January 2012

Hanoi,
Penang,
Oman and
more
Where will you go
in 2012?
Pull the plug
How to enjoy an
electronics-free
holiday
Expecting
a Dragon?
Here’s what you
need to know
January 2012
58
PERFECT
PENANG
33
ENTER
THE DRAGON
54
GOOD MORNING,
VIETNAM
50
35
TIP-TOP
TEETH
MAN,
OMAN!
news
resources
10 WHAT’S ON
24 TOY BOX
A look at what’s going on around town
this month
12 HOT OFF THE PRESS
Hip new shops, services and products
16 FINGER ON THE PULSE
Parenting news from around the world
18 ECO HERO
Ideas and products for greener living
advice
Toys that teach and amuse
26 BOOKSHELF
Perfect picks for family travel
77 DISTRIBUTION
Find out where to get your copy of
Playtimes.
78 STOCKISTS
See something you like? We’ll you tell
where to get it.
20 BEAUTY 101
Photography
Aimee K Photography
www.aimeek-photography.com
Top tips for looking your best
22 IN YOUR OPINION
Readers’ thoughts on timely topics
Model
Kaili
Clothes
Kaili wears Montreal jacket by
Wovenplay in purple, $850,
StoryTime. Mint blue suitcase,
$740, Zolima.
Toy Box
pg 24
Eco Hero
pg 18
Bookshelf
pg 26
January 2012
3
January 2012
46
TWENTY
COUNTRIES
IN 200 DAYS
64
OH, THE PLACES
YOU’LL GO
38
HOLIDAY
UNPLUGGED
features
29 WORLDS APART
Taking your daughter on a “cultural”
holiday can raise some pretty deep
questions.
33 ENTER THE DRAGON
What can you expect if you’re expecting
a little Dragon this year?
35 TIP-TOP TEETH
What should parents look for in a
paediatric dentist?
37 HAPPY NEW YOU!
The start of a new year is the perfect
time to reflect. So, what do you want from
2012?
38 HOLIDAY UNPLUGGED
Is it even possible to travel without
mobile phones, laptops, games
consoles and iPods?
4
Playtimes
42 THE LONG HAUL
62 BANGKOK, FAMILY-STYLE
46 TWENTY COUNTRIES IN 200 DAYS:
TRAVEL-WRITING CONTEST WINNER!
64 OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO
Thinking of flying with kids? These tips
make travelling plane sailing.
An overland adventure with a toddler
proved the perfect way to wait out a
recession.
50 MAN, OMAN!
TRAVEL-WRITING CONTEST WINNER!
Set your sights on a whole new world
during an Arabian adventure.
54 GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM
An action-packed week in Northern
Vietnam has something for everyone.
58 PERFECT PENANG
Head to Malaysia for a simple family
getaway, complete with a beach and a
bit of culture.
While more renowned for nightlife and
shopping, Bangkok offers family-friendly
fun, too.
Take a virtual journey to some of the world’s
most talked-about travel destinations.
74 RAWSOME!
Introduce raw food to your family with
these kid-tested recipes.
84 LAST WORD
There’s much we can learn from our
neighbours, says father-of-three Nury
Vittachi.
Editor-in-chief
Tracey Starr
t: 2973 6078
e:[email protected]
PUBLIcations director
Jo Allum
t: 2973 6159
e:[email protected]
Aquin Dennison-Mathew:
Travel-writing contest winner!
Aquin was born in South India and moved to
Nigeria with her parents when she was two
years old. By the time she was 18, she had been
to 13 countries and kept detailed journals about them. After
graduating with a degree in international business, she transferred
to New York where she worked in corporate marketing and public
relations. There, she met her map-obsessed husband with whom she
continues to explore places off the beaten path. They moved to Hong
Kong in the summer of 2010 after completing an overland journey
across 20 countries with their 18-month-old toddler, which she writes
about on page 46. Bitten by the family travel bug, she recently took her
eight-week-old newborn on a road trip across New Zealand.
Advertising ACCOUNT MANAGER
Wendy Clarke
t: 2973 6279
e:[email protected]
Advertising Sales and DistributioN
Florence Choy Wan
t: 2973 6187
e:[email protected]
Advertising ACCOUNT MANAGER
Narelle Edwards
e:[email protected]
Production Manager
Michael Chau
Creative Director
Gabriel Kicks
Kara Arnaudy:
Travel-writing contest winner!
Art Director
Kara was born and educated in the US. She
worked in investment banking in New York and
London until deciding California was the answer to
all of life's questions. After two years of hiking, surfing, mountaineering
and working in venture philanthropy, her husband was transferred to
Tokyo ... and then to Hong Kong. Three children and seven years later,
she is still here and pondering life’s next adventure.
Timmy Ho
Graphic Designer
Samuel Tang
CEO
David Tait
t: 2973 6791
e:[email protected]
FOR Subscriptions & Distribution t: 2973 6187
CONTRIBUTORS: Kara Arnaudy; Angela Baura; Cheryl Chan; Aquin
Dennison-Mathew; Jennifer Barnes Eliot; Rennie Fensham; Glynis
Ferguson; Ingrid Keneally; Aimee Knierim-Haak; Rachel Kenney;
Mishi Khanna; Elle Kwan; Priscilla Soligo; Kirsty Turner; Nury Vittachi;
Kate Zhou
Published by:
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Tel: +852 2973 6131
PRINTED by: Paramount Printing Company Ltd. in Hong Kong
ISSN 1726-183X
Published by PPP Company Limited. The publication is sold on the understanding that the publisher, advertisers,
6
Playtimes
contributors and their employees are not responsible for the results of any actions, errors or omissions taken
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welcome
I
Tracey and model Kaili
hope you’ve all been enjoying the holiday season and that Santa brought you and your family
every blessing you wished for. One of the best parts about the festive
is that by January 1st, it’s only just getting
season in Hong Kong
started.
This month we’ll ring in the Year of the Dragon. According to one horoscope I read,
“This year is going to be a transformational life-changing year! Generally, there are more goodies in
store than in 2011. It’s a good year to improve oneself, take calculated investment risks and to build
wealth.” Wow. That’s a lot for 2012 to live up to. Several other horoscopes tell me, however, that as an
Ox, my year is destined to be bad. Hmmm. After all the predictions I’ve read, I’ve decided to take this
last bit of advice to heart: “Whether it turns out extremely
good, or really bad, will depend on
how you ride the mighty Dragon!”
So, what will you do in 2012? This is the perfect
time to reflect and set goals for the
year ahead, and I hope you’ll find Glynis Ferguson’s piece inside helpful in getting started. Are you
expecting a little Dragon this year? Then you’ll want to check out Angela Baura’s article to prepare for
your new arrival.
This is our second annual Travel
issue – last January’s inaugural effort brought such great
feedback that we decided to do it again. And, in addition to bringing you interesting and informative
pieces from our regular team of writers, this month we feature
two winners from our first-ever
travel-writing contest. I was overwhelmed and delighted by the tremendous response. We received so
many amazing and well-told stories that choosing our two favourites was a real challenge. I do hope
you enjoy
reading them as much as we did. We’ll be running more stories from contest finalists
over the coming months, too – they were just too good to keep to ourselves.
Whether you’ll be travelling abroad or enjoying the festivities here in Hong Kong, I wish you the
happiest of New Years. May the Dragon bring you all those goodies it promises.
Thanks for reading,
Tracey Starr, Editor-in-Chief
8
Playtimes
January
T h e
h o tt e st
Photo
exhibition
View the works of talented
primary students who competed
in Enlighten-Action for Epilepsy’s
“Enlightening Moments Photo
Competition,” at A-Link Plus, Upper
Ground Floor, C C Wu Building,
302-308 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
h a p p e n i n gs
a r o u n d
t o w n
Tea time
The doorbell rings just as Sophie and
her mum are sitting down to tea. See
how it all turns out at the Kidsfest 2012
production of The Tiger Who Came to
Tea. Click www.hkticketing.com.
Flex Studio offers several new classes
for kids, including Funky Dance – a fun
and upbeat style that combines jazz
and hip-hop. Learn more about all of
the offerings at www.flexhk.com.
Swan Lake
Bear Hunt
The Hong Kong Ballet will
perform an educational, onehour adaptation of the ultimate
classical ballet, designed to
awaken your child’s interest in
arts and culture. Learn more at
www.hkballet.com.
The award-winning book We’re Going on a
Bear Hunt will be brought vividly and noisily
to the stage in this fun-filled Kidsfest 2012
adaptation. Click www.hkticketing.com.
Girls Generation
Kid-friendly
symphony
In HKS for Kids: Exploring Our Wonderful
World, UK-favourite Alasdair Malloy
and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta will lead
you on a journey, celebrating dance
and music from different countries. Buy
tickets at all Urbtix outlets.
10
Playtimes
The Korean all-girl pop band will
perform their first-ever concert in Hong
Kong. Click www.hkticketing.com.
Three actors, a live one-man-band
and a host of colourful characters
and animals magically share Stick
Man’s adventures at the Kidsfest 2012
production. Click www.hkticketing.com.
Handbag
helper
Do you ever get frustrated looking inside your handbag for your phone, wallet,
keys or other daily necessities? The Lea James Purse Organizer insert is the
handbag helper for you. Now all your handbag essentials remain in the same
pocket and are always quickly accessible and easily transferable from one
bag to another. No more forgetting items, wasting time digging or fumbling
frantically for that ringing phone. The organizers – $168 for the small size, and
$188 for the large – are available for sale at www.leajamespurseorganizers.com.
Three lucky winners will each win their own large size organizer. Email
[email protected] by 31 January and include “Win organizer” in the
subject line.
Mashable map
Planning a family holiday to Paris,
New York or London? Crumpled City
Junior ™ is a soft city map that looks
and feels like paper, but is virtually
indestructible, even in a child’s hands.
They’re printed on a special material
that makes them lightweight, tear-resistant and waterproof. Unlike traditional
maps, which can be awkward to deal with, this one can be crammed
into a pocket or backpack. Most importantly, the maps include important
information about the city you’re visiting: kids will enjoy helping to navigate
the streets in search of family-friendly “Soul Sights” recommended by parents
who live in the city. Click www.sidewalk-distribution.com to learn more.
Winning Words
Congratulations to Hugo Rao and
Nicole Pullinger, who won the Jeri
Telstar writing competition! Hugo,
who attends The French International
School, won in the seven- to nineyear-old group. Nicole, who attends
Glenealy School, won in the ten- to
twelve-year-old group. The runners up
were James Scholar and Zara Denham,
both of whom attend The French
International School. Jeri Telstar author
himself, Nury Vittachi, judged the
entries and offers his thanks to all who
entered the competition.
hot off
the press
Sun
shield
It’s never too early to start protecting yourself and your
children against the harmful effects of UV radiation,
especially if you’ll be spending your holidays at the beach.
Solarsuit is a unique swim, beach and outdoor activity
brand, made in Australia, and available in Hong Kong.
The majority of Solarsuit customers are repeat customers.
Why? Because of Solarsuit’s incredibly durable fabric (that
withstands salt and chlorinated water) and the strong UV
protection it gives adults and children. Check out their range
of swimsuits, tops and hats at www.solarsuit.com.hk, or at
Bumps to Babes and Escapade.
12
Playtimes
If you’re looking for an innovative way to learn Chinese,
check out the newly launched “easy chinese writing
– i write chinese” app, available at the iTunes app
store for US$1.99. You’ll learn how to construct Chinese
characters, stroke by stroke and direction by direction.
The app is suitable for beginner-level students as well
as for those who want to enhance their Chinese-writing
technique. Each character is displayed with the phonetic
pinyin, and also includes an audio translation in three
languages (English, French and Spanish). Learn more at
www.iwritechinese.com, or buy it on iTunes.
Now in Kowloon
Baby Buddies International Playgroup provides a unique service for parents
and children aged three months to three years. The classes are fun, but provide
a structured and educational programme based on the British National
Curriculum, the Early Years Foundation Stage. And now, after huge demand,
Baby Buddies has opened in Kowloon. Located in Jordan, a two-minute walk
from the Jordan MTR station and a ten-minute walk from Kowloon Station, the
new Baby Buddies centre adds a modern touch to their traditional warm and
friendly learning environment. Join them for a free trial class today. Learn more
at www.letter-land.com.
Nearly
homemade
Newly launched Secret Ingredient is introducing a unique home dining concept.
Chris Bland, managing partner and co-founder, says the concept is all about
providing the tools to conquer your kitchen. “Customers select a dish and we
provide them with all of the ingredients and a recipe that follows our Cook-byLetters system. Secret Ingredient is the sous chef – we take the stress away and
make the cooking experience fun, simple and accessible for both novices and
experts in the kitchen.” The ingredients arrive washed, chopped, peeled, sliced
and diced, and each meal is designed to take under 30 minutes to cook. Learn
more at www.secretingredient.com.hk.
