. Medical care however is basic so if something really happens you're off to Thailand (make sure your travel insurance covers this). We unfortunately had a small incident on the first day where big sister split her shin open quite significantly so we ended up at the French clinic, across from the hotel, where they glued things back together which resulted in some special swimming arrangements as she shouldn't get it wet. Another expat girl (who lived there as she was wearing her ballet tutu) was less lucky with her broken arm and was off to Thailand by ambulance (they can cross the Friendship Bridge that is 25 km away).

A possible itinerary that I would recommend for Laos is starting in Vientiane (2 or 3 nights; 1 or 2 full days as flights tend to arrive at the end of the day or early evening), by car to Vang Vieng in about 3 hours, spend 2 or 3 nights (ideally around 2 days) in Vang Vieng and then another (slightly longer) transfer to Luang Prabang (the road is supposedly beautiful!) and stay there for at least 3 nights (3 days). To both Vientiane and Luang Prabang you can fly through Hanoi so it shouldn't be too hard to combine the 2 destinations to cut out some unnecessary travel time (contact a travel agent to help you), and travel over land in between Vientiane and Luang Prabang while visiting Vang Vieng in the "middle".

Most nationals require a visa for Laos. Last time we arranged our visas at the Lao Consulate in Hong Kong for HK$350 per visa (including kids) but due to business travel and Lao New Year we didn't make it this time and had to opt for Visa on Arrival. We made sure we got out of the plane quickly and were basically first in line. Forms were handed out on board of our Lao Airlines flight. The entire process took 10-15 minutes, and we paid US$35 per visa, so for a family of 5 we actually saved quite a bit by doing it in Laos.

My kids' favourites in Hong Kong

Who would have thought we'd still be here after more than 5 years ... going 6. And no plans to leave as of now. The twins were 20 months when they arrived, big sister was barely 4. That's how time flies. Over the years, the kids have developed their own love-hate relationship with Hong Kong, although it's mostly love. It's all they can really remember.

The "hate" part is mostly related to strangers touching them, grabbing them for pictures and other not always appropriate behaviour. And yes, they do comment on the loud burping as well. As far as the inappropriate touching goes, that's mostly a thing of the past. Blond haired, blue eyed, boy - girl twin toddlers (can you get any luckier with both a boy and a girl ...?! My husband got the thumbs up many times ...) was just too much too handle for some. In the beginning we laughed about it, and the twins didn't really seem to care either. It was especially hard if we were asked to wait somewhere, and we basically had nowhere to go and within minutes we would be surrounded by hordes of Chinese. It has gotten a lot better, they're less interested and it's less obvious these days that they are twins. Most people don't believe me when I say they're twins and they insist that the boy MUST be younger as he's smaller ... right?

Anyway, Hong Kong has lots of things to love, and my kids happily agree! It's easy to travel around, taxis are cheap, lots of little parks, playgrounds and sports' facilities, food everywhere, it's safe city ... Sure, it's not great for strollers (especially double ones), public toilets are not always clean (but are never far away), the air can be polluted, the humidity can be horrendous but the good outweighs the bad in my opinion!

So a simple list of our kids' favorite things to do in Hong Kong! 
* Hong Kong Park
* The Botanical & Zoological Gardens
* The Coastal Museum of Defence
* Quarry Bay Playground and the Fireboat
* Big Wave Bay Beach near Shek O and St. Stephen's Beach near Stanley (very quiet, lots of shade, sunny in the afternoon and a small restaurant with tasty food)
* The Peak (and the hike around the Peak, all flat), take a public bus or taxi up and take the Peak Tram down (may still be busy, but going up is almost impossible).
* Science Museum is always a hit.
* The Temple of the 10,000 Buddhas is nice for slightly older kids who don't mind climbing stairs.
* Stanley is always great for a run around, especially now with the new Stanley Plaza, lots of kids' clothing as well (mostly up to 6 years old).
* Chi Lin Nunnery & Nan Lian Gardens near Diamond Hill.
* Lamma Island's family hike takes about 2 hours, very flat, and easy with a stroller as well.
* Taking the tram, especially the one with final destination North Point as it pushes itself slowly through a crowded market.
* Great for a stroll or a picknick, Tai Tam Country Park.
* The escalator is always a nice ride up and it brings you to lots of nice restaurants with a wide range of cuisine in Soho!
* The renewed Maritime Museum near the Star Ferry Pier in Central is worth a visit too, great views and lots of things to touch!

And there are many other great things around Hong Kong ... the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Shatin has a nice kids' area, the Space Museum in TST (slightly older and some of the exhibits are not fantastic), Lantau with the cable car and the Big Buddha, Po Toi Island is a simple weekend ferry ride away from Stanley, the Dragon's Back Hike for those who are slightly older (5-6 years +), my children are still keen to drink a soft drink in the Ritz Carlton's Ozone bar on top of the ICC (I promised so many times), Wetland Park is quite far out but worth a visit, there's a lovely hike from the Police Museum on Stubbs Road down via the Aberdeen Reservoirs into Aberdeen, Sai Kung is good for a hike, lunch and the beach around Clear Water Bay. And there's always Disneyland and Ocean Park, but I am a strong believer that fun for kids doesn't have to include entertainment parks. There is seriously lots to do in Hong Kong!

Their favourite places to eat ...
* Din Tai Fung without a doubt, dim sum ... expect huge lines during the weekend so we're usually there just before noon.
* Little Burro ... big but tasty.
* Vietnamese Saigon in Stanley, they love soft shell crab.
* Shek O Chinese and Thailand Seafood Restaurant in Shek O, they love calamari (any good calamari will do), Blacksheep is another option in Shek O.
* The Glasshouse, our new neighbourhood Chinese joint on Braemar Hill (North Point) with good sweet and sour pork and calamari!
* Cannot go wrong with Pizza Express, the one in Stanley is great and so is the one in Ocean Terminal.
* Same goes for Classified, many locations over Hong Kong, kids options too ... with crayons.
* My kids don't like all sushi (neither do I, despite having lived in Japan), but they love Sen-ryo, they just pick of the belt what they do like, reasonably priced as well. 
* And if all fails ... there is always McDonalds ... and the famous American chain doesn't get much cheaper than Hong Kong ...