December 2021: Utah's National Parks

I haven't posted in ages, not since we moved to the US in summer 2016. Not because we haven't been anywhere but overall travel has been pretty much straigh forward. Plus there's Covid, still. Since there's a quite a few steps in this trip, in a very different time of year when the parks are generally quiet, I thought it may be worth writing a quick overview. 

Three kids: age 17, 15 and 15
Tickets booked on UA: Chicago - Denver - Moab and Las Vegas - Chicago
Rental car through Alamo, very expensive due to one way and limited supply. May be slightly better to start in Las Vegas instead of picking up in Moab (not a lot of one-ways allowed). Standard SUV (Nissan Murano).
Hotels: booked directly via the hotel websites. We used points for the SpringHill Suites in Zion. Had rooms for 5 at all hotels. SpringHills Suites had the largest rooms (we had a room with a twin over full bunk in Moab and a larger suite - upgrade - at Zion), the room at the Best Western had 2 queens and a sofa as well but just one space. The Red Sands was the smallest (we got an extra bed, for some reason I though they had a sofa too; they do have connecting rooms but for the one night we just went with the extra bed). 
Hikes: most of the hikes we did were 1-1 1/2 hours total, easy and moderate. Nothing too streneous or too long. We rather do several shorter ones than really long ones. Too much to see!

Day 1: Chicago - Moab - Denver, picked up a rental car, and drove to SpringHill Suites Moab (3 nights). Hotel's outdoor pool closed but hot tubs are open. Went to City Market supermarket for some supplies. Had dinner at The Trailhead Public House & Eatery. Was fine, very American, huge portions. Decent. 

Day 2: Arches National Park. Purchase Annual NP membership ($80) at the entrance. Drove all the way in the Park to hike Devil's Garden Trailhead and then made our way back stopping at viewpoints and doing short hikes. Went back to town to pick up sandwiches at Sweet Cravings + Bistro. Ate at the hotel before heading back to Arches to the Windows section (Double Arch trailhead, Windows trailhead, Balanced Rock, etc.). Had dinner at Singha Thai Cuisine. Loved it (went back the next day).

Day 3: Canyon Lands (Island in the Sky section). Again started in the back and hiked the amazing Grand View Point trail. Then hiked the Mesa Arch Trail. Stopped at all major viewpoints. We brought lunch (bread and deli meat) from Moab and we ate near the visitor center picnic tables. In the afternoon we went to Death Horse State Park where we mostly did some short hikes and overlooks before heading back to Moab. Dinner see day 2! There are 3 Thai restaurants in Moab but this sure looked like the most authentic one. 

Day 4: Left Moab and headed towards Capitol Reef National Park. Then hiked the Hickman Bridge Trail once we arrived. We then had our sandwiches near the Historic Fruita School. After lunch we headed all the way into the park and went onto the unpaved road into the canyon to the start of the trail. We walked for a bit but not very far. We headed back out, stopping at view points on the way and headed to Panorama Point and Goosnecks Overlook for some stunning views before going to our hotel in Torrey, the Red Sands. They have an indoor pool. A simple but comfortable hotel with a slightly more modern twist than your average place especially in somewhere off the grid. Not a lot of restaurant options, basically none so one of the few options in Torrey was the Mexican restaurant, La Cueva. Decent, nothing special but definitely not horrible. 

Day 5: Left Torrey after picking up subway sandwiches to take scenic route 12 towards Bryce Canyon. A beautiful road through different landscapes with high elevation (luckily no snow expected when we drove). Stopped at various overlooks and viewpoints on the way. Did a hike near Escalante in the Petrified Forest SP, had lunch and continued our way to Bryce. As snow was expected and the scenic road into Bryce can get closed we decided to explore the part after mile 3 on the scenic road before heading to the hotel (Best Western Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel). Some short walks and view points, not a lot of hiking unless you go into the canyon and because of the snow you should have good hiking boots and crampons to avoid major accidents. Lots of people used hiking poles too. We basically explored for an hour or so and went to the hotel. Dinner options in winter are very scarce and some of the Bryce Canyon options had very poor ratings so we ended up at a BBQ restaurant in Tropic (i.d.k. barbeque). More like a fast food type set up but food was good. 

Day 6: Explored Bryce Canyon some more (snow was pushed back til later). First we went out of the park to Mossey Cave for a short hike to the falls and "cave". We then headed back to Bryce Canyon towards Bryce Point and Inspiration Point where there's some great view points of the amphitheatre with short little hikes. Then explored Sunset Point before heading for lunch at Bryce Canyon Pines, one of the few nicer places and we went back for dinner. After lunch we stopped at the Visitor Center and attended a Geology Talk at Sunset Point after which we walked to Sunrise Point and back. It was getting cold and it started to snow. We did go down into the canyon for a couple hundred feet but since we didn't have crampons we didn't go far but far enough for some nice pictures and a slightly different point of view. 

Day 7: It snowed lightly overnight and picked up very heavily in the early morning. Our plan was to go back to Sunset Point to see the amphitheater with more snow but there was no view, we could hardly see the road. So we decided to head out to Zion. Road 12 towards the 89 was completely whiteout. It's not a difficult stretch apart from a small downhill piece so we drove slowly on the snow until snow turned into rain right before we high 89. It rained more and more but once we headed into Zion via the Eastern entrance (beautiful entry) we quickly stopped at the Visitor Centre as it would be closed the next day due to Christmas. We then had lunch at Soleil, a small cafe with sandwiches. Since more places were bound to be closed we headed to Sol Supermarket and picked up some lunch necessities for the next day. We checked in at the SpringHill Suites Zion. We then decided to go back to the east entrance and explore the area a little more since the rain had stopped. We hiked the Canyon Overlook (the most crowded trail we faced on our entire trip) for some great views of the canyon. We stopped at different view points, went through the tunnel twice before heading back to the hotel. We had dinner at Camp Outpost Co. Again, not a lot of options this time of year. It was tasty and quick.