Tiny tumblers
Little Kingdom wants to get your kids moving. Their innovative Dance
& Gymnastics course, developed by a former Hong Kong gymnast, will
encourage joyful and playful dance. The course is open to kids aged two to
five years – the time the folks at Little Kingdom believe they’re most likely to
develop an interest in movement. Teachers use a range of music and musical
instruments to strengthen children’s musical sense and agility, encouraging
them to respond rhythmically to the music and develop their growing muscles.
Visit Little Kingdom at Unit 1301, Eton Tower, 8 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, or
online at www.littlekingdom.com.hk.
This print will look perfect in any little
Dragon’s nursery. The unframed print,
which measures 220mm x 300mm, is
$350. Framed prints are also available,
and the price will depend on the frame
you choose. The print, from Cupcake
Designs, will be available from midJanuary. Click www.cupcakedesigns.biz
to learn more.
You know that cool little suitcase that you’ve seen the hippest
little travellers riding on through the airport? It’s called a Trunki,
and now’s your chance to get a special, limited-edition version
for the Year of the Dragon, along with some additional gear to
complete your kit. The limited edition Dragon Snoozihedz is an
innovative travel pal, pillow and blanket that’s perfect for napping
on the move. The limited edition Dragon Travel Friends Head Rest
is perfect for car journeys, long plane journeys and even in the
pram, ensuring that your little one is always a comfy traveller. Get
all three at www.bloomandgrowdirect.com. One lucky reader will
win a Dragon bundle from Bloom & Grow worth $887 that includes
a Dragon Trunki, a Snoozihedz and one Travel Friends Head Rest.
Email [email protected] by 31 January and include “Win
Dragon” in the subject line.
January 2012
13
Stimulating sessions
Unleash your baby’s potential with the Kiddy Experience, Baby Sensory
Playgroup that encourages your baby to explore and experience the world.
During the 12-class course, experiential lessons will take your baby up the sky
and down into the sea, exploring the fun things of the outside world. Parents
and babies will enjoy the fun and rewarding experience together. Call Kiddy
Village, 2560 9493, to learn more.
Holiday home
Pankis ® is the brainchild of a team of
up and coming Hong Kong designers
who enjoy Japanese styling. Kids are
playful and continuously on the move,
so the designs are kept stylishly simple,
comfortable to wear and easy to
care for. Mix and match options will
have your kids looking as smart (if not
smarter) than the grown-ups. Visit the
flagship store in the Wonderful World of
Whampoa, and the recently opened
branch stores in The Hermitage,
Olympian City 3, and Discovery Park in
Tsuen Wan. Lots of in-store promotions
await you to celebrate the openings.
Do the school holidays find you heading back “home” every winter and summer,
house-hopping among friends and relatives? Instead of sleeping on Mum and
Dad’s fold-out sofa or camping in your Aunt Mary’s living room, why not opt for a
French holiday home, where all the family can come to you to enjoy winter snow
sports and summer beach activities in one of the sunniest regions of France?
French Character Homes sells properties in South West France, between the
Pyrenees Mountains and the Atlantic Coast. Their experts will hold your hand
throughout the entire purchasing and settling in process, leading you easily into
your new home away from home. To learn more, call Joanne Shaw on +33 (0)6 77
70 21 98; email [email protected]; or click www.frenchcharacterhomes.com.
Belly shrinking
Mummies & Bellies specialises in assisting new mothers during their post-natal
recovery. With their series of treatments, you’ll be back to feeling more normal in
no time. Their jamu massage and wrap, concentrated on the muscle most used
during labour and delivery, will help you find the rest and rejuvenation your body
needs to ease into motherhood. You can begin the treatments as soon after
delivery as feels comfortable, and just five to ten days of treatments will rid you
of your bulging tummy, shrink your womb, and eliminate toxins to reduce water
retention, say the folks at Mummies & Bellies. Treatment is available in the comfort
of your home or at their centre. Learn more at www.mummiesbellies.com.
14
Playtimes
Helping or hurting
Seeing children begging is a sad part of travel to several
nearby destinations. It might seem counterintuitive, but experts
say to avoid buying from or giving to begging children. Giving
them money directly keeps them on the streets and places
them at risk. If you really want to help, find and support services
that help these children and their families have a better future.
source: www.thinkbeforegiving.org
finger on the pulse
Too dry
An analysis of more than 1,100 airline passengers found
that you are 23 times more likely to catch a cold on a plane
than during normal daily life on the ground. The culprit is
probably the low humidity typical of aircraft cabins, which
dries out the sticky mucus in your nose, compromising its
ability to trap and eliminate viruses, says study co-author
Martin B Hocking, Ph.D., professor emeritus of environmental
chemistry at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.
Moreover, most cold-causing viruses survive better when
humidity is low, increasing the chance that a virus will spread
from passenger to passenger. (Recirculated air isn’t to
blame: A University of California, San Francisco, study found
passengers were just as likely to experience cold symptoms if
the cabin contained fresh air.)
While there’s no proven way to lower your risk when
flying, products that combat the drying out of nasal
passages – such as saline nasal drops, sprays or gels – may
help, especially during flights that last more than two hours,
says Hocking.
source: Good Housekeeping
Children may have to make adjustments to their body
clocks on any trip with more than two hours’ time
difference.
• Before you leave, try shifting your child’s bedtime by 20
minutes each night for a few days to accommodate
the time difference at your destination.
• During the flight, offer regular drinks and healthy
snacks to your child and avoid junk food. Babies
should be breast- or bottle-fed on demand to keep
them hydrated.
• When you arrive, adopt local hours for sleep, waking
and socialising, even when it means getting up when
you least feel like it.
• Get as much exposure to natural daylight as possible.
Take meals at appropriate times with plenty of fluids
in between.
• If your children can’t sleep at night, have them rest
quietly with dim lighting.
• Avoid naps longer than two hours at a time.
source: Central Health Medical Practice
Family photos
It’s not always easy to snap great family shots on holiday; however, with a few
secrets from a pro, you’ll be on your way to filling up that album in no time. First,
keep things casual. Candid photos capture real memories and experiences, so
there’s no need to pose. Avoid the “line-up” scenario – let everyone move around
while you take a few shots and you are bound to get something good. And if folks
insist on posing, at least ask them not to tilt their heads into each other as this will
make the photo look even more staged. Stay close to your subjects, as empty
space looks awkward in photos.
Activity shots look great: kites on the beach or a picnic can put everyone at
ease, and being outside with natural light is one of the easiest ways to get a great
image. When photographing small, active children, set your camera to a sports
setting for a better chance of capturing images that aren’t blurry.
source: Hong Kong-based photographer Sofia Keyes, www.sofiakstudio.com.
16
Playtimes
bad
breath
In case you weren’t already sure, Hong Kong’s air is
definitely dirty. According to a recent article in the
South China Morning Post, the level of fine particles in
Hong Kong’s air is among the worst of more than 500
cities around the world, as surveyed by the World Health
Organization. Worse than Manila by more than 50 per cent,
and doubly worse than Singapore, the air in Central – at
the junction of Chater Road and Des Voeux Road Central
specifically – contains 36 micrograms of fine particles per
cubic metre. Medical specialists have warned that these
fine particles can penetrate deep into the respiratory
system and cause serious health risks.
source: South China Morning Post
pretty corny
Jolly Bazaar hopes to keep your kids healthy and vibrant by
offering safe, non-toxic, organic toys. Their newly launched
Magic Corn Blocks set is both a craft project and an ecofriendly, educational toy for kids aged four years and up.
The blocks are made of natural cornstarch and food-grade
colouring dye, and a bit of water will help them stick together,
no glue required. Get yours at www.jollybazaar.com. Five
lucky readers will win their own Magic Corn Blocks, worth $290.
Email [email protected] by 31 January and include “Win
blocks” in the subject line.
eco hero
stylishly green
Based on their belief that our kids can grow up wearing clothes
that make an impact in their world without being detrimental
to the people who work hard to make them, the folks at
cornflowerblue have searched the globe to bring you the best and most stylish
fashion and accessories from labels that share their passion for the planet and its people. All of
cornflowerblue’s suppliers pay a fair wage and produce the clothes in humane environments.
All of their products are kind to the environment by being organic, environmentally friendly or
recycled. Check them out online at www.cornflowerblue-hk.com.
eco-traveller
green living
If you’d like to live a greener life, but
are struggling with ways to do it here
in Hong Kong, then check out newly
launched Green Queen, a website that
aims “to encourage, support and inspire
all those souls out there who want to live
a greener, cleaner, kinder life.” You’ll
find tips for greener ways to shop, eat,
pamper yourself, decorate and more.
Click www.greenqueen.com.hk.
18
Playtimes
With a spelt husk filling, this travel mattress
is highly breathable and moulds to suit
the form and position of your child. Easy
to carry, it’s perfect for sleepovers at
Grandma’s house or with friends. The
thermoregulation properties of spelt
husk make this mattress feel cool in
the summertime and warm in winter.
Quilted and hand sewn with 100 per
cent organic cotton, it’s perfect
for the playpen or for playing on
the floor. Get yours exclusively at
Mother Organic, Room 301, Hong
Kong House, 17-19 Wellington
Street, Central, or online at
www.mother-organic.com.
Be a
road warrior
But don’t look like one! Here’s how
to keep your face looking fresh while
travelling.
1
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream is packed with
vitamin E to soothe chapped lips, rehydrate dry skin
and wake up tired eyes. It’s the perfect antidote to
that dry cabin air.
beauty 101
Q
A
How can I tame my hair when
travelling?
Whether you opt for a five-star retreat or an
eco-friendly campsite, it is possible to have
easy and gorgeous hair that feels as carefree
as you do when you’re away from home. The goal is to
maintain your hair while travelling, not try to duplicate
your usual look, because travel invariably means
changes in climate, conditions … and time!
Before embarking on your trip, visit your favourite
stylist. A fresh cut or treatment right before travelling will
make it easier to maintain your hair.
Next, take inventory before you leave and make sure
you pack only the necessary products and equipment.
Only take your most important brush/comb and hairspray
and one favourite styling product.
The best way to work with hair on any trip is to wash
with the shampoo and conditioner that you know work
well with your hair, use a styling product that’s designed to
create a soft, natural look, and just let your hair dry naturally.
Sometimes you’ll actually need to use more product to get
the hair to look natural!
If your hair’s long enough, a high or low ponytail
can look formal or informal and is always a winner for
holiday hair.
Award-winning hair stylist and make-up artist Rennie
Fensham is well-known for her passion and skills. Her
glamorous background spans 28 years of working in
beauty, fashion and TV, in South Africa, the US and, for
the last five years, in Hong Kong.
20
Playtimes
Spritz your face and neck
with a rose water or toner spray.
Skeyndor and other high-end brands
offer facial spritzers that contain
antioxidants and refreshing ingredients
to revive tired skin. You can spritz these
on over your make-up to keep your skin
looking healthy and refreshed during
and after those long-haul flights.
2
Wear eye pads about
an hour before landing.
You can buy pre-moistened eye pads
made with cucumber and other
soothing ingredients to reduce eye
puffiness. These will give your eyes an
instant boost and you only need to leave
them on for about 15 to 20 minutes.
3
Apply a layer
of mineral
make-up after
the flight.
Flying can dry out your skin and make
your pores appear larger than they
really are. Use a mineral make-up
powder that will settle on the top of
your skin and give you a flawless look
no matter what your skin looks like
underneath.
4
Pack an all-in-one
concealing stick.
These come in a variety of skin colours
and tones. Don’t apply a fresh coat
of foundation for touch-ups; instead,
use a concealer stick to cover up
blemishes and freshen up a ruddy
complexion with ease. Just dot it on
your skin and blend with a clean finger
to freshen up your look.
5
Remove
lipstick or
gloss completely
before reapplying.
Don’t layer on your lip
make-up or you’ll risk the chance of
dead skin cells and flakes sticking to
your lips. Flying dries your lips out, so
you’ll need to remove all traces of
makeup before applying that fresh
coat of lipstick or gloss.
3
W
7 Toll Bar Road, England. Why? Because that is
where my pen pal of 28 years lives. We started
writing to each other as children, but have
never met. Through all the ups and downs,
travel, children, marriage and sadness, we have kept
in touch. In this digital age, we still use snail mail. She is
one of my most valued and trusted friends.
Elizabeth (119 Angelo Street, Australia)
e would love to visit Sri Lanka, where we’d ride
elephants on the beach with the kids, stay a
few days on a tea plantation up in the hills,
take a hot air balloon ride over the lush forests,
explore ancient temples, visit the spice markets, and surround
ourselves with the fragrances and flavours of Sri Lankan food.
