Travelling with young children

Hi folks,

Finally, we managed to release my father's dream (and mine too) to have an overseas trip together with all my family members (siblings and their hubbies and children).

It meant a lot to my dad as it's really hard to gather everyone together at the same place, same time and what's more having fun together!

Thanks to my travel-savvy two sistas, at the initiation of my eldest sis, we managed to make it happen for my dad and for us.

I have always love travelling. Before I got married, I would travel to a country every year with my one-year savings of leaves and money.

I used to work in education sector, thus I managed to have quite long break during the year end.

Thus, I used that time to travel to a country for more than 2 weeks to one month. I am lucky at some places I get to stay with friends who showed me the local cultures and habits.

I feel travelling opens up ones' horizon, vision and also polish up some skills whether in learning a new language, learning a new cuisine, new culture and learning news things about another country.

After settling down with few kids, travelling becomes a luxury. DH who is often very occupied both at work as well as some of his "community" work, often finds it hard to find time to travel. To certain extent, he felt travelling expenses are quite high and hard to justify.

Therefore, it's pretty hard for me to convince DH for a travelling trip, if not because of other family members inviting us along, other buddies inviting along, or perhaps if i am lucky enough to gather enough airmiles credit for a not-too-expensive trip.

So far, we have been to Langkawi (yey) when ZS is 6 months old, together a group of our buddies whom we have known for years.

And on this trip, ZS is 3 year-old. He is far more curious and have better retention of memory of course as compared to his first flight back when he was only 6 month old.

More than 2 weeks past, he is still telling me every night before he sleep during our nightly chat/bed-time story:

ZS: Mommy, i am very happy.

Mommy: Oh..what makes you happy?

ZS: I am happy that i went to sit on an airplane.

Mommy: Why sitting in an airplane makes you happy?

ZS: I get to open the window (he request to sit near the window), eat ice-cream (courtesy of MAs airlines which serves very yummy ice-cream on-board during our family trip to Bangkok) and watch cartoon.

Mommy: Oh..that's nice. But do you know you can also enjoy yummy icre-cream and watch cartoon without sitting on an airplane?

ZS: I like to sit on an airplane and go to stay in our new house with bath tub (a.k.a. the hotel room that comes with bath tub which he fondly calls our new home). Mommy when can we go to our new house again? I want to bath in the bath tub.

Mommy: .....let us ask daddy ok...

From then on, each time I said bath time, he would request to take his bath at our "new home with bath tub". 

Let's see when does this magical airplane memory stays on...the last time he ever mentioned so happily and fondly of his experiences was when i took 2-week break from work last year and bring him to some trips with my sister and her children visiting malls with lovely Christmas decor, trying ice-skating for the first time and seeing artificial snow for the first time.

It's really heart-warming to see him glow and repeat all the things he saw and experience during our travelling trip.

Hope we get to create more such fond memories for them.

Cheers!