Day 8: Merry Christmas! Zion didn't allow private vehicles during this slightly busier week of the year so we parked and took the shuttle all the way to the end of the canyon where we walked a part of the Riverside Walk Trail. Unfortunately part was closed due to falling ice (rain and snow from the days before). We worked our way back in the bus stopping at the other stops and then hiked the Kayenta Trail up (visiting the lower, middle and uper emerald pools) and made our way back to Zion Lodge via the Middle Emerald Pool trail (because we used the bus we didn't have to worry about a one way trail instead of a loop). We ate our lunch near the Lodge in the sun and we then headed to the Court of the Patriachs Viewpoint for a mini hike). We got our car and parked on the northside of the Pa'rus Trail. The south side isn't very interesting and we were lucky with parking so we walked another 25 minutes and then turned around and went back to the car. I made a dinner reservation at King's Landing (booked 2-3 weeks before) for Christmas as there were basically not a lot of options, so prepare accordingly!. Good food at a higher price level but worth it for Christmas. 

Day 9: left early to head to Las Vegas for our 12.45 pm flight. Vegas is in the Pacific Time Zone while Utah is in the Mountain Time zone. However since the kids wanted to drive the Strip, we had to fill up the car (and a shuttle to the terminal) we allowed plenty of time. It was raining as well when we left Zion. Took about 2 1/2-3 hours with our stops. Had Burger King for lunch before boarding our flight. Everything on time. Smooth! 

Unspoiled Eastern Bali

When: April 2016
Kids: Big Sister 11y10m, twins 9y4m
Flights: Hong Kong - Bali Denpasar - Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific
Booked through: all CX tickets on points, booked all 3 hotels directly after lots of research on Tripadvisor and the hotel websites. 

Mount Agung in a distance during our rice paddy trek

It has been a while since we had a "beach" type vacation so after we'd decided that's what we were going for, the kids decided it had to be Bali again. Honestly, I was more keen on the Philippines but I generally struggle with hotels in the Philippines, at least of the beaten path (which doesn't included Cebu nor Boracay). It's either super fancy and expensive or budget style accommodation. It seems hard to find the middle of the road. Bali it was, but again, there was no way I was going to settle on Kuta, Nusa Dua, Seminyak and the likes so we decided to go east this time as we explored Mengwi, Munduk and Tabanan last time. 

I looked at going east with a our main destination Amed, literally as far east as you can go on Bali. I considered the Gilis but ultimately we decided to take it slightly more casual and allow a little bit more time for relaxing without having to board a boat again (and back). 

Arriving at the newer airport was a completely different experience compared to last time. We were in the car within 35 minutes. We made sure we were seated in the front of the economy as much as possible so we may it out pretty quickly. We no longer need a visa as Dutch citizens so it was smooth as smooth could be. What an improvement!

First stop Candidasa ... 

First stop Candidasa. There isn't really a beach in Candidasa and it still sounded a tad touristy so we decided to stay here for just one night on our way to Amed. A lot of people seem to think that Candidasa is quite far east already so once you go even further,  it quickly gets less and less touristy. I booked the family room at Aquaria. Most places are ocean front but not a lot of beach to speak of. Aquaria had a reasonably priced family room which was perfect for a 1-night stopover (I wouldn't stay here for 3 nights or more, it's quite small as a town). We spend some time at the pool and headed for dinner just outside the hotel at Warung Astawa, super close, nice food and perfect for what we needed. As we booked 4 nights in Amed we decided to spend the morning in Candidasa and we booked a boat going to White Sand Beach. Lots of warungs, lots of places to sit (free of charge when you eat at the warung), lots of cheap massages and some hassling but overall, very relaxing. The beach is not white ... it's just "not black" so they call it white. Makes sense right? The sea was pretty dirty at times (including natural waste like tree trunks, leaves, etc.) when we were there ... truly a shame but nobody to blame except us humans, I guess. Had a lovely lunch with the freshest mahi mahi ever and headed back after lunch so we could back up and transfer to Amed. On our way to Amed (we took the very narrow, old and curvy coastal road) we stopped at the Ujung Water Palace for a quick half hour break which was definitely worth it. 

Beautiful Amed ... 

In Amed I booked Blue Moon Villas Resort, at the far end of Amed (which is very stretched out). Not in the midst of things but the hotel is happy to arrange transportation. There's a beach close by (50 metres) but it's full of boats and no lounge beds for rent. It's great for a local experience though. The best beach for kids is Lipah Beach (there are beds and umbrellas for rent) with easy snorkeling but you can't really walk there (or at least we had no desire to do so, it's about 10-15 minutes by car). Accommodation is a little bit tricky as there are a lot of options but not a lot of fancy options and everything is quite far apart, so there is no "perfect" choice, at least I felt. However, Blue Moon Villa was lovely with great staff, nice large rooms, affordable (we paid less than 200 euro a night for a large 2-bedroom) and with great food. Many restaurants in Amed will pick up and drop off so even if you can't rent a scooter with kids like ourselves, you can still leave the hotel with some planning ahead. Lipah Beach is great for snorkeling, we did a boat tour, had massages at Aquaterrace across the street (they have rooms too), swam, relaxed ... just really easy going. All my reviews including the restaurants are on Tripadvisor:
- Lunch: Galanga, Wayan's Warung (near Lipah Beach), Imbuh Bar & Resto (walking distance)
- Dinner: Sails Restaurant (free transfer), Taman Bebek Hita (free transfer), Komang's John Cafe (at the hotel, had dinner here twice). 
Amed is super relaxing, very local, very few tourists (quite a few divers as there are great diving and snorkeling spots, we did bring gear for the kids) and a chance to explore the real Bali without crowds. The people are lovely, the pace is slow, the views of the volcano and black beaches are spectacular!

Last stop ... green & lush Sidemen ... 

After 4 relaxing nights in Amed, we headed to Sidemen via The Water Palace Tirta Gangga, which was worth a quick stop. Again, not a lot of tourists and the kids loved hopping on the tiles! We walked around for about 30 minutes before we got back into the car to continue our journey to Sidemen. In Sidemen I booked Villa Sawah Indah because they had a good rating, a pool and a nice family room (the room is huge). It's not fancy in any way, comfortable enough though, but the surroundings are beautiful. Having said that, it's definitely more commercial than Tabananan where we stayed at Bali Eco Stay. We saw a daily stream of tourists which is something we clearly had not experienced in Amed. There are quite a few hotels in the area but it's still fairly serene and peaceful and the benefit was there were plenty of cute, little, cheap & tasty warungs within walking distance. The Samanvaya (sister of Sawah Indah) was definitely fancier and much newer but the views were more obstructed (and no family room). We spend some time walking around in the area, swimming in the pool, enjoying massages, sampling all the warungs and last but not least we did a 2-hour rice paddy hike (from 4 to 6 pm to avoid the heat) with a guide crossing rivers and climbing hills. We saw people washing themselves in the streams, the sun going down, the sounds and colours of nature ... a really fantastic way to finish the day! Again, a better experience when you make a little bit of effort to get a further away from the hotel and the hotel pool ... Well worth it and highly recommended. 