Rochelle
O
in your opinion
I
I
W
A
I
I
t’s a bit far out,
but I’ve always
wanted to travel
to space.
Andreas
h, I have “destination envy” after seeing photos
from a friend’s trip to the Maldives. She stayed
at the Four Seasons and said it was the most
amazing place on earth. Beam me to paradise,
Scotty ... pretty please!
Tania
We asked: Where would you love to travel next and why?
would like to take my two
adorable boys, aged three and
eight, to Mauritius. We would
love to stay in one of those water
chalets, where we could jump into
the pristine, clear lagoon and swim
with the colourful fish. It would be a
chance for the boys to encounter
nature in its most beautiful form and
for the parents to relax!
Helena
would like my kids to spend a few days in an ashram where they would
see the basics of life and just be with nature in its purest form: taking walks,
doing yoga, meditating, eating organic food, feeding cows and chanting
away into the New Year.
Shiv
e can’t wait to head back to Lawrence, Kansas, to visit the
grandparents next summer! We’ll celebrate the Fourth of July with
the kids by lighting sparklers and fireworks in the back yard, eating
fresh corn and summer tomatoes from the farmers’ market, and
having the best-ever vanilla ice cream made by Grandpa in an ice cream churn.
Tina
ntarctica! I have wanted to see this frozen
continent ever since I was a child, when I
watched a documentary by David Attenborough
and decided I wanted to chase penguins across
was born in Hong Kong and have lived here most
of my life, but I’ve never seen The Great Wall of
China. It has to be my next travel destination
because it’s getting really embarrassing that most
of my friends from all over the world have seen more
of China than I have.
Arti
the ice.
Kathryn
I
want to take our kids back the South Island of New
Zealand for a mix of camper van, homestay, and lovely
lodges, all that amazing wildlife and action, and such
fantastic food and fresh air. We did it as a couple before
they came along and congratulated ourselves on how
clever we were to do it before kids … and now we can’t wait
to take them!
Genevieve
I
want to take
my kid to
KidZania in
Japan!
Ella
T
B
ack home to Dubai. That way,
my mum can catch up with my
daughters while I catch up on
my sleep!
Angela
he next place I would love to take our children is
Harbin, China. We were there once and seeing
all the glowing ice and snow sculptures was
really incredible. The kids would love to play on
the icy slide, if they could bear the -20 degree cold!
Vivian
22
Playtimes
2
1
3
4
toy box
1 Robots in Space Magnet Play
5 Lightwriter
$350
$195
$150
Age 3+ years
What’s better than a magnetic puzzle?
A magnetic puzzle that comes in its
own travel tin! Along with a little book
of inspiration, this set includes brightly
coloured magnetic shapes that can
be played with over and over to make
different robots and stories.
Available at Hocusadabra
Age 2+ years
Create fun-filled, no-mess doodles on
the go with this soft, portable drawing
toy that leaves no trace behind. It never
makes a mess and it never runs out! Just
add water and draw in red or blue.
Available at Toys Club
Age 3+ years
Create amazing glowing designs
with the battery-powered light pen
that provides a blast of bright light to
energise the glow-in-the-dark paper.
The set includes two 4” x 6” reusable
phosphorescent sheets that last for
years, seven stencils for creating great
glowing images, and an activity guide
full of fun ideas, activities and facts.
Available at Toys Club
2
Hong Kong Memory Game
$200
Family fun
Dive into the hustle, bustle, culture and
beauty of our city, whilst giving your
brain a workout. Do you know how
many taxis there are in Hong Kong? Or
why goldfish are such popular pets? The
answers to these questions and many
more fun and interesting facts about
Hong Kong can be found in the booklet
that accompanies this new game.
Available at Bookazine
24
3 Aquadoodle Travel ‘n Doodle
Playtimes
4
LEGO Olivia’s House
$769
Age 6 to 12 years
Olivia, her parents and her pet
cat live in a big, bright house
with lots of rooms for hanging
out and having fun. Help Olivia
grill up a barbecue for the
girls or mow the lawn. Olivia’s
House is built in sections for easy
rearranging. Decorate, customise
and rebuild it, again and again.
Available at Toys“R”Us
5
For parents
Hong Kong for Kids: A Parent’s Guide
by Cindy Miller Stephens
$148
This comprehensive handbook offers
parents and educators everything you’ll
need to know to plan a successful and
stress-free outing with kids. Whether
you’re a tourist, a seasoned expat, a
life-long resident or a teacher planning a
school trip, you’ll find helpful information.
Available at Pollux Books
Bali with Kids
by Laetitia Knight
US$13
Planning to visit Bali? This is the ultimate
resource for parents. It lists over 300 kidfriendly places and activities offering
adventure, nature, water sports,
shopping, culture, restaurants, hotels
and villas, plus useful tips and cultural
background information.
Available at Amazon
Little readers
A Walk in London
by Salvatore Rubbino
$188
London: the perfect place for a girl and
her mother to spend the day! Follow
them as they board the classic red bus
and begin a whirlwind tour of some of
London’s most iconic landmarks. Climb
the lions at Trafalgar square, take in the
changing of the guard, experience the
whispering gallery at St. Paul’s and, if
you’re lucky, spot the Queen.
Available at Pollux Books
1001 Things to Spot on Holiday
by Hazel Maskell
$98
Children will be enthralled by the lively
and busy scenes as they discover
the 1,001 different items throughout
this book. Each scene takes readers
to an exciting, adventurous locale,
encouraging both visual recognition
and development of number skills.
Available at Bookazine
26
Playtimes
bookshelf
Young readers
England is Truly a Magical Place
by Karl Woodbury
$200
Marco Polo: History’s Great Adventurer
Clint Twist
$160
After hearing wonderful stories about
the world from their father, Jenny
and Lenny meet in the same magical
dream. These mischievous twins are
soon flying around England on an
amazing adventure with their new
friend, Roger. Join in the fun and learn
all about the history, geography and
culture of England with them.
Available at Southern Cross Books
Travel along the Silk Road to medieval
China with Marco Polo as your guide.
Meet Kublai Khan and sail through
pirate-infested seas in search of riches.
Including booklets, foldouts and maps,
as well as excerpts from The Travels of
Marco Polo, this beautifully illustrated
volume illuminates the adventures of
history’s greatest storyteller.
Available at Paddyfield
Taking her daughter on a “cultural” holiday raised
some pretty deep questions for Kate Zhou to answer.
M
any people travel extensively without ever
having any genuine contact with the places
they visit, or its people. I’m sorry, but the
waiters and masseuse at your five-star resort
do not count as contact with the locals.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not judging. After working
hard the whole year, I also relish going to an exotic,
relaxing, quiet, self-contained place where I do not have to
mingle with the masses. I do, however, feel guilty when I
have my children in tow and remember the adage of “travel
broadening one’s mind,” and wonder if I should be making
more of an effort to introduce my children to life beyond
the resort grounds.
When facing this internal conflict – relaxing vacation
for me, or a working holiday for the enrichment of the
children – I make sure the former wins by arguing:
“They’re kids. How much can they really learn from a
short holiday?”
Well, it would seem, quite a lot.
Horse sense
This summer, in a fit of maternal saintliness, I decided to
sacrifice my (well-earned) week lounging by the swimming
pool and at the spa, and instead booked a four-day horsetrekking trip to Songpan – a mountainous region at the
border between Sichuan and Tibet.
Now, horse trekking might sound fun but, believe me, it
was no picnic. Just getting there took great effort, including
a seven-hour bus ride from Chengdu. And this was not
your silver-tray, white-gloved-service type trek. Everyone
was assigned a horse, which we had to help take care of.
We slept in tents and ate our meals by campfire, without a
single modern amenity in sight.
My trekking group included: my daughter, my dad
and me; two Chinese couples; one Frenchman; one Israeli
couple; a Dutch woman and our five guides. At the end of
the trip, every single one of us hurt in places we didn’t even
know could feel pain.
OK, I’ve made it sound horrible. It wasn’t. It was
actually pretty fascinating. The scenery was awe-inspiring,
the whole getting-back-to-nature thing was very special,
and travelling with a diverse group of people made for very
interesting campfire conversations without the distractions
of electronic devices.
But the most interesting conversation was between my
father and my daughter during the interminable, sevenhour bus ride back to Chengdu.
Audrey: Grandpa, why do Chinese people like to refuse
and reject and say, “No” all the time? Every time I offered
the Chinese people a snack, like my candy or a chocolate
bar or crisps, they said, “No”. But when I offered it to the
Western people, they always took some.
Oh, and one time, the Chinese man asked his wife
if she could pass him some water. But since she was far
behind and I was next to him, I offered him my bottle and
he refused it.
Grandpa:This is just the Chinese way to be polite.
January 2012
29
... they can’t stop for
even one minute. But
the Westerners just sit
around, drink their tea
and chit chat.
Audrey:Really? I think it’s rude to say no all the time.
And did you notice how the Chinese people (here she
begins to forget her grandpa is Chinese) can’t stop and relax or
be quiet? They keep themselves busy all the time – taking
videos and photos, even when they’re on the horse; then
they talk, eat and take more photos and videos when
they’re off the horse.
Even at night, after riding for so long, they are talking
and tidying up their tents and cleaning themselves ... they
can’t stop for even one minute. But the Westerners just sit
around, drink their tea and chit chat.
Grandpa: You’re right! I have never realised that. I suppose
everyone relaxes in their own way.
Audrey: Hmmm ... I think I prefer to enjoy myself like a
Westerner. (Long pensive pause)
Chinese people are actually super-clean, right? I used
to think they were dirty because they spit and litter more in
Hong Kong than people in France. But I saw that when the
guide gave us our bowls and chopsticks during meal times,
the Chinese people would use their tissue or a wet wipe to
clean it before they used it – including you, Grandpa. But
the rest of us did not.
Oh, and remember that day when we had to use our
hands to eat the steamed bread and the twigs from the tree
to eat the salad? The Chinese couple took out their own
spoons! They brought their own spoons! And I also saw the
other Chinese couple – they brought their own sheets to put
over the sheets provided by the guides.
Grandpa: Of course! We Chinese people care more about
hygiene than Westerners. I noticed that young Frenchman
wore the same socks and T-shirt for the three days! So dirty!
Audrey (in a very knowing voice): Yes, but he did not spit.
Grandpa (stumped): Er ... yes, well, that’s a different issue.
Audrey:You know, Grandpa, I would never want to be a
tour guide in China. They are not really guides – they are
like servants!
When we were on holiday in Combloux (a mountain
village resort in the French Alps), we went on a horse-riding trip
too, and we had to do everything! Everything! Brush the
horse, feed it, tidy up all the things ourselves, make our
own meals. Our guides just told us what to do, and chitchatted with us. They behaved like they were our friends,
yet they expected a tip at the end.
Our Chinese tour guides did not say much, but did
everything. They filled our drink bottles, made our meals,
made our beds, set up our tents, looked after the horses ...
they behaved like they were our servants. We did not have
to do much at all.
Why is that, Grandpa?
My dad and I were speechless. It seemed that by taking
a super-observant, impressionable child into different
cultures, we had thrown up a whole load of questions,
for which we couldn’t offer any off-pat answers. Could
Audrey’s observations be just some of those cultural
enigmas that no amount of travelling and mind-broadening
can solve?
Let me ponder that while
sipping sangria, lounging by
the swimming pool or beach
on my next trip and I’ll get
back to you.
Kate Zhou is the founder
and director of Mandarin
for Munchkins. A qualified
Mandarin teacher, Kate was born and educated in
mainland China, and moved to Hong Kong in 1998. She and
her French husband have two young children.
Mandarin for Munchkins is one of Hong Kong’s first
Mandarin language centres specialising in teaching nonChinese-speaking children. Programmes are available
throughout Hong Kong and at their learning centres in
Central and Discovery Bay. For more information, visit
www.mandarinformunchkins.com.
January 2012
31
What can you expect if you’re expecting a
little Dragon this year? asks Angela Baura.
I
am a Dragon. As I write
this, my husband is peering
over my shoulder nodding
enthusiastically in agreement.
Unfortunately, I have yet to master
the art of breathing fire at him.
Clearly he does not realise that
people born in Dragon years are to
be honoured and respected. After
all, according to the Chinese zodiac,
the Dragon is the mightiest of the 12
animal signs – a symbol of power,
wealth and happiness.
The Dragon personality
Each animal sign recurs every twelve
years. This year, the Dragon sign
begins on January 23rd and will
end on February 9th, 2013. The
Chinese believe that the animal
sign under which a baby is born
greatly determines his personality.
Parents can therefore expect
their forthcoming Dragons to be
extroverted bundles of energy –
fearless, feisty and free-spirited.
“People born under the Year of
the Dragon are naturally gifted with
charisma and authority,” explains
Master Albert Cheung, a worldrenowned astrologer, lecturer and
author on Chinese wisdom, and
CNN’s go-to-guy for predictions on
worldwide events including, most
recently, the marriage of Prince
William and Kate Middleton. He
continues, “Born to lead and with
luck on their side, Dragons are selfconfident, far-sighted and like to do
everything on a grand scale.”
Don’t expect your cutie to
conform. He will stubbornly live
by his own set of rules. In the
long run, this is a blessing. Whilst
other mums may panic about peer
pressure, Dragons’ mums need not
worry: Your child will challenge
with confidence, standing strong
for himself and his many friends.
Whilst friends will call on your child
for support, his Dragon pride will
prevent him from doing the same.
Elizabeth, Hong Kong motherof-two, has over ten years’ experience
dealing with her own Dragon, Ethan,
who certainly stands his ground for
what he believes in. Born in 2000, he
is a confident, clever and charismatic
leader. However, whilst Dragons
usually love a challenge, Ethan dislikes
competition. “He will very quickly try
and opt out in most situations where
he is not confident of success. We
observe this behaviour mostly when
he is playing group sports,” Elizabeth
explains. This may be due to the fact
that, as Master Albert points out,
Dragons are full of pride and hold
very high expectations of themselves.
The water Dragon
According to Chinese astrology,
personalities are also defined by the
position of the five major planets,
which are named after the elements:
metal, wood, fire, water and earth.
According to Master Albert, who
offers consultations at The New Age
Shop in Central, 2012 is the year of
the water Dragon. Whilst Dragons
are generally known to be quicktempered and outspoken, the traits of
water will apparently calm the fire of
this year’s Dragons.
“People born this year will be
smart, gentle, strategic-minded, flexible
and romantic,” Master Albert advises.
Pregnant mamas, prepare
yourselves for a lucky little person
with a larger-than-life personality. His
natural charisma will easily win over
everyone he meets, starting with his
number one fan: you!
January 2012
33
What should parents look for in
a paediatric dentist? Dr Mishi
Khanna, BDS, has the scoop.
W
e all know how important it is to look after
our children’s teeth. But finding a dentist who
is right for your little angel can be a daunting
task, especially when you move to a new
place. You are entrusting that dentist with the well-being of
your child, so it’s very important that you choose carefully.
The first thing you will need to do is research and ask
around for recommendations. Ask other parents in your
building, other mums at school, teachers – anyone you can
think of! Hearing other families’ positive experiences will be
extremely useful in your search. The internet, of course, is
another invaluable source of information. You can start with the
Hong Kong Dental Association’s website: www.hkda.org.
Once you have a shortlist of dentists who seem suitable,
how will you decide among them? Here is a list of specific
qualities to look for:
Qualifications and recommendations
Find an accredited dental surgery with a proven track record
for reputable paediatric care. Any reliable paediatric dentist
will be able to supply the appropriate qualifications, references
and testimonials. Recommendations from close family
members and friends may lead you in the right direction, and
you can also ask your paediatrician or family doctor.
A comforting demeanour
The right paediatric dentist is someone who can calm your
child’s nerves and anxieties before any dental procedure. A
friendly dentist or orthodontist will earn your child’s trust
and make it more likely that your child will follow all of the
necessary dental hygiene procedures. The right paediatric
dentist will spend time explaining procedures in a fun and
relaxed manner.
A welcoming atmosphere
Your child may never be excited about going to the dentist,
but a fun atmosphere can make the experience more
pleasant. With the appropriate toys, play sets and youthful
imagination, your dentist’s surgery should be tailored to
paediatric practice. Often the most anxious part of a trip
to the dentist is the waiting period. A suitable surgery will
have a designated play area in the waiting room. Some
also provide DVDs and other ways of diverting a child’s
attention from the treatment.
Open communication
Oral hygiene starts at home. A good paediatric dentist
will keep you fully informed of your child’s development,
progress and overall oral health. He/she will be able to
suggest good habits to begin implementing for healthy
hygiene and the perfect smile.
Patience
A good paediatric dentist will be patient with your child.
Dental treatment should never be rushed!
Remember, the oral health needs of children are different
from those of adults. Paediatric dentists undergo years of
additional training beyond basic dental education. The ability
of a good dentist to connect with children and make them
comfortable, in combination with education and experience,
should ensure that your child is in the right hands.
January 2012
35
The start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on what’s been going well
in your life, as well as an opportunity to choose what to do differently to create
the life you want. So, what do you want from 2012? asks Glynis Ferguson.
I
f we want to see a change in our
lives, we have to give it some
thought. Our words, thoughts
and actions reflect who we are
inside and what we value. Rather
than live instinctively, robotically
and unconsciously, we can take
responsibility and consciously choose
to create the life we want.
If you want to have more balance
in your life, be attentive to the
time you give to work and play, to
socialising and being alone. What’s
your goal for your children? Most of
us want to nurture them to grow up
and live happy, healthy, independent
lives. Are your words and actions in
alignment with this?
To your health
Reflect on how well you take care
of yourself physically, mentally,
emotionally and spiritually. What will
you and your family do to be healthier
this year? We all know that we should
eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly,
get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water
and have regular check-ups. Yet, how
many of us turn to cake, chocolate,
alcohol, shopping, busyness or work
as a way to avoid dealing with our
challenges or our pain? When we avoid
our emotional pain, where does it go?
It becomes disease. When we become
aware of the pattern, we have a choice.
We can choose to take better care
of ourselves. We can stop blaming,
complaining, criticising and judging,
all of which drain our energy. Learn to
accept that others are who they are.
Speak softly
Would you ever call your newborn
baby “stupid” or a “loser”? Of course
not. Yet many of us think about
ourselves in such harsh terms. Notice
how you talk to yourself and your
children. If what you’re saying isn’t
kind, loving, compassionate, inspiring
or empowering, then don’t say it. Be
gentle. Acknowledge achievements.
Praising yourself is not egotistical or
selfish. And be careful when you’re
goading your children to do better and
better – they are already perfect in so
many ways, just as they are.
Feel for real
How well do you take care of yourself
emotionally? Most of us want to be
accepted. But if we’re afraid that people
won’t like us if we feel certain ways,
then sometimes we don’t give ourselves
permission to feel at all. If we don’t
allow ourselves to feel, we can’t grow.
Feeling connects us with life.
Encourage your children to talk
about their feelings, too. Explore
with them what causes them to feel
the way they do and then reflect
back and validate those feelings; let
them know that their feelings are
OK. Do you find yourself saying:
“Don’t be sad”, “Don’t be angry”?
Occasional feelings of sadness and
anger are healthy. When you give
“don’t” messages, you’re telling your
kids not to be who they are. Our
children need to learn about their
emotions so that they can develop
emotional self-awareness, empathy
and become equipped to have
healthy relationships.
Get connected
How much time do you spend
contemplating who you are and what
your purpose in life is? Can you see
the beauty in your uniqueness? To
what extent do you feel connected to
something larger than yourself, or of
service to others? Allow yourself and
your children the space to be who
you really are, rather than acting
like the parents and children you
think Hong Kong society expects
you to be. Is “over-scheduled, overworked, master of every subject, with
no time for fun” how you hope your
kids describe themselves?
When you decide to make a
change, rather than focusing on
what you don’t want to do, give your
energy to what you do intend to do.
Create a powerful, positive statement
that you can use as an anchor – an
internal guiding force for how you
want your life to look – then set goals
around that.
Glynis Ferguson, owner of Freedom From Fear Coaching, is passionate about
helping you to see beauty, both within yourself and in the world around you.
Visit www.freedomfromfearcoaching.com.
January 2012
37
38
Playtimes
Is it possible to travel without mobile phones, laptops, games consoles and
iPods? Jennifer Barnes Eliot puts her family to the test to find out.
I
love technology; I’m not a
Luddite. Facebook allows me
to keep in touch with friends
spread across the globe; my
iPhone is with me almost all the time.
Every once in a while, I think back to
my first-year course at university on
BASIC computer programming, and
marvel at how far we’ve come in such
a short while. At the same time, I put
limits on what my kids have access to
and how long they can spend online.
But on a sunny Saturday last
spring, I returned home from
running errands to find my family all
individually engaged with some sort
of electronic screen. My husband was
playing Angry Birds on his iPad. My
12-year-old daughter was chatting on
Skype and watching YouTube videos
simultaneously. And my nine-year-old
son? He was reaching another level on
his Lego Star Wars game.
“Hello? I’m home,” I called out
cheerily. “Hi, Mum” “Hi, hon.” Not
even one eyeball strayed from their
respective screens. I continued, “The
weather’s great. Let’s go outside.” The
litany of excuses began: In a minute!
Almost finished! Just have to get to the
next level! But Hayley’s on in London
and I NEVER get to talk to her!
I looked at my plugged-in family,
mentally jumped (irrationally, I
admit) to a future where we grew ever
more distant, and quickly made a
declaration. “THAT’S IT! When we
leave for Vietnam in two weeks, we are
going E-FREE! No iPods, no laptops,
no DS, no phones.” My husband shot
me a look that said, “I really want
to support you as a parent but please
don’t go any further with this.”
What now?
It is true that I, sometimes, in a fit of
parental enthusiasm, may err on the
side of grand pronouncements that –
perhaps – are not completely thought
through. And in the past, I have had
to carefully tap dance my way out
of such situations without losing my
parental authority. But, on reflection,
this one actually seemed achievable.
On our upcoming holiday, we were
flying directly to Danang and, with
a flight time of less than two hours, I
felt completely confident that we could
all amuse ourselves without the aid
of our electronic crutches. We were
staying at a resort on the beach with a
pool, minutes away from Hoi An, and
we were only going for four days. So,
even with an unexpected rainstorm,
we wouldn’t have enough time to get
bored of all there was to do.
Initially, the kids were
incredulous. “What! What are we
going to do at the airport? What
will we do on the PLANE?!?!” They
reacted as if I’d told them they would
have to leave their left kidneys behind.
I reminded them that we started our
adventures overseas many years ago
with a 24+ hour flight, before the
days of any electronic diversions, and
they did just fine. “Hmph, we were
just babies then. We probably slept the
whole flight.” Ummmm, as I recall:
No! I reminded them that they had
books and notebooks, and coloured
pencils, and string for friendship
bracelets, and plenty of other things
that could easily keep them occupied
for a short flight. And I reminded
them that there were plenty of people
in this world who survived perfectly
January 2012
39
On the first day, I happily locked my
phone in the safe. But by the third day,
I was itching to get it out and flip that
switch back on just to ‘check in’.
well without iPods and games and
laptops and reliable high-speed
internet. Cue eye roll now.
Later that night, after the
children had gone to bed, my husband
broached the subject. The one thing I
had failed to factor into my scenario
was that he was in the middle of a
year-long professional development
course that required him to participate
in a real-time online project. His
laptop would have to join us. My
plans for a return to a simpler time
were crushed, I thought. He rose to
the occasion, though, and promised
to complete only what was essential
in the evenings, after the children
were in bed, and to join me in locking
our phones in the room’s safe – a
compromise I could live with.
Make it work
We typed up our itinerary, left it
with a friend, and gave the name and
phone number of the hotel to a few
family members, just in case. I dug out
a well-worn box with a deck of cards,
dice, and book of family games we
purchased long ago that has travelled
with us around the world. That, plus
crossed fingers that there would be no
weather-related or mechanical delays,
and we were off.
Once at the resort, the kids
quickly got involved with all that
was on offer and, during the day, we
never looked back. The weather was
perfect and with the pool, beach, golf,
and trips to Hoi An, we didn’t miss
connectivity for a minute.
In the evenings, I could see
everyone getting a little antsy. We
managed some legendary games of
Yahtzee and Crazy Eights, and played
a new card game our daughter had
learnt on her sixth grade school trip.
We talked and laughed, and just
generally goofed around.
I have to admit that, despite all
of my confident proclamations, I was
a bit unsure about the experiment as
well. Flipping the switch to turn off
the cellular data function on my phone
was a hard one. On the first day, I
happily locked my phone in the safe.
But by the third day, I was itching to
get it out and flip that switch back on
just to “check in”. Excessive roaming
charges be darned! But I resisted; I
was committed to following through.
In retrospect, what began as a
reaction to a moment of frustration
became more about reaffirming our
little family unit, reconnecting with each
other and reassuring me, more than
anyone else, that despite the fact that
the kids were growing up, we were still
going to enjoy spending time together.
One day, towards the end of
the trip, I headed to the pool. As
I approached, I saw my kids and
husband sprawled across lounge
chairs. Each one was completely
engrossed in a book. Not talking with
each other, not engaging. I smiled to
myself as I realised this was the same
scenario that started the whole crazy
experiment, just with a different type
of distraction. And I realised that
although they were each worlds away,
they were together in the end.