The restaurants we visited:
Lunch: Warung Jolie, Warung Ida
Dinner: Joglo d'Uma (beautiful views during the day), the restaurant at Samanvaya 
Plenty of choice, low prices and overall great quality!

The driver brought us back to the airport in less than 2 hours on our last day, so overall the transfers were pretty doable. All transfers were INR 450,000 which is about US$35 for a family of 5. Only the airport pick up was slightly more expensive. Departure from the new airport was an equally smooth experience with some good shopping and food options. Massive improvement compared to 3 1/2 years ago!

All in all, a very relaxing and extremely enjoyable holiday without a very busy schedule. But also without the tourists but with lots of cheap, tasty food (we had our most expensive meal at the airport ... sharing a few pizzas for lunch!), delicious mahi mahi, calamari and wahoo as fresh as fresh can be, the most fantastic banana fritters, lots of cold Bintang, fresh fruit juices and once again an opportunity to visit the unspoiled Bali. The Bali that most people don't tend to see but is so worth visiting especially if you can live without your 5* international chain hotels for a few nights (and save lots of $$$ at the same time in hotel and food cost). 

Our last Asia trip for a while ... as we're heading back to the US summer '16! But as Hong Kong Permanent Residents will be back at least every 36 months in order to maintain our residency status. 

We did it again ... back to Europe for Christmas on Emirates

When: December 2015
Kids: Big Sister 11y6m, twins 9y
Flights: Hong Kong - Dubai - Amsterdam - Dubai - Hong Kong on Emirates
Booked through: booked directly on the Emirates website, 1 adult & 3 kids for less than $21k. Additional benefit, all 4 of us have now earned a free return to Dubai!

Home for Christmas after 8 years. Due to family circumstances I decided fairly last minute to make the trip home. Unfortunately my husband had work commitments, so the kids and I were going to make the trip together. After a lot of playing around with dates I found the most affordable combination leaving 2 days before school finished, flying back soon after Christmas. Although I love Emirates, the trip to Europe via Dubai is not one of my favourites. However, thanks to a second daily flight between Dubai and Amsterdam offering a better alternative to the middle of the night transfer. Both times we transferred during breakfast in Dubai which worked quite well. However, both trips door-to-door were still around 24 hours, even more going west. Technically Brussels would have been quicker but the flight times were less favourable (mainly the way back) and the fares were quite a bit higher as well. So yes, I did it again, even though I said I wouldn't. The kids, on the other, hand, were super excited ... great inflight entertainment, Fly-With-Me-Monsters and 3 times an A380! More about Emirates and flying with children can be found on their website, including the Monsters (and their names). 

We left Hong Kong on a flight just past midnight. Boarding was extremely chaotic, which showed that even 2 1/2 years later ground staff in Hong Kong is still as clueless as before. No coordination, hordes of people blocking other passengers, mayhem! They invited families with children to come forward after the higher priorities had boarded but then I was denied again. A little bit more sympathy with 3 children, even though they're not babies, way past their bedtime would have been appreciated. But ground staff in Hong Kong is not known to be great and no improvements have been made apparently. Flight left on time, skipped the dinner, breakfast ex-Hong Kong was horrible so we ate at Dubai airport. We didn't have to change terminals in Dubai which was great, though it was extremely busy. The number of flights leaving throughout the day is mind-boggling and many of them are A380 and B777 so you can imagine lots of people have to pass through to get to their final destinations. We had 2 1/2 hours which was plenty and not too long at the same time. 

Second flight was a morning (day) flight arriving just after lunch time in Amsterdam. Food ex-Dubai is soooooo much better and the kids' meals looked great (and simple), but they didn't eat much (slightly foggy in their heads I think). Staff was friendly but not overly present. The real joy started at Amsterdam airport when Twin A vomited twice in an overcrowded arrival lounge while waiting for immigration ... and again in the train, the car and at home. Fellow passengers and local staff was helpful although I felt mortified, but what can you do? Luggage came quickly, we made the train with one minute to spare, and well over 24 hours later we arrived in the suburbs of Antwerp after a long, long trip. Especially since the west-bound is significantly longer than the east-bound flight. But overall, not too bad (you forget quickly), and the kids, as always were great.

Game of bowling with a few more hours to go ...

We left Amsterdam 11 days later on the evening flight at 10 pm (about an hour late due to late incoming aircraft but made up in-flight), our only B777 plane, arriving at breakfast time. Luckily families had a chance to pre-board so we could store the luggage (very full flight) and the kids went straight to sleep. The evening flight was a much better choice than the afternoon one, connecting to an overnight / early morning one which makes sleeping on both flights almost impossible. 

In Amsterdam, the kids basically passed out at the gate and didn't wake up til we started our descent in Dubai. We skipped the dinner and no breakfast was served as the flight was only 6 hours. They basically slept more than 5 hours so not too bad, considering our next flight was going to arrive in Hong Kong at 9 pm meaning they could go straight to bed! We arrived in Dubai on time and again had 2 1/2 hours to transfer. No surprise, it was very busy but by the time we left around 10 am it was considerably better and our flight was far from full. Staff was great, they came round with the camera, the kids collected 3 fly with me monsters, so life was good with less than 7 hours of movies & games! Food ex-Dubai was great, lots of snacks and good service. Luggage at Hong Kong took forever, about 50 minutes for our suitcases to arrive (apparently it can take up to 2 hours when the A380 is full as they need to scan every single bag I was told, crazy especially after all those hours). We got home just before 11 pm and the kids had no problem going straight to sleep. I woke them up at 9 am the next day to fight the jet lag, but it still took a few days to get over it (late bed times and scheduled awakenings between 8 and 9 am), definitely worse than summer time!