January 2012
41
Thinking of flying with kids? These tips make
travelling plane sailing, writes Elle Kwan.
N
eelam Tourani took the
worst flight of her life
when her son Tahir was a
baby. The public relations
specialist who runs Purebuzz PR was
travelling long-haul from Hong Kong
to San Francisco, and recalls Tahir
crying the whole way – almost 15
hours. “Three random people came
up to me separately to try and help me
settle my baby, as if I didn't know what
I was doing,” she recalls.
Now Tahir, who is four, flies like
a pro. On a recent trip from Italy,
he and Neelam were upgraded to
business class, where he sat in his own
capsule and entertained himself. After
a month away with just the two of
them, Neelam breathed a sigh of relief,
put her feet up and took some time off
mummy duty. “I thought, can life get
any easier?” she says.
Handy tips have helped Neelam
transform what was a traumatic
experience into one of ease. The first
is packing. Mums normally pack
extra for their kids, but sometimes
forget another outfit for themselves.
It’s common for a little one to spit
up, throw up or chuck a kiddy-meal
across your lap, so Neelam usually
packs a lightweight, long-sleeve t-shirt
and leggings in her carry-on. She also
collects small toys given out in party
gift bags to entertain Tahir during
the flight, and brings his favourite
42
Playtimes
blanket and toys, with spares in case
they get lost.
But ultimately, she realises,
her son takes his cues from Mum.
Looking back, she recalls she flew
alone on that first flight and at an
extremely emotional time in her life.
Her nervousness undoubtedly affected
her son’s behaviour. “I do think he
was picking up on how I was feeling,”
she says.
First flight: Flying with babies
Flying with a baby for the first time
can be an incredibly nerve-wracking
time and they can sense the worry.
“Children are a quick way of letting
you know how you are feeling.
Everything you feel, they feel,” says
Jenny Smith, of Gecko Yoga, yoga
specialists for kids. Jenny says there
are basic exercises to soothe mums
that will, in turn, soothe babies. Try
clenching your shoulders up by your
ears and then dropping them fast
to relieve tension. Hugging baby
close to your chest while breathing
deeply or humming softly helps tune
out negative feelings and “sends a
soothing, calming note to the child,”
says Jenny.
In fact, many parents think flying
with babies is easier than with older
kids. Requesting a bulkhead seat with
a bassinet provides a space for baby
to eat and rest. Babies often find the
January 2012
43
white noise of the plane comforting,
sending them to sleep, but if they
don’t doze off, don’t panic. “All flight
attendants are trained in babycare.
They know how to change a nappy,
how to feed kids. Often, they are
happy to help. Parents should not
be shy to ask,” says Karin Siegler,
midwife and founder of pre- and
postnatal homecare service Wellness
and Birth.
Despite this, staff can get busy.
Although they usually supply water
and heat milk for parents who are
formula-feeding, you could also try
cartons of pre-made formula – but
check the security restrictions on
liquids before stocking up. Although
it is good advice to feed on take-off
and landing to avoid ear pressure
build up, don’t begin too early. “If the
plane is in a line, it can take a while.
By the time you actually take off, baby
is full. Make it really shortly before
take-off,” explains Karin. Plan how
many changes will be required and
bring enough nappies but not too many
extra, along with a favourite blanket
and teddy. Dress baby in one extra
layer than parents to keep them warm.
Flying low: Toddlers
“The worst time to fly with kids is
from seven months to two years,”
says Karin. Kids are active and want
to be up and looking around, which
can be tiring for parents. They don’t
fit in bassinets and if a flight is fully
booked, they will be sitting on laps.
Sticker books can keep older toddlers
busy, as can one or two crayons or a
mini Etch A Sketch. Bumble Tots play
centre founder Amy Wong is a mum
to twins. On one trip, she wrapped up
toys and handed them out throughout
their flight. “I just went to the toy store
and picked out the smallest [toys].
The tactic offered good distraction,
and the kids spent more time opening
the presents than playing with them,”
she says. Family photos, which Amy
showed via her iPhone, and familiar
story books also came out winners.
“They are out of their comfort zone,
so it’s good to have familiar things
around them,” she says.
Music on an iPod or a portable
DVD can be a lifesaver. Two-yearold Finn Ramsden, son of Hip Little
Bubba director Nicole, took a break
from strolling the aisles, which he
would have done endlessly notes Mum,
thanks to his favourite DVD. “Finn
loves The Wiggles and always joins
Captain Feathersword in Rolling Down
the Sandhills,” says Nicole. “While
watching The Wiggles on a flight back
from Sydney, when the song came on,
he promptly rolled off down the aisle
much to everyone’s bemusement.”
Airline headphones can be
big and frustrate kids, so it’s worth
hunting out a pair made just for them.
Nicole sourced some great Star Wars
headphones at HMV.
Flight timing can be crucial for
this age group. One flight Nicole took
coincided with Finn’s normal afternoon
naptime. By the time the plane took off,
she says, “he was bawling,” and didn’t
stop. Now she always seeks earlier
daytime flights, and says they are less
busy, which allows more chance to
nab empty seats. Other parents prefer
taking night flights so that children
keep to routine and are tired around
their normal bedtime.
Up and away: Over-threes
Most parents breathe a sigh of relief
when flying with bigger kids. Gone
are worries of transporting babies or
supervising busy toddlers. Instead,
this may be the only time parents
encourage kids to sit in front of the TV
and, usually, they’ll readily agree.
At this age, children chow down
on their own meals. Don’t forget to
request it when you book, and once
on-board, ask for their meals first.
“It can be very messy with everyone
eating at the same time,” says Karin
Siegler. While many will be pottytrained, it’s useful to bring some pullup pants. Karin’s kids always seemed
to need the bathroom during take-off
or landing, just the time they were not
permitted to go.
Work off energy at the airport and
children are more likely to relax and
sleep on the flight. Viewing aircraft
taking off can be exciting. If there
is a quiet corner of the airport, or a
designated play area, you could bring
a balloon to chase or play active games
to avoid boredom and tire them out.
One of Jenny Smith’s favourite games
is jumping jacks, where kids start off
on the ground like balls and leap up
like rockets. On board, straws can
be used to “race” tissues across trays,
which expends energy, focuses kids
and calms them for take-off (just make
sure those trays are folded back when
the plane gets going!). A lollipop or
candy also goes down well.
Flying long-haul takes adjustment
and planning. But the feeling of
arriving at a pristine stretch of
white sand or meeting a doting new
grandparent at the final destination is
first class.
January 2012
45
travel-writing
contest winner
An overland adventure with our
toddler across Eastern Europe,
Russia, Mongolia, China and South
East Asia proved the perfect way
to wait out a recession, writes Aquin
Dennison-Mathew.
I
n late 2008, we were living in New York City and the
financial meltdown dominating the headlines had
become a personal reality. My husband was let go by
his firm, and business at the boutique firm I worked at
was thinning out. We were convinced 2009 was going to be
wash-out year. Rather than get frustrated looking for jobs,
we saw a rare opportunity to spend that time travelling
with our 18-month-old son Isaac.
In the months preceding our trip, we talked excitedly
about living life unhinged, untethered to a job, a mortgage,
or the trappings of our urban lifestyle. We contemplated
a year filled with adventure – exploring places off the
beaten path, immersing ourselves in culture, history
and architecture, making new friends and sampling
new cuisines. But I was nervous and anxious about what
everyone agreed was pure insanity to attempt with a
toddler, and riddled with guilt about whether this was in
his best interest. In the end, two points of reasoning won
out: First, the more I researched, the more I was convinced
46
Playtimes
that extended travel would open up his impressionable
mind to language, history and geography. Second, our
paediatrician reminded us that every country had children,
and that reliable medical help, if we ever needed it, would
never be too far away.
Because of Isaac, we wanted to make this experience as
comfortable as possible. We would have to pace ourselves
to preserve our own sanity and to ward off travel fatigue.
We quickly ruled out driving by car or hopping on flights,
as both would mean strapping him to a seat for extended
periods. We both loved the slow and easy romance of train
travel and knew it would allow our toddler the freedom
to run the length of the train car. Besides, the economy
of doing this journey by train was far too enticing to
turn down. The longest continuous train journey is from
Portugal to Vietnam, covering a total of 17,852 kilometres,
and most of the journey included the countries we had on
our wish list. With a bit of creativity and lots of research,
we knew it was possible.
Travelling light
We started our adventure in May 2009 in Istanbul carrying
exactly two backpacks, one day bag and an Ergo child
carrier. I remember waking up to the call of prayer in our
hotel room in Sultanahmet and coming to terms with the
fact that we would be waking up in more than 45 different
cities over the next six months. Turkey turned out to be the
perfect place to kick off our travels. Isaac was thrilled to
have both of us with him all the time and he allayed every
fear I had started the trip with. He took to the new change
of diet well – pita bread and kebabs were surprisingly
child-friendly – he was mesmerised by ornate mosques, and
squealed with joy on the ferry ride across the Bosphorus.
He charmed waiters, drivers and shopkeepers, which often
meant we were at the receiving end of freebies, advice and
warm hospitality.
From Turkey, we took a two-night ferry across the
Black Sea to Odessa in Ukraine. Then on a series of trains
across Ukraine and Eastern Europe, we weaved our way
through Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland,
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. We stayed in a city for
two to three nights before hopping on an overnight train,
pulling into our next city as it was stirring awake from a
night’s slumber.
We quickly fell into a convenient rhythm of travel
and learnt to anticipate our toddler’s needs. We carried
a tote bag with Cheerios, pasteurised milk in Tetra Paks,
cheese snacks, fruit and nuts to tide us over in the event
our train was delayed. We filled our iPhone and Macbook
with educational DVDs to keep our son entertained. And
we asked specifically for the lower berths and learnt to
sleep head-to-toe with our toddler to optimise space. Isaac
more than adapted; he loved it and, every so often, asked
hopefully, “Sleepy choo-choo?”
Living local
Before our son came along, my husband and I always
scoped out boutique bed and breakfasts that gave us the
January 2012
47
most authentic local experience. But with a toddler, laundry
piled up fast and washing milk bottles in a bathroom sink
got tiring. This time, we opted for short-term apartment
rentals, often tucked in historic buildings and conveniently
located in city centres. We enjoyed the novelty of buying
local produce and wine, cooking meals and eating-in over
the tedium of eating at restaurants day after day. But most
priceless of all was the convenience of a washing machine
that surely beat a short-lived attempt at hand-washing our
clothes in a hotel tub.
The first third of our journey, which we coined,
“Black Sea to the Baltic Sea” ended in Finland, where
we celebrated Midsummer weekend – a summer solstice
festival – with some old Finnish and Swedish friends. From
there we started on the highlight of our seven months of
travel: the Trans-Siberian Railway, which took us from
Europe to Asia on the world’s longest railroad. Over a
one-month period, we stopped in nine Russian cities,
staying at local home-stays hosted by English-speaking
families. Undoubtedly moved by the presence of a young
child, on countless occasions we experienced the kindness
of strangers.
By Day 100, we had ended the Trans-Siberian leg and
entered Mongolia, where we camped under the stars in
traditional ger tents and rode horse-back through the great
grassy landscape. From Mongolia we crossed the border
into China, stopping at smaller towns like Datong, Xian
and Guilin, interspersed by the big city lights of Beijing
and Shanghai. Over the next three months, we traversed
through South East Asia – Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia – before ending our
journey in Singapore.
Our “gap year” of travel with our son was undoubtedly
challenging and exhausting. But, like all great experiences
in life, we barely remember the discomfort. We look back
on it as the greatest adventure of our lives – one that we
got to share as a family – made all the more special by the
company of our seasoned young traveller.
January 2012
49
travel-writing
contest winner
We set our sights on a whole new
world during our Arabian adventure,
writes Kara Arnaudy.
I
know the first thing you are thinking, but are too
embarrassed to ask: Where exactly is Oman? After
we clear that up, your second thought is probably:
With kids? Is she serious?
Absolutely. Oman is a developed and stable Arab
country. We have all heard so much about Dubai, but
Oman is the real deal. It is a relatively unknown spot,
wholly different from any place you have likely been before.
Moreover, there are beaches, pools and unique experiences
that will delight the younger set as well.
The Sultanate of Oman is located in the Middle East
and borders the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi
Arabia and Yemen. A nine-hour flight to Dubai and then
a one-hour flight gets you to the capital city of Muscat (No
relation to the grape unfortunately, but be assured that
alcohol is available in licensed hotels and restaurants).