On all flights, I booked a middle row of 4 (3-4-3 seating configuration, no bulk head was available). Three out of four flights were basically full except the last one but since it was a day flight, it was fine. The A380 is quiet, the economy seats are decent enough, the recline is not too bad at all. The screens are huge size and the panel is easy to control. Free internet up to 10 MB or pay US$1 for an additional 500 MB (not available above India and China). Kids' play areas and free strollers are available in Dubai. 

An easy well-prepared kid's meal ... fried rice, bread roll, brownie, water & a snack box ...

Catering ex-Dubai is significantly better. 

Overall, still not my favourite connection because it is a very long trip. Though value for money, quality of food, plane and staff cannot be beaten. Considering we flew at peak season booked less than 3 months in advance, I think we got a great deal with equally great service. It is one of the best airlines of the world in my opinion. 

Kids' packs in cooperation with Lonely Planet, a keepsake Polariod and Fly-With-Me-Monsters!

What's on offer for kids:
> great kids' meals with simple dishes like fried rice, a bread roll, crackers, a piece of brownie and a snack box containing a tooth brush and tooth paste as well. Nothing too complicated and always something they like, and you can keep for later if not hungry at that given time.
> flight attendants come round to shoot Polaroids (with a nice card) as a keepsake (in our case only on 1 out of 4 flights, or 1 out of 2 day flights).
> more movies, television programs and games your child could ever watch and play on these flights
> great kids' packs in collaboration with Lonely Planet (love that idea) and of course the Fly-With-Me-Monsters ... a stuffed animal with a fleece blanket. The LP packs come in different sizes and colours. The small ones are insulated, the large bags are more like totes. Inside some travel facts, travel cards, stickers, a eye mask for children. Overall, educational and suitable, also for slightly older children without having a ton of waste. Since we have 4 legs in total with 3 kids, we turned down some packs as we didn't need that many. In the end we had 3 packs and 3 Fly-With-Me-Monsters! The Monsters are now to be found in all 3 beds .... with the blankets!

日本が大好き ... I love Japan! Fun in Tokyo!

When: October 2015
Kids: Big Sister 11y5m, twins 8y10m
Flights: Hong Kong - Tokyo (Haneda) - Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific
Booked through: booked all tickets on miles (30,000 each) and booked accommodation through Airbnb as I found it hard to find reasonable sized (and priced) room(s) that would suit our family. We stayed at Yoyogi TownHouse, in Yoyogi and walking distance from Shinjuku and Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu).

O my! Where to start? After 13 years I was finally back in Japan. I studied Japanese, lived in the Nagoya area for a year in 1996/1997 (and travelled all over) and have been back twice (in 2000 and 2002). But it had been a while. We couldn't get tickets to Osaka so Kyoto and Nara were not an option unless we travelled by train. Eventually we decided to stick to Tokyo and spend 5 full days in the Tokyo area. There is soooo much to see, even 5 days wasn't enough! I'll try to go through it day by day.

Sunday 18 October
Arrived on time at Haneda and purchased the Welcome! Tokyo Subway Ticket for 3 days (not valid on JR lines). Good value and much easier than buying separate tickets and/or recharging cards, especially with a family of 5. Since we purchased these tickets we decided that Monday and Tuesday were going to be the days we would do the "far-away" sights based on our Airbnb location in Yoyogi (west side of Tokyo) to get most use out of them. We arrived in Yoyogi via the Keikyu and Oeda line with just 1 transfer, no big deal. Ash the owner of the place arrived about 5-10 minutes later and brought us to our new home for the next 6 nights, just 8 minutes away by foot in the middle of a lovely typical Japanese neighbourhood. Paying less than HK$9000 for 6 nights (got 15% AMEX discount as well) is a price that cannot be beaten for Tokyo. Plus plenty (by Japanese standards) of space, opportunity to do some basic laundry, fill the fridge and relax when necessary. This was our first Airbnb experience but definitely worth considering especially for Tokyo. Much better value.  

We walked to Shinjuku to have a look at the great Takashimaya department store (the food basement is amazing, I remembered that) and got a quick onigiri snack for the kids, looked around and headed back to Yoyogi for an easy ramen dinner in a place Ash had recommended to us. Great and cheap ramen with a beer, what more can you wish for. The kids loved it, sitting at the counter and ordering your ramen via a machine!

Monday 19 October
- Headed to Asakusa to see the Senso-ji temple and Kappabashi-dori street (kitchen street, like Hong Kong's Shanghai Street where they also sell all the fake Japanese food that is used for displays which is very pricey but fun to have a look). 
- Back in the train to Ueno where we visited a small temple in the Ueno-park, Benten-do. The kids had half an hour on a Swan Boat on the lake for Yen 700 and we had a 30 minute break. Walked around in the park and headed back into Ueno to look for lunch. We found a lovely yaki-soba shop (English menu, 3 sizes and great prices) around the corner from the Matsuzakaya department store. 
- We then went to Akihabara, also knowns as electric town, which I used to love in 1996/1997 when the mobile phone was the new thing on the planet. These days it was a little bit of a disappointment, mostly Japanese cartoon characters and (adult) video places, so not what it used to be. Could have skipped it this time unless you're into Japanese mangas ...
- We headed back to Yoyogi for a break and later to Shinjuku for dinner. Was planning on having dinner at Omoide Yokochi but most places didn't allow kids (it's very "bar-like" with lots of smoke and small shops ... and mostly local "salarymen"). So we walked around for a bit more and although there are so many restaurants it's still hard to pick sometimes especially as lots of restaurants are on higher floors so you have no idea what it looks like inside. In the end we came past a basement izakaya where we had a mix of things, some raw fish, onigiri, yakitori, salads, etc. I can't remember what it was called or where it exactly was ...