Speaking of Dubai, we spent three nights there before
flying to Muscat. It’s a perfect way to break up the journey
and is a marked contrast to Oman. The Atlantis is a
mammoth hotel built on the manmade Palm Island with a
water theme park that includes water slides, an aquarium,
pools, beaches and even a dolphin interaction programme.
Additionally, if you’d like to expose your children to snow
skiing before coughing up tens of thousands of dollars to fly
to Japan, a few runs down the slopes at nearby indoor Ski
Dubai might just do the job. But after all of the glitz and
glamour, you will be hankering for some authenticity – a
taste of the real Arabia.
Muscat love
After a short flight from Dubai to Muscat, it is only another
45-minute drive to several excellent family-friendly hotels.
We chose the Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah, which is actually
three hotels within one and located on a beautiful onekilometre barr of private golden sand on the Gulf of Oman.
The lazy river winds its way in front of the hotel for half a
kilometre, complete with inflated double inner tubes that
are perfect for floating alongside a young child. There is
an indoor/outdoor playroom, pools and camel rides that
will wear the young ones out. And depending on the time
50
Playtimes
January 2012
51
of year, you can go scuba diving,
snorkelling, dolphin- and whalewatching, and see turtles nesting.
It’s tempting not to leave the
hotel, but seeing the city of Muscat
is a must, with its fascinating culture
and history that dates back thousands
of years. Take a walk down the
waterfront on the Corniche (a threekilometre-long beach road), drink
cardamom coffee and then enter the
Mutrah Souk, where you can bargain
for frankincense, perfumed oils, nuts,
spices, incense, silver, leatherwork and pottery. The kids
will enjoy buying the local garb – boys wear an anklelength shirt called a dishdasha with a beautifully handembroidered hat; girls wear the colourful national dress
(until puberty when they begin to wear the black abaya).
Frankincense and myrrh from Oman = Christmas gifts for
all our family and friends. Check.
Private oasis
The highlight of our visit to Oman was our stay at the Six
Senses Zighy Bay. The four-hour drive from Muscat was
not ideal; however, all criticisms were silenced when we
crested the mountain overlooking Zighy Bay. Hotel guests
have a choice of arriving by speedboat from the nearby
port, snaking down the road by car or paragliding into
the resort ... for real. Looking down at the resort from the
top of the mountain, we all held our collective breath. It
is absolutely stunning to see the desert landscape meet the
turquoise water.
The hotel is styled like a traditional Omani village
with 79 luxurious pool villas. Our son spent 100 per cent
of our time there barefoot; they even sift the sand for any
uncomfortable rocks. While the hotel is not marketed as a
family hotel, children are very welcome. Each villa comes
with bicycles and a butler. Although there is a kids’ club
of sorts, this is not the type of location where you want to
spend any time there. Instead, children will run free on the
private beach, chase crabs, bicycle around the resort and
disconnect from entertainment overload. You simply must
get away for one night to dine at the cliff-top restaurant
that gives “dining with a view” a new meaning. The bar
called Drinks On The Edge is exactly that. The Six Senses
Zighy Bay is an expensive but unforgettable place that will
leave you wanting more.
After several lovely holidays in Cebu and Phuket, our
adventure in Arabia made us feel alive again. I caught a
glimpse of the adventurous couple we used to be before
having three children in five years. It’s safe to say that
very few people from “home” have been to Oman. So,
if you do decide to visit, do your friends a favour and
explain where it is, because you know they’ll be too
embarrassed to ask.
January 2012
53
An action-packed week in Northern Vietnam had
something for everyone, writes Rachel Kenney.
V
ietnam had always been
on our hit-list of holidays
so, with the October halfterm approaching and no
visitors on the horizon, it seemed a
perfect time to finally make it happen.
Since a two-and-a-half-year
backpacking extravaganza in our early
20s, holidays had become a bit more
of the “go-somewhere-and-stay-put”
variety, rather than the “wherever-Ilay-my-hat” experiences of yesteryear
for my husband Terry and me. And
since becoming parents, we’d fallen
into the “anything-for-an-easy-life”
category. But after a spot of research
on Northern Vietnam, we found there
54
Playtimes
was so much to see and do, a bit of
travelling around seemed essential.
As our two children, Tom and Lizzie,
were now nine and six, we hoped they
could handle all the to-ing and fro-ing
– and at least we would be travelling
in comfort. Goodbye bed-bug-filled
dorms and broken-down buses, and
hello crisp-cotton sheets and luxury
trains. We couldn’t wait!
Hustle and bustle
After a 90-minute flight from Hong
Kong, our first stop was Hanoi. The
city is a beautiful mix of Asian and
French colonial architecture, hustlingbustling streets, lakes, pagodas and
surprising amounts of greenery. It’s
a perfect place to spend a couple of
days soaking up the atmosphere,
taking in a few sights such as Ho Chi
Minh’s mausoleum and the Ngoc Son
Temple at Hoan Kiem Lake, or seeing
the long-running, traditional water
puppet show.
The only drawback to Hanoi’s
many attractions is when you have
to cross the road to get to them! The
city’s roads are choc-a-bloc with
motorbikes and mopeds. There are
said to be three million mopeds in
Hanoi, and whenever you want to
cross the road, it seems that every
single one of them is driving straight at
you. The trick, we discovered, is not to
wait for a gap in the traffic – there isn’t
one. And traffic lights and pedestrian
crossings are few and far between.
No, the trick is to take your courage
in your hands and walk out on to
the road, slowly and confidently, and
the mopeds will swerve to avoid you.
Or so the theory goes. It took some
getting used to ...
Puppy island
The next part of our trip was the
highlight for Lizzie: a two-day, onenight trip on a boat in Halong Bay.
Was it the breathtaking backdrop
of the karst mountains jutting out
from the sea that she liked? Or
perhaps it was the gorgeous meals
served on beautifully laid tables? Or
the squeaky-clean, en-suite woodpannelled cabins? Or the welcoming
boat manager who asked the chef to
cook chips especially for her and her
brother (no, they are not adventurous
eaters!)? No. It wasn’t even the trip
we took on rowing boats around a
floating fishing village. The highlight
of Lizzie’s holiday was mooring up at a
tiny, uninhabited island to find 13 tiny
puppies scampering on the beach. She
was in puppy heaven. After fussing
over the puppies, we clambered up the
hill to explore a dramatic cave, and
got a great view of our boat, with red
sails up, floating in the bay. “Puppy
island” also had kayaks, so we enjoyed
a peaceful glide through the stunning,
mountain-filled sea. Well, it was
peaceful once Tom and I (both kayak
novices) had worked out how to steer.
All too soon, the boat trip was
over and we were back on the fourhour mini-bus transfer to Hanoi.
Once there, we had enough time for
dinner before heading to the train
station to catch the overnight train to
Sapa, a mountainous area close to the
Chinese border. The train has lots of
privately run carriages, each offering
differing levels of comfort. We had
January 2012
55
splashed out on the luxurious Victoria
Express, which has a plush red-velvet
seated dining car and wood-panelled
sleeping cabins – they even lay a red
carpet down on the platform outside
the carriage! After a civilised round
of cocktails (for the adults) and hot
chocolate (for the children), and a
semi-decent amount of sleep (for the
children) and not a wink (for me) the
train staff got us all up at 6am so
we could have a quick coffee before
arriving at Sapa at 6:30am. An hour
later, we were at our hotel.
Mountains and mud
Sapa is home to lots of Vietnam’s
ethnic minorities, and you see people
dressed in colourful traditional
costumes wherever you go. Wandering
around the town’s market – where you
can buy such delicacies as scorpions in
a bottle, deer horns and blue chicken
– you will be mobbed by traditionallyclad women selling handmade textiles
and trinkets.
The area is famous for its
mountains and rice terraces, and
Indo-China’s highest peak, Mount
Fansipan, is close by. Climbing Mount
Fansipan seemed a bit strenuous for us,
so we booked a couple of guided walks
through the countryside and villages.
Our first trip involved driving for an
hour over an increasingly bumpy,
crumbly, winding hillside road, taking
in the odd creaking suspension bridge
and mini- and not-so-mini mudslide.
We eventually went walking in an area
that is home to the Red Dao minority,
who wear a distinctive red headdress,
and passed beautiful hills and rice
terraces, before ending our walk
scrambling over a rocky river, then up
yet another mudslide.
The next day’s walk was a lot
more sedate, as we passed through
villages populated by the Black
H’mong minority. The Black H’mong
grow the indigo plant, and dress in
fabric dyed almost black by it. As we
walked, we saw metres and metres of
freshly dyed dark fabric hanging out
to dry. The rice fields were also a hive
of activity with all ages working to get
the harvest in.
Yin and yang
After catching the overnight train
back to Hanoi for the final part of
our trip, we had one last treat to look
forward to: a night in the swish Sofitel
Metropole Hotel, which was built in
1901 in grand French colonial style.
Every part of the hotel oozed style
and chic-ness – plus it had fantastic
breakfasts and a pool so the children
were happy. After such opulent luxury,
we were jolted back to reality when
we came face to face with a family of
rats in the departure lounge of Hanoi
airport! Yin and yang ...
It had certainly been a busy
week – we’d been on planes, trains,
automobiles (plus a boat and a kayak!)
and the children had taken it all in
their stride, and had a diary full of
memories to show for it. When I asked
Tom what his favourite part of the
holiday had been, his answer was
simple: “Everything!”
January 2012
57
Seeking a simple family getaway,
complete with a beach and bit of culture?
Then head to Malaysia, suggests Cheryl Chan.
58
Playtimes
L
iving in Asia, choices
abound for the perfect
beach holiday. We’d
already done Phuket,
so we were ready for something
new. For us, with an infant and
a toddler in tow – plus their
gear! – Penang afforded a direct
flight and the promise of pristine
beaches, amazing food and lots
of local culture.
Penang is located on the
picturesque north-western
coast of Malaysia, lined by a
magnificent jade-green sea. We
chose to begin our holiday by
the ocean in the Batu Ferringhi
area, where contiguous beaches
are home to many of Penang’s
resorts. Once checked in, food
was the next thing on our minds.
Less than ten minutes down
the road was a haven of hawker
stalls selling local dishes such
as char kway teow, laksa, rojak,
popiah, and satay. The food is
served al fresco and, at night,
the harsh fluorescent lighting
of the individual food stalls is
juxtaposed against hanging
Christmas lights on and from
tree to tree. Much to the delight
of our kids Shing, who was
two and a half at the time, and
Rae, who was one, a glitterclad band on a makeshift stage
started up at 9pm. For us and
about 1,000 other diners, the
synthesized music blasting
through loudspeakers was the
perfect soundtrack for enjoying
the delicious snacks.
We found the Shangri-La
Rasa Sayang Beach Resort and
Spa a perfect home base for the
first part of our holiday, full of
fabulous amenities and close to
multiple dining options. With six
swimming pools and a beach to
choose from, we spent much of
the next morning enjoying the
sun, sea and sand before heading
out for a late lunch at a nearby
seafood restaurant flanked by
an unspoilt rocky beach and a
temple dedicated to a local sea
goddess. After a delicious meal
of the day’s fresh catches, we
were happy to head back to the
hotel and let our little ones have
their fun at the hotel’s Adventure
Zone. This 10,300-square-foot
indoor playground – with giant
slides, suspension bridges and
ball pit – is guaranteed to keep
your children entertained for
hours whilst you sip a cocktail by
the pool.
Local culture
The historic capital of Penang,
George Town, is a UNESCO
world heritage site with
exceptional examples of
multicultural architecture. It
was with this in mind that we
moved to a different hotel in the
downtown area for the second
half of our holiday.
The legendary Eastern
& Oriental Hotel, which has
welcomed the likes of Rudyard
Kipling, Hermann Hesse and
Somerset Maugham with
its colonial charm, did not
disappoint. Staying here made
us feel like we were reliving a
part of history, the façade and
antique furnishing taking us
back 125 years to the days of the
Armenian Sarkies brothers, who
developed this and many other
luxury hotels (including Raffles
in Singapore).
Within walking distance
were an old church, a mosque,
January 2012
59
a museum, Fort Cornwallis and
a padang – a field where locals
gather on the weekends to catch
up on the week’s gossip. And,
just as important, a short walk
took us to several famed local
food places. We took wellearned breaks from touring
through the quaint streets of
George Town to savour dishes
at Gurney Drive, Penang Road,
Chulia Street and Pulau Tikus
(Rat Island), the latter being a
bit further afield. Then, after
busy days of sightseeing and
eating, Eastern & Oriental’s
magnificent swimming pool,
overlooking the Straits of
Penang, provided the perfect
setting to chill out.