Tuesday 20 October
- Started off at the Tsukiji fish market, the whole sale market open is from 9 to 11 (best to come between 9 and 10 am). Quite touristy and busy, but definitely worth a visit. The most beautiful tuna you've every seen, kids thought it was great to see all the fish. Wear old shoes or sneakers as the floors are very wet and not very even! Best to take the Tsukijishijo stop on the Oeda line, much closer and literally around the corner from where you want to be.
- From Tsukiji we headed to Ginza for some shopping and a look around. Again, very much worth it checking out the basements of the department stores, like Mitsukoshi. Lots of sampling, great food, you wish you were living in Japan and you could buy it all. Great for a range of snacks (onigiri = rice balls) too, including great Western pastries.
- We had a tempura lunch on the top floors of the Mitsukoshi department store before heading to the Imperial Palace where I had booked a tour to go inside. I had been inside and seen the emperor for a special celebration in 1996 so I though it would be nice to do a tour. Personally, I would not recommend the tour, you don't get to see that much, it takes an hour and starts with a 30 minute introduction but worst of all, you're together with about 150 other people, most of them were twice our age and the peace was excruciating slow! The explanations in English on the headset were quite good, but it was not what I expected. Lesson learned. The kids did relatively well (they thought it was a little boring but they listened to the head sets and explained it all to us), the weather was fantastic so that definitely helped.
- Afterwards, we had some drinks and cake at the nearby Palace Hotel as we felt they deserved a break. That's when they discovered the best Toto toilet ever, which resulted in several trips and lots of giggles!
- On our way home we stopped by Akasaka to see the Hie Shrine. Nothing spectacular, but nice and quiet while the sun was setting, and generally a very nice area. Escalators are bringing you up to the temple (which our feet liked at the end of the day) and the orange tori gates in the back are definitely worth seeing. The area is quite calm (lots of companies) so it was worth a quick stop while changing train lines.
- For dinner we headed to Harajuku as the kids were now literally demanding a "sushi-train". I remembered a sushi train restaurant from 1996 in Omotesando and sure enough (and thank god) ... it was still there, Heiroku Sushi. Slightly touristy, not the most exquisite sushi (would my kids notice?) but fresh, tasty and very affordable. Lots of non-raw fish choices like cucumber, egg, tuna salad, etc. Kids loved it and about 35 plates later we left more than satisfied.

Wednesday 21 October
- As our Welcome passes were no longer valid, we started our day with the many sights closer to home. We walked to Meiji Shrine in less than 15 minutes which remains a must see. The park is lovely, the air smells clean and the Shinto shrine is worth a visit. We were lucky (again for me) to witness a Shinto wedding. We visited the Imperial Garden next to the temple (Yen 500 for adults and Yen 100 for kids) and a very nice Japanese gentleman and photographer had the birds eat peanuts from the kids' hands. Beautiful serene garden with great fall colours, small but worthwhile.
- We walked through Harajuku / Omotesando to Shibuya to see the world's most famous and busiest crossing with its famous dog statue Hachiko. We visited Loft, still there all those years later, which remains a fantastic store especially for stationary and lots of things you need and don't need.
- Time for another lunch so we headed to the new Hikarie department store, easy to spot from the crossing for a okonomiyaki and noodle lunch on the 6th or 7th floor. Again, lots of choice so easy to look around and find something you like.
- After lunch, we headed from Shibuya to Shinjuku as we wanted to enjoy the free view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Both 45th floors in the North and South tower provide an amazing and free view over Tokyo. Even though it was fairly clear it wasn't clear enough to see Mount Fuji which we had spotted from the airplane when landing on Sunday. Not matter where you look you see nothing but buildings ... Amazing really. There are some souvenir stores and a small cafe as well.
- We walked back to Yoyogi while stocking up some drinks and snacks at Lawson so the kids could have some relaxing TV time at our house. They mostly watched Youtubes via Apple TV on Tokyo ... where to go, what to eat, Japanese inventions and other great stuff on our host country, some of it pretty hilarious and they watched it over and over again! This was one of their favourites for some reason.
- For dinner we walked back to Takashimaya in Shinjuku after a quick stop at the fantastic Kinokuniya bookstore next door with a great English selection for adults and kids (much bigger than I remembered all those years ago). We headed to the top floors of Takashimaya again and opted for a tonkatsu dinner. As a dessert we crossed the many train tracks of Shinjuku station to get a very American Krispy Kreme donut ... yummy!

Thursday 22 October
Today it was time to head out of the city and we decided on Kamakura down south. I had visited in the past and although I had my heart set on Nikko in the north, it's basically twice as far and I wasn't really up that. Tickets were Yen 920 for adults and about half price for kids from Shinjuku on the Shinjuku Shinoden Line towards Zushi. Train ride takes about an hour and requires no transfer.
- From Kamakura we headed straight to Hase on the Enoshima line to visit Hase-Dera (beautiful views and lots of things to explore) and Daibutsu (big Buddha). Lots of tourists and even more primary school aged children who were easy to spot with their yellow hats.
- After catching the train back to Kamakura we walked through the busy shopping street to find something for lunch. Plenty of restaurants and nice shops but just very crowded. It got slightly better towards the end and in a side alley we found the super cute Miyoshi Udon restaurant. Little English but again an English menu was available and staff was helpful and friendly. Highly recommend.
- We continued towards the north to walk straight into the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu temple, free and therefore busy. Lots of school kids now approaching us to practise their English! We decided to continue walking towards Kita-Kamakura (kita is north) while passing several temples on the way. We picked one more in order not to overdo it and chose Engaku-ji, literally across from the station. Unlike the other temples in the south and centre, the ones around Kita-Kamakura were much quieter. It was also getting closer to 3 pm so that may have helped (as most temples close around 4 pm). Entree fee was 300 yen and 100 yen for kids, but it has a lot to offer as the premises are quite stretched out. It was very quiet, beautiful green (turning yellow and red now) surroundings and we all enjoyed a quiet look around. There are many more great temples in the north but honestly with 3 kids, I think we did quite well and they actually enjoyed it so I think this was pretty well balanced and a great impression of what Kamakura had to offer.
- Back to Yoyogi and decided tonight was the night for an easy Western dinner in a very nearby little burger joint called Burgers Cafe. Best of all, for twin B, next to Yoyogi's busy railway tracks (on the east side) so you can watch the commuters go by basically non-stop. Decent size burgers, very tasty, good value and nice way to finish off a great day.