Temple treks
No visit to Penang would be
complete without a trek up the
series of stairways and bridges
to the Kek Lok Si temple. And
it is indeed a trek, with plenty
of steps to climb! Situated on a
hill overlooking the town of Air
Itam, Kek Lok Si is worth the
climb if only for the views. Our
journey leading up to the temple
fascinated the children as we
passed the giant, carp-filled
Liberation Pond, where turtles
are released into freedom in the
spirit of the Buddhist tradition
of merit-making. Surrounded by
landscaped gardens, sculptures
and shrines, the main temple is
built in tiers and culminates in
the beautifully crafted Pagoda of
Ten Thousand Buddhas.
After the temple, nearby
Penang Hill – 2,750 feet above
sea level – provided a respite
from the heat of tropical George
Town. Keen on anything with
wheels, our son particularly
enjoyed the funicular ride up
the hill. For the rest of us, the
panoramic hilltop views offered
stunning photo ops.
Continuing our sightseeing,
we next toured the Chew Clan
Jetty located along Weld Quay.
Clan jetties are unique Chinese
settlements where homes are
built on stilts on either side of a
wooden walkway that extends
into the sea. Chew Jetty, housing
the descendants of Penangbound Chinese immigrants
with the last name Chew, is
the largest and most famous
of the eight clan jetties – it
even has its own community
association and temples. In
existence since the 19th century,
the waterfront houses form
a remarkable historical site
where communities have upheld
tradition and live here in much
the same way as decades ago.
We visited in the early afternoon
when the heat and humidity
forced many occupants of the
single-storey houses to leave
their front doors open for all to
view, and we were lucky to sneak
peeks into pieces of history.
There was still so much to
see and do as our trip came to
an end. Snake Temple, Khoo
Kongsi, the butterfly farm, the
batik factory … we will save
these for when we return.
January 2012
61
While more renowned for nightlife and shopping,
Bangkok offers family-friendly fun, too,
writes Kirsty Turner.
B
angkok is the fast-paced
capital city of Thailand,
attracting tourists from all
over the globe with its vibrant
nightlife, rich shopping opportunities
and historical temples. However, if you
are travelling with children, you will
also find plenty of interesting, familyfriendly activities on offer. Read on for
details about two excellent ways to keep
the kids entertained while visiting the
Land of Smiles.
One of the best child-friendly days
out is a visit to the large, Westernstyle theme park, Dream World. It is
a popular attraction for people of all
ages and can be found on the outskirts
of Bangkok. Here, the Thai flair for
fun has been used to create a colourful
play zone that’s ideal for children to
explore. Many of the main attractions
are aimed at the very young, and there
is a wide range of activity options.
You could start with a wander
through gardens filled with large,
cartoon-style statues of familiar
characters to reach the Giant’s
House. This impressive dwelling has
been created in the shape of a castle,
complete with a sleeping giant inside.
Everything within the castle has been
blown up to 50 times the normal size,
and kids can tiptoe past the gently
snoring giant to play on gigantic
chairs, swings and other items.
But, beware of the enormous spider
lurking on the wall! The great thing
about this attraction is that there
are no barriers: children are free to
wander wherever they want.
62
Playtimes
Elephant rides
are offered
throughout
the day and
children also
have the
opportunity
to feed these
mighty beasts.
Snow Town is another great
attraction for play. Visitors are given
padded jackets and boots to put on
before entering a specially chilled
room that’s full of real snow. This is
the perfect place to experience snow
for the first time, and the winter
wonderland is decorated with models
of penguins, Eskimos and polar bears.
Parents can join in the fun by building
a snowman with their children, having
snowball fights and tobogganing down
long, icy slopes.
But the fun doesn’t end there.
Dream World offers plenty of other
activities. If you have a head for
heights, you could ride in the cable car
high above the park. The cable car
moves very slowly, allowing plenty of
time to appreciate the view along the
way. You could also go on a miniature
roller coaster, take a tiny train around
the park, or go out on a brightly
coloured pedal boat on the large
central lake. There is plenty to keep
everyone busy.
A day at the zoo
Animal lovers will also want to take a
trip to the Dusit Zoo during their stay
in Bangkok. The zoo covers an area
of nearly 50 acres and is home to a
collection of more than 300 mammals,
1,300 birds and some 190 reptiles.
This area was originally part of the
Royal Dusit Garden Palace and was
the private botanical garden of King
Rama V.
This well-planned park caters to
young children extremely well. Prams
are available to hire near the main
gate, and there are also special cars in
the shape of animals for children to
ride in. Even the main fast food outlet
here has special high chairs.
Wooden aerial walkways have
been built to offer visitors a bird’s eye
view into many of the enclosures. One
section features a special platform
where children can stand and feed the
giraffes. If you would rather stay on
terra firma, you could also ride around
the park in a small train.
The recently opened seal show
is sure to capture the imaginations
of both children and parents alike.
Here, people of all ages whoop and
cheer as the seals jump through hoops
and perform a series of other tricks.
Nearby, a team of talented acrobats
all the way from Kenya also show off
their skills.
The children’s petting zoo
offers kids the chance to cuddle cute
creatures (think rabbits, rather than
rhinos). There is an area here where
children can paint pictures, create
pottery and take part in a range of
other supervised activities. A stage can
be found nearby, where clowns and
other performers regularly come to
entertain children at weekends.
Featuring a colourful collection
of birds and talented performers, the
Animal Stage Show never fails to
attract large crowds. This show offers
visitors the chance to pet monkeys,
parrots and other animals, and watch
demonstrations of how the creatures
communicate, eat and and get up to
all sorts of high jinks.
When the appeal of the animals
wears off a little, children will find a
range of other things to keep them
interested. Very young children are
sure to have fun on the merry-goround and other rides, or playing in
the large playhouse. Elephant rides
are offered throughout the day and
children also have the opportunity to
feed these mighty beasts.
One of the main focal points
of the zoo is a large pond, which is
surrounded by trees and overlooked by
the Old Parliament Building. Visitors
can enjoy a picnic beside the lake, feed
the fish and explore the pond in footpaddle boats.
The people of Thailand love
children, and Bangkok is a safe and
fun place to travel with kids of all
ages. If you like the sound of Dream
World and Dusit Zoo, you might also
want to check out Ocean World, the
Children’s Museum, Siam Water Park,
the Science Museum … That weekend
break might need to be extended.
For more details, click www.dreamworld-th.
com/english or www.zoothailand.org.
January 2012
63
Forget packing, passports and
plane tickets: a virtual journey to
some of the world’s most talkedabout travel destinations provides
a fun and simple way of capturing
those stylish holiday moments.
64
Playtimes
Photography Aimee K Photography
Styling & words Ingrid Keneally
Models Coby, Beecher & Kaili
Coby wears Many Moons long-sleeve
t-shirt by Nico Nico, $300, StoryTime,
with Kutie Protocol jeans, $590,
cornflowerblue. REX red and white
spot wheelie bag, $1,310, petit bazaar.
Beecher wears Sunrise long-sleeve
t-shirt by Nico Nico, $300, StoryTime,
with Kutie Protocol slim-cut jeans, $590,
cornflowerblue. Boots are model’s
own. Kaili wears Louis Louise shirt, $800,
cardigan, $1,340, and denim shorts, $560,
all from petit bazaar. Shoes are model’s
own. Bakker made with love aeroplane
suitcase, $550, petit bazaar.
January 2012
65
66
Playtimes
Left page: Beecher wears Rose & Theo
shirt, $490, TroiZenfants cardigan, $710,
and pants, $770, all from petit bazaar.
Boots are model’s own. This page: Coby
wears Mickey Mouse t-shirt by Atsuyo
et Akiko, $340, StoryTime, and Kutie
Protocol jeans, $590, cornflowerblue.
January 2012
67
Kaili wears Jada suit by Wovenplay, $850,
StoryTime. Coby wears Mini Rodini t-shirt,
$290, conrnflowerblue, with jersey shorts
by Nico Nico, $210, StoryTime.
68
Playtimes
January 2012
69
Kaili wears Noro dress, $1,480, and Lili & The Funky Boys scarf,
$250, both from petit bazaar. Beecher wears Ketiketa shirt, $460,
petit bazaar, and Shampoodle pants, $290, cornflowerblue.
70
Playtimes
Coby wears Kutie Protocol jeans, $590,
and Mini & Maximus t-shirt, $195, both
from cornflowerblue. Dragon Trunki
case, $499, Bloom & Grow.
January 2012
71
“
Without words,
without writing
and without books,
there would be no history,
there would be no humanity. www.hkywa.com
”
Hermann Hesse, Swiss author
The Hong Kong
Young Writers Awards 2012
P3, the publisher of Playtimes magazine, now invites
sponsors for the third annual HKYWA.
The HKYWA encourages and recognises excellence in English writing among students of
various age groups, diverse backgrounds and different learning abilities. A selection of this
year’s best entries will be published in an anthology, New Tales of the Yangtze River, to be
launched at an awards ceremony in April 2012.
Become a sponsor, and you can enjoy a number of benefits:
•Place your logo on all HKYWA promotional materials
•Present your specially named prize at the 2012 awards ceremony
•Reach over 30,000 students in 400 English-medium schools across Hong Kong, Macau and China
•Expand your corporate identity within and beyond Hong Kong
•Generate publicity and enhance your company’s reputation
For details on becoming a 2012 HKYWA sponsor,
please email [email protected].
Sponsor
Event Sponsor
Organiser
Introduce raw food to your family with these kid-tested
recipes from gourmet raw chef and mum, Priscilla Soligo.
New Year Carob
“Caramel” Chews
These nut-free lollipop-style chews – with soft organic
Medjool dates that taste like caramel inside and a hardened
carob outside – will definitely be a New Year’s favourite for
both little and big kids!
Equipment needed: Vitamix, or high-speed blender
Makes 25-35 chews
Ingredients
• 25 Medjool dates, medium to large size, soft and pitted.
When pitting, be sure not to break the dates in two.
• 25 wooden lollipop/popsicle sticks
For carob dipping sauce:
• 2 ¼ cups cacao butter, grated (This will reduce to 1 ¼ cups
when melted.)
• 2 Tbsp coconut nectar (low GI), or honey, or maple syrup
• ½ cup coconut palm sugar (low GI)
• ½ tsp high mineral salt (Celtic, or Pink Himalayan)
• 1 ½ cups cacao powder
• 2 tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• ¼ cup desiccated coconut flakes for garnish (optional)
74
Playtimes
Method
• Line a tray with baking paper so it's
ready for use later on in the recipe.
• Place popsicle sticks inside dates
where the pits were removed and
mould the dates around the stick into
the shape of a broom.
• Bring some water near to boiling
(not boiling) and pour into a stainless
steel bowl.
• Chop up cacao butter very finely (or
use a grater) and put into a smaller
stainless steel bowl. Place this smaller
bowl of cacao butter into the larger
bowl of near-boiling water and leave
to stand, stirring occasionally. The
temperature inside the cacao butter
should not be hot to the touch, but
should be warm and melting slowly.
• Pour cacao butter into a dry blender
(be sure there is no water residue in
the blender, as this will affect the
cacao butter) and add all remaining
ingredients, except the coconut
flakes.
• Blend until well-combined (You may
have to take the lid off and use a
spatula to help the vortex spin. Be
careful not to place it too far inside or
the blade will cut it off!)
• Pour out mixture into a glass or
stainless steel bowl that isn’t too cold
for dipping.
• Hold the wooden lollipop/popsicle
stick and submerge the date into
the mixture. (You may want to use
a spatula to make sure the date is
completely covered on all sides.)
Sprinkle with desiccated coconut
for garnish, if you like. Lay out onto
prepared tray lined with baking
paper and put in the freezer to set.
The chews will store well in a sealed
container in the freezer until you’re
ready to serve them. You can eat them
straight out of the freezer for a cool
snack, or let them warm up to room
temperature if you prefer.
Note: You can use any leftover sauce
for dipping Chocolate Chia Spirulina
Chimes. (Recipe on page 76).
January 2012
75
Chocolate Chia Spirulina Chimes
These delicious chocolate chimes contain chia seeds, which are hydrophilic (hydrating and expanding to approximately
12 times their weight!) as well as being jam-packed with Omega 3s, which are key to healthy brain development in young
children. Chia seeds contain more Omega 3 than flax seeds and are easier to digest. Plus, these clever little chimes have
hidden algae (spirulina) which contain all eight essential amino acids in the proper ratios for growing brains.
Equipment needed: Food processor
Makes approximately 32 chimes
Ingredients
• 1 ½ cups Medjool dates, packed,
pitted and soft. (If they’re not soft
enough, you can soak them in water,
just enough to cover, for 30 minutes,
then drain and use.)
• 2 cups cacao butter, grated (This will
reduce to 1 cup when melted.)
• ½ cup coconut nectar (low GI), or
maple syrup, or honey
• ½ cup cacao powder
• 3 tsp spirulina powder
• 10 drops rose essence (You could also
use vanilla, or any essence you like.)