Friday 23 October
Last full day ... the girls wanted to go shopping; twin B wanted to do a full circle on the JR Yamanote-line (takes 1 hour) so the boys went one way, the girls headed to Shinjuku where we got some great deals and some new clothing for the kids, mostly.
- We met up with the boys in Shinjuku and decided to once again try the top floor of another, slightly older, department store Lumine 1. We found a place that offered a wide range of different Japanese food and everybody was happy.
- As a dessert we bought a waffle from the Waffle Man on the ground floor before going to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. One of the few sights of this trip that I had not been to before. The park charges a small entry fee but it's well worth it. They provide an English map as well if you ask (chizu is the word for map). Great gardens, lots of space and grassy areas (where lots of moms with their little ones met up with friends), lovely fall colours, had a drink from one of the many vending machines and sat down on the grass enjoying the beautiful weather we had all week! It was a fantastic way to finish off our last day. Loved the park and highly recommend.
- In the evening we boarded the train to Harajuku (just one stop but too lazy to walk after all those kilometers) to go a very simply, yet tasty (and cheap) gyoza (potsticker) restaurant, Harajuku Gyoza (there seem to be different names for this place). They serve very little, only gyoza (fried or steamed) and a few basic sides ... and of course beer! The gyoza are cheap, 290 yen for 6, and very tasty. We promised the kids Harajuku crepes after dinner, so a quick internet search resulted in Cafe Crepe. I had never seen so many choices in your life, and honestly most of the choices are not really choices. Crepes with salads, crepes with chunks of cream cheese? What happened to a normal crepe with Nutella? Well, not at this place. So I skipped while the rest of the family enjoyed a crepe filled with creme, fruit and ice cream (those were the more sensible choices but the amount of creme was still slightly overwhelming). I guess it was mostly about the experience and the best possible way to end our holiday in "slightly crazy" Japan!

Saturday 24 October
We headed back to Haneda early in the morning to catch our flight. We took the Oedo line back to Daimon and transferred to the Asakusa Line back to Haneda. Took us about an hour in total from Yoyogi. Did some minimal shopping, just a few snacks. Unfortunately, not many great breakfast options at Haneda (it's kind of missing a few decent coffee shops with snacks or a Mr Donut, at least at the international terminal). Arrived safely on time back in Hong Kong.  さようなら!

We loved it, had a great time, the kids loved exploring, eating the various snacks, the great food Japan has to offer, they enjoyed riding the trains, seeing new things ... as I told them before ... Japan is nothing like China or South East Asia, it's truly a whole different world making it more and more worthwhile to visit. And they did agree with me. There is nothing like it ... especially the music on the trains and the toilets make Japan unique!

Tips for Tokyo:
- when travelling with kids, bring kids' chopsticks and/or Western utensils, lots of restaurants do not have Western utensils and especially with young kids this could be an issue if you plan to eat Japanese.
- if you're looking for snacks: convenience stores like Lawson, Family Mart are everywhere so no need to carry around lots of snacks. Basements of department stores are definitely the place for (more upmarket) great food (and snacks), worth checking out even if you're not buying anything!
- if you're looking for restaurants: the top floors of department stores always have a wide range of restaurants. Lots of other restaurants are situated on higher floors or in basements so look up and down as well. Food is all around you!
- lunches are much better deals than dinner so try the more expensive restaurants for lunch and go simple for dinner if you want to keep an eye on your cash.
- toilets are everywhere (including train stations) and often very clean (cleaner than most other places in the world). They often come with lots of buttons for music, sprays for the back and front for women, water sounds, and much more so make sure you go with your child if they haven't experienced that many buttons before. Or they may be Japanese squad toilets, which are not bad at all. There is often a place to "stall" your baby (like a harnass or seat against the wall). My kids loved Japanese toilets, some kids may be scared of them.
- English is still very limited. I was actually quite shocked that not a lot had changed in almost 20 years. As soon as I spoke a few words of Japanese, any possible English went overboard and I had to manage in 日本語. Lots of restaurants will have a simplified English menu though my reading has gone slightly downhill I stuck to the English menu to make sure we got what we wanted. If all fails, the plastic displays and some pointing should get you sorted.
- Japan is no longer as expensive it once was, quite the opposite. I was there in 1996/1997 and besides being a student, things were really pricey no matter what. I found that prices haven't changed much at all (temples are still 300/400 yen, etc.) ... though you get way more for your yen now. I found Uniqlo, Gap and Zara cheaper than Hong Kong and tourists get nice discounts (tax free, as an 8% sales tax was implemented) as well. Some higher end stuff had more of a mark up so not necessarily cheaper. But for sure, Japan is by no means as expensive it once was. A yakisoba lunch, a sushi train dinner, a tonkatsu dinner ... no more than HK$400-600 for a family of 5 and often including a few beers. Better quality and cheaper than Hong Kong in my opinion.
- As for Japanese food, check out this site to get a general idea of the dishes available (as I named quite a few above)!

What's not to love about a Japanese Toto?

It's summer again, time to go to Europe: Lufthansa Economy Class

When: summer 2015
Kids: Big Sister 11y3m, twins 8y8m
Flights: Hong Kong - Frankfurt - Brussels - Frankfurt - Hong Kong
Booked through: online, paid HK$35k for 5 (2 adults and 3 children), departure in July, return in August (total stay 1 month), great deal!

There we go ... back to Hong Kong (at Frankfurt airport)

After having decided that a long and short-medium (3-4 hours) haul or two medium haul flights are not ideal, this year I opted for the long haul and a super short haul, meaning we'd have to transfer in Europe. Most obvious options were BA, Lufthansa, Air France or Swiss. Going to the UK and "back" to Belgium seems silly, and after some searching ... Lufthansa came out as the cheapest by far (after Jet Airways and the cheapest, Aeroflot). Unfortunately we had to transfer in Frankfurt and not Munich which was way more expensive. However, Frankfurt airport was easy peasy. Don't be discouraged, it's fine, really! A little more complicated arriving in Europe (security and immigration and a fairly long walk) but incredibly simple changing from an EU-flight to the long-haul (from A to Z pier which are basically on top of each other). No security check at Frankfurt when departing from Brussels so apart from the bus transfer, we were literally having dinner at Deutsch German restaurant 20 minutes after landing. Highly recommend the restaurant and with a great view ... AND ... kid friendly.

Back to the flight. We booked the cheapest fare so we could not book seats unless we paid extra. Therefore I had my husband (he had a separate booking with a different return date) call Lufthansa explaining that the bookings had to be linked, that I was travelling with 3 kids by myself on the way back ... and that he was Star Alliance Gold (minor important detail, should help). So as soon as online check-in was available 24 hour in advance, I was ready, more than ready, hoping I wouldn't get the non-reclining seats in the back of the plane on row 70 or so. But no, Lufthansa had actually put us all together, in the front of the economy class in a row of 3 and 2 in another row of 3 ... just what I would have booked if I would have had the chance. Perfect!

The sun is setting in Frankfurt, almost time to go ...

Traveled to the airport with the Airport Express (bye suitcase), family priority boarding, brand-new Boeing 747-800 with a new business class (for those interested, they're still re-fitting as I type, but this route is apparently completed which makes sense given the competition in Asia). Crew was friendly, not warm but very organised, plenty of drinks during the flight, even at night. Seats are OK, it's economy, you know what it's going to be like for 12 hours. Seats recline and slide at the same time. Inflight entertainment is sufficient, not fantastic like the Asians or Middle Eastern carriers but more than sufficient and easy to navigate with touch screens. Catering ex-Hong Kong not great (ex-Frankfurt was way better). On time arrival in Frankfurt, smooth transfer to another on-time 50 minute flight to Brussels, luggage came quickly as flight was far from full and priority labels. Staff on the Frankfurt - Brussels flight was fantastic, lots of presents for the kids!

Our return flight, me and 3 kids, I was well prepared again, ready to go 24 hours before departure behind the laptop for online check-in. And again, Lufthansa had already allocated 4 seats together, bulk head, just behind the business class ... Plenty leg room, smaller part of the cabin, less traffic, everybody happy. Food was way better (skipped the dinner as we left 10.00 pm from Frankfurt and we had eaten already at the airport). Pre-boarding for families at Frankfurt, unlike Brussels where it was a first come first serve chaos, not even priority boarding for frequent flyers and/or those travelling in business class. Crew on both return flights, friendly, organised, honestly what you would expect from Lufthansa. Flights were uneventful, on time and smooth. 

German dinner at Deutsch (Z-pier) in Frankfurt before our long haul flight back to Hong Kong

It's still economy, it's still a fairly long flight, but with a new plane, a nice crew, on-time departure and arrivals, relatively good seats, and a very good fare, you cannot really complain. Overall travel time given the necessary transfer (no direct flights to Brussels from Hong Kong) was much better than last year (Malaysian via KL) or the year before (Emirates via Dubai, both flights from Amsterdam). I'd do it again. 

One of my favourite cities ... Phnom Pehn ... back for a great cause!

When: May 2015
Kids: Big Sister 11y (no twins, just mommy and Big Sister)
Flights: Hong Kong - Phnom Pehn - Hong Kong on Dragonair
Booked through: tickets on points and hotel booked directly after a Tripadvisor search. Decided on trying a different hotel for our 2nd trip to PP.

Big Sister was turning 11 ... and what do you buy an 11 year old? They have so much already. So instead of presents, it was going to be a mommy and Big Sister trip during a long weekend. Big Sister had to decide on where to go, as long as it wasn't too far. Several ideas were considered but in the end we decided on Phnom Pehn. Not just because we love PP (we do!) but also because we decided to visit our sponsorship child from Cambodian Children's Fund. We started sponsoring a boy (he's now 10 and we'll call him Y for now) 2 years ago when we came back from our second trip to Cambodia (visiting PP, Kampot and Kep). Cambodian Children's Fund is a fantastic charity and well rated to make sure the money we donate is actually spend on the what we want it spend on, in our case Y. I highly recommend sponsoring a child (it has been a great experience for our children as well) or donate to one of the other great initiatives because the options are endless.

The most important part of our visit was meeting Y and his friend (they always allow the child take a friend) and his translator (who also translates for approximately 60 other sponsored children) on Sunday morning. On Monday we visited several CCF locations before flying back home. Also, we had some great "big girls" time together with some great food, lots of swims and relaxation.

Friday
We arrived Saturday afternoon and had arranged a taxi via the hotel (The Plantation Hotel) for US$14. Traffic took forever, it was much busier than what we had previous experienced but I guess a Friday afternoon rush hour is never great! I've reviewed the hotel (and all the restaurants mentioned below) on Tripadvisor. The location is great, lovely pool area, spacious room, nothing super fancy but tastefully decorated, good value overall. Big Sister decided to take a dip in the pool before dinner which we had in the hotel since it was slightly late already and just easier at that point (plus it had air conditioning)!

Saturday
After a nice breakfast, we got a tuk tuk and headed to the Russian Market before it was getting too hot (the market is covered and it does get super hot). It's an OK market, but honestly it's a lot of crap you can buy anywhere in China and even the local stuff is pretty much more of the "same same". Nothing you cannot live without when you've lived in Asia for 7 years already and you don't have tons of space in your apartment anyway. We didn't buy anything, simply walked around (it was pretty hot already), they have a food market as well, it wasn't too busy yet because we were there early so that was definitely an advantage. On the way back the tuk tuk driver dropped us at 178 street where we visited Daughters of Cambodia's Sugar & Spice restaurant for a cool drink (and a great cause). We browsed in the store and had a foot (Big Sister) and neck / shoulder (me) massage. Not the best, but it was relaxing and the girls deserve the opportunity to change their lives around. Did some more shopping before heading to Romdeng restaurant where we had lunch in the garden overlooking the pool (we went to Friends restaurant before and returned for lunch on the Monday, both are worth a visit, and again, you're again making a difference in people's lives by going to these restaurants plus the food is great and fantastic value).

After lunch, we relaxed at the pool for a bit before heading over for a small European style cake shop at Chocolate by The Shop on 240 street and some additional shopping. While 178 street is more art (and not the finest in any shape, way or form), 240 has some more boutique style shops that are worth a visit. Big Sister was desperate to get back in the pool before heading to Eclipse Sky Bar on top of the Phnom Pehn tower which is a whopping 23 floors high (which is really high in PP). Had a drink on the roof top while watching the sun set before our tuk tuk driver dropped us of at Malis restaurant for a great Cambodian dinner.

Sunday
Today was the day to meet Y. We met in the lobby in the hotel and of course the boys were early because they were excited. We had emailed before on what Y wanted to do and it came down to go-kart or bumper cars and eating chicken. Y brought a friend (which is the CCF policy to help the children feel more comfortable) and his translator L who translates for Y and about 60 other children who have sponsors all over the world. He was very shy and quiet and very small for his age, he turned 10 in June but he was absolutely adorable and it was great meeting him in "real life" after all the emails and pictures. On Friday CCF had informed us about some sad news as Y was recently abandoned by his parents. His father left for Thailand to look for a job and his mom ran off with another man. The children (Y and his 12 year old sister) now live with their grandmother although CCF offered to take them in but they preferred to stay together and continue living in their community.