• 2 tsp vanilla powder (You can omit
this if you don’t have any on hand.)
• Pinch cayenne (Go easy with this if it’s
for the kids!)
• 1 tsp high mineral salt (Celtic, or Pink
Himalayan)
• ½ cup chia seeds
For carob dipping sauce:
See previous recipe for New Year
Carob "Caramel" Chews.
Method
• Chop up cacao butter very finely (or
use a grater) and put into a smaller
stainless steel bowl. Place this smaller
bowl of cacao butter into the larger
76
Playtimes
bowl of near-boiling water and leave
to stand, stirring occasionally. The
temperature inside the cacao butter
should not be hot to the touch, but
should be warm and melting slowly.
• In a food processor, combine dates,
melted cacao butter and coconut
nectar (or syrup or honey), and
process until well-incorporated.
(Teeny-tiny lumps from the dates are
fine. You’re looking for a consistency
not quite as smooth as silk.)
• Add all remaining ingredients except
chia seeds, and process again until
combined.
• Add in chia seeds and process/pulse
until they’re mixed in.
• Pour mixture into a 9”square tin lined
with plastic-wrap, or a silicone square
(for ease of removal after setting) and
place into the freezer for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the freezer and place
onto a chopping board. Slice into 16
squares and then slice the squares
into triangles.
• Place back into the freezer to set
overnight.
• In the morning, either make your
carob dipping sauce (see previous
recipe) or warm up any leftover
dipping sauce. Dip half of each
chime into the sauce. The sauce will
set much better if you lay the coated
chimes on baking paper and put
them back into the freezer to set.
These store well in a sealed glass
container in the freezer, but they’re so
incredibly yummy that they’ll likely go
fast! These are perfect when taken out
of the freezer and left for 10 minutes
before eating so that the outer shell is
nice and crispy with a softer filling inside.
To learn more about Chef Priscilla and
her partner Chef Moy, click
www.rawthenticfood.com. Shopping
for all things raw? Visit their new online
store at www.rawthenticfoodstore.com.
Chef Priscilla and Chef Moy both offer
raw food classes in Central at The Body
Group. Click www.thebodygroup.com
to learn more.
distribution
GENERAL
Central/Mid-Levels/The Peak
•Annerley Community Midwifery
Services
•Art N move
•AWA Hong Kong
•Balance Health
•Baron School of Music
•Bookazine
- Canton House
- Prince’s Building
•Body Group
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•Canossa Hospital
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•Dr Lucy Lord & Associates
•Dymocks Bookstores
- Central Building
- Lyndhurst Terrace
- One ifc
- The Peak
•Haircraft
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•Kate‘s Kids
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•O2 Hair Studio
•Matilda Child Development Centre
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- Prince’s Building
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- One ifc
•Rosarini
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•SPOT Physio
•The Body Buddies
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•YWCA
Island South
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Island East
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•Cosmos Bookstore
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Causeway Bay/Happy Valley
•Anastassia’s Arthouse
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Tsim Sha Tsui/Kowloon
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•Cosmos Bookstore
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New Territories
•Anastassia’s Art House
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Discovery Bay
•Discovery Bay Management Office
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- Chianti
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•Dymocks
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SCHOOLS/PLAYGROUPS
Central/Mid-Levels/The Peak
•Baby Buddies
- Sheung Wan
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- Sheung Wan
•ESF International Kindergarten, Hillside
•Highgate House School
- The Peak
•HKPPA Head Office
•Panda Junction
- Central
•Sunshine House
- The Peak
•The Harbour School
•The International Montessori School
•The Peak Pre-School
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•Woodland Montessori
- Mid-Levels
•Woodland Pre-School
- The Peak
Island South
•ESF Kennedy School
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•Kellett School
•Modern Montessori International
•Montessori for Children
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•Southside Kindergarten
•Sunshine House International
- Chi Fu
- Pok Fu Lam Road
- Tai Tam
•The International Montessori School
•Woodland Pre-Schools
- Beachside
- Harbourside
- Montessori – Tai Tam
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- Pok Fu Lam
- TreeHouse
Island East
•ESF Quarry Bay School
•HKPPA Heng Fa Cheun Playgroups
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Admiralty/Wanchai
•JEMS
•Starters School
•Superchamp
Causeway Bay/Happy Valley
•Alison’s Letterland
•Baby Buddies
- Tin Hau
•Bambino English Playschool
•ESF Glenealy School
•Island Children’s Montessori
•Starlit Learning Centre
•Sun Kids
•The International Montessori School
- Tin Hau
•Victoria Educational Organisation
•Wembley International Kindergarten
•Woodland Pre-School
- Happy Valley
Tsim Sha Tsui/Kowloon
•American International School
•Baby Buddies
- Kowloon
•Deborah Educational Institute
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•Kowloon PIPS
•Little Academy
•Noble Place
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Kindergarten
New Territories
•Box Hill International Kindergartens
- Ma On Shan
- Fo Tan
- Tsueng Kwan O
•ESF Abacus International Kindergarten
•ESF Clearwater Bay School
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- Tsing Yi
- Wu Kai Sha
•ESF Renaissance College
•ESF Shatin Junior School
•Garden House
•HKPPA Leapfrog Playgroups
•Jing Jing Kindergarten
•Learning Adventures
•Littleton Discovery Playgroup
•New Song Christian Kindergarten
•Norwegian International School
•Sai Kung International Pre-school
•The Woodland Sai Kung Pre-School
•Zebedee Internationl Kindergarten
Lantau
•Discovery Bay International School
•Discovery Mind Kindergarten
- Discovery Bay
- Tung Chung
•Discovery Montessori School
•Little OWLS Kindergarten
- Mui Wo
•Sunshine House
- Discovery Bay
- Tung Chung
China
•Zhuhai International School
- Guangdong
Macau
•The International School of Macau
CLUBS
•Aberdeen Marina Club
•American Country Club
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•Gold Coast Yacht & Country Club
•Hebe Haven Yacht Club
•Hong Kong Cricket Club
•Hong Kong Football Club
•Kowloon Cricket Club
•Ladies Recreation Club
•Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
•The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country
Club
•The HK Jockey Club - various locations
•United Services Recreation Club
REAL ESTATE &
RELOCATION COMPANIES
•Allied Pickfords
•AGS Four Winds
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Macau
•Cuppa Coffee – Bakery & Coffee
House
•Mandarin Oriental Macau
•Qube @ The Venetian
•Rocks Hotel
•Spa Philosophy
•The Landmark
January 2012
77
stockists
BLOOM & GROW | www.bloomandgrowdirect.com
BOOKAZINE | www.bookazine.com.hk
Basement, Canton House, 54-56 Queen’s Road, Central
Shop 3022, Level 3, ifc mall, Central
Stall E and F, Discovery Bay Pier
Shop 309, Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, Central
Shop 117, Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
2521 1649
2295 0056
2987 1373
2522 1785
2802 4932
BUMPS TO BABES
Unit 2114-18, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau
5/F, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central
2552 5000
2522 7112
CORNFLOWERBLUE | www.cornflowerblue-hk.com
ESCAPADE
1/F Yee Hing Building, 19 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
1/F Merlin Building, 30-34 Cochrane Street, Central
2891 1855
2851 0769
POLLUX DISCOUNT BOOKS
Unit 2101, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau
Shop 52, G/F Hong Kong Station, Central
2873 6962
2868 1498
SOUTHERN CROSS BOOKS | www.sc-books.hk
STORYTIME | www.storytime.jp
TOYS CLUB | www.itoysclub.com
5/F, On Hing Building, 1 On Hing Terrace, Central
Unit 901, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau
TOYS“R”US
3/F Citiplaza, Taikoo Shing
Man Yee Building, 67 Queen’s Road Central, Central
7/F, Windsor House, 311 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
2167 8484
2836 0875
ZOLIMA | www.zolima.com
HOCUSADABRA | www.hocusadabra.com
PETIT BAZAARR
9 Gough Street, Central
80 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai
2544 2255
2528 0229
Booking Deadline: 13 January
Artwork Deadline: 17 January
Editorial Deadline: 9 January
New-fashioned families
Mum, Dad and 2.5 kids? Not necessarily any more.
Adoption stories
Meet families who are welcoming their newest members.
Making plans
Does your cramped apartment affect how many kids you’ll have?
Special kids
Families of children with special needs have special stories to tell.
Identity crisis
Do your kids understand the customs from your home country?
For more information or to book advertising space, please email [email protected].
2569 2388
2259 9166
2881 1728
January 2012
79
80
Playtimes
January 2012
81
Be part of Hong Kong’s most
ambitious digital project!
We are looking for children aged 6-8 and 9-11 to participate in our
product development campaign.
Primary MandarinTM is a leading bilingual teaching solution to
support primary school students learning Mandarin. 400,000
students are currently using our materials and we are now
developing an online retail solution for children and parents to
enjoy Primary MandarinTM at home.
Focus groups will be organised in February and March.
Participants receive a free set of Primary MandarinTM Flashcards.
For more information, please contact Audrey Reisdorffer at
[email protected] or 2973 6281.
82
Playtimes
Want to reach over 50,000
affluent parents in Hong Kong?
Contact the Playtimesadvertising team to find out how.
email: [email protected]
January 2012
83
Family life
There’s much we can learn from our neighbours,
says father-of-three Nury Vittachi.
T
ravel truly does broaden the mind. There’s
nothing more educational for Hong Kong
youngsters than having them check out family
life in the rest of Asia. Take India, where
the excitement starts at birth. In Jharkhand, because of
regular incursions by herds of elephants, “women were
forced to deliver their babies in trees,” I read in The Pioneer
newspaper. Giving birth is hard enough, but try doing it
balancing on a five-centimetre-wide thorny branch of a
simul tree. Husbands to the rescue! They took action by
brewing up huge numbers of barrels of moonshine (homemade alcohol) to “lure the elephants away”. At least, that’s
what they told the women up the trees.
Yes, we can learn a lot from our neighbours. For
example, in much of Asia outside Hong Kong, parents play
a big role in arranging marriages. I remember reporting
about a couple in Tianjin, China, who offered the equivalent
of HK$1 million plus an apartment for a man aged 25 to 35
who would marry their daughter. But the ad attracted only
a few hopefuls. Most guys were put off by the fact that the
daughter was a ghost. She had died, unwed, several years
earlier. Also, the applicant would have to sign a clause to stay
faithful “unto death”. Since ghosts can’t die that would be
what Elton John would call a LONG long time.
I once reported on the wedding of one young miss
named Jayalakshmi, a 21-year-old from Chennai, India.
Halfway through the wedding, her groom Murugesan
upped and announced that he was leaving, as he was
disappointed that he had not received a motor scooter
among his dowry presents. He was departing to find a
woman with a better appreciation of a man’s deepest
automotive needs. The bride Jayalakshmi promptly decided
that her love for the idea of having a big Indian wedding
was greater than her love for any particular individual, so
she grabbed one of the male guests and hustled him into
position. No doubt he found something suitably romantic to
say, such as “Help, help.”
At the time of that wedding, I commented that it
was a very Asian incident. But readers sent me a case of
something similar happening in the West. Alison Innes, 20,
of Scotland, was ditched by her caddish boyfriend shortly
before her wedding. But the whole thing went ahead, with
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Playtimes
a friend marrying her in place of the original groom.
After researching the details, I realised there was a key
difference: Ms Innes was eight months pregnant. In Asia,
her ballooning condition would have prevented alternative
husbands springing from the audience to romantically
proclaim: “I suppose I’ll have her if no one else wants
her.” Westerners are significantly more relaxed about such
things. Indeed, Ms Innes told reporters that she was not
sure whether the father of her child was her original fiancé
or the wedding guest she was actually marrying. She added
(this is not a joke): “Or it might be his brother.”
In contrast, Asia’s morality differs from Western
morality in several ways, such as, for instance, it exists.
But it exists in a state not unlike Western morality 100
years ago. For example, a court in New Delhi jailed a
You are an evil, immoral brute
of the worst order. Marry my
daughter this instant.
man named Karan Singh for three and a half years for
molesting his neighbour’s daughter, according to a piece I
read in The Times of India. But the villain agreed to marry
his victim, so the courts let him out of jail and wiped the
slate clean. Yes, it’s the classic “shotgun wedding,” concept,
in which a stern father would point a firearm at a man and
say: “You are an evil, immoral brute of the worst order.
Marry my daughter this instant.”
In Asia, including Hong Kong, I think I can safely say
that the majority of pregnant mothers know the identity of
the child’s father. This is despite the fact that in parts of the
region, mums have a host of other pressing things to worry
about. If you want to know what I mean, just try giving
birth in a tree.
Nury Vittachi writes a regular humour column at
www.mrjam.org.