Meeting Y, his friend and translator L

We set off to Kids City Asia where the boys drove the go-karts (Big Sister barely fit) and then they had a good chunk of play time in the indoor playground. Lots of firsts and new impressions, but they seemed to have fun! We then headed to the Central Market which Big Sister and I planned to visit anyway for some shopping for Y and his family. The thing he wanted most was soap so his sister and he could wash themselves. We got a huge bottle of body wash before finding some new shorts and slippers for both boys. I chatted to L about what to get for his sister and grandma, and even though I was happy to spend some more money, they try not to overdo it. She suggested to get some fruits as it's quite a common gift in Cambodia, so we got big oranges and apples which would normally they wouldn't be able to afford at all. Last stop was an early lunch which had to include chicken so the tuk tuk driver dropped us at Lucky Burger, basically a mix of McDonalds and KFC. The boys chose a big chicken meal which Y loved but his friend never had chicken before in his life and wasn't so sure, although he did try. The whole thing must have been quite overwhelming in general so we basically let them do whatever they felt comfortable with. L divided the left over chicken into 2 doggy bags for them to share with their family. Back at the hotel, we gave them the additional gifts we got from Hong Kong (a t-shirt, tooth brushes, a little game and some bar soap for his sister). Instead of birthday gifts Sofie had asked her friends for some school supplies so we asked Y to share those with his friends and sister.

We found out lots of things about Y and his family through his translator. He has a bicycle, attends public school in the morning (7 to 11 am) and classes at CCF (including English) in the afternoon. His sister also attends public school but is not sponsored by CCF like we sponsor Y. He wakes up early at 5 am and he now lives in a small hut close the "infamous" garbage dump in Steung Meanchey (just google and you'll understand the dire need to help these families to change their future). Overall, it gave us a much better understanding on how we can continue to help him, the things he need and most of all to put a real face next to a name.

We got this email after I emailed him we had returned safely in Hong Kong:

Dearest F and S,

I am so glad that you arrive at Hong Kong safe and sound.

My grandmother and sister would like to say thank you so much for the gift. My grandmother likes fruit that we bought and my sister is so excited to have shampoo for her body. I like the game that you brought to  me. My grandmother and my sister said I will look so lovely and cute if I wear the new shoes and shorts. Thanks for everything, F and S!!!

Please send all my love to your twin as well. I am sure they will have a great time at school. I will keep you an update about my study and exam.

You know, I am going to have a day off on 1 of June since it is international and national children day but I do not have any plan to go somewhere. Do S and twin have class on that day?

I send all my love to you and your family. Good luck and good health!!!

With Love,

Y

We spend the afternoon at the pool before returning to FCC for a happy hour and great view of the river. Slightly touristy, but a relaxing place and worth at least a drink! For dinner I chose Domrei Kitchen which was simple, but lovely and super good value.

Monday
Monday started with lots of excitement again as we were picked up a little past 9 am to visit several CCF locations. We climbed in the pick up truck and headed to CCF1, their first location now home to over 80 secondary and university students. A safe place to live, learn and study.

Cambodian Children's Fund Community Centre

Next stop was the Community Centre which gave us a real feel of the scope of things that are needed. One room was a place for the sponsored kids to meet their translator and check whether they had received any emails. The older kids practised their English on us asking us some basic questions while giggling up a storm, but they tried very hard. The Centre provides food for certain kids, a large medical centre where people from the community can come for medical care and medication, a maternity centre for mommy and baby, housing for certain people and ... many class rooms. The kids are seriously adorable, we couldn't stop watching the 3 year old room correctly pointing to all the different body parts while the teacher said them out loud in English. Next up was the nursery and within seconds we had 3 or 4 children literally running at us and attached to our legs. They laughed, jumped and were so excited to have visitors during their play time. An overload of cuteness! In the back were many more (outdoor / half open) class rooms with children attending English classes. Lots of colourful posters, reminders on rules and behaviour and art work just like we find our schools, just not as fancy.

We headed to our last stop which was actually the school that Big Sister had collected money for during the last dress casual at her school. It's a satellite school in a very poor area. We basically had to pass huts and garbage dumps to get there on dirt roads ... an extremely sad sight, but at the same time the school offers education for those children in the community, a life changing opportunity. Parents could drop off their children in the nursery while they were at work and the children would get fed, so no worries about whether or not they would have a meal for the day. The school provides drinking water, something they cannot afford or have easy access to, and a place to wash and shower. Older children were learning English. They also had a CCF Kindergarten class on site, so different initiatives all come together at one place inside this community. The head of the school showed us around and answered questions. Across the dirt path was a small CCF housing project, just small houses, 4 walls (with a window) and a roof on stilts, but a huge improvement over a simple hut or not even that, some planks with a piece of plastic tied over it. Lots of thoughts go through mind standing there, but it goes beyond saying that the money spend here is well spend. The school will buy additional school supplies from the money our school has donated, school supplies that will offer more children a chance to further enhance their education.

Visiting the satellite school 

We spend the afternoon having lunch at Friends, and bought some little gifts in the store next door for the twins and some of Big Sister's friends. Enjoyed our last few hours at the pool while a huge thunderstorm passed by. Traffic on the way back to the airport was horrendous, and it didn't help that I (the most well organised person in the world) for some reason had a departure time of 7.55 pm in my head which was actually 7 pm. Luckily I didn't realize (I would have been stressed out of my mind in the slowest moving traffic ever, it took us 1 hour 15 minutes to get to the airport) until we literally pulled up at departures at 6 pm and 5 minutes later we were at the gate with  20 minutes to spare. Advantage of a small airport, I guess.

Overall, a great long weekend away with just some one on one time with just one child especially since Big Sister is off to secondary school in August and soon I'll be that annoying old mother who only tells her what she cannot do. As for Phnom Pehn, I love that city. It's not super exciting, it's not very touristy (which I love) nor big but it offers great value accommodation, fantastic food, the sweetest people and some interesting but equally sad historical value that should never be forgotten. And even better, because we got to see up close what a great charity Cambodian Children's Fund is and the difference they make in so many people's lives ... including ours!