Kids in KL: Petrosains Science Center

One of the greatest kids activities in Kuala Lumpur has to be the Petrosains Discovery Centre. Now one thing to keep in mind, as if it is not obviously noticeable by the first few exhibits, the center is run by the Malaysian oil company Petronas and is largely “oil” friendly. Many of the exhibits feature sciences that are petrochemical in nature, but ignoring the elephant in the room there are lots of fun activities for kids. Compare this with the Singapore Science Center.

Some of the highlights are the Dark Ride, when you first enter the center it is by way of a chair ride through a dark introduction. I am not quite sure why the kids thought it was so cool, but they did. Similar to the Singapore Science Center there are multiple exhibits and galleries with different themes. Again ignoring the bias towards the oil industry, there were exhibits on Geology, Space (a huge cool factor was the Mission Control and Space Center microphones and cameras where the kids could stand on opposite ends of the room and talk to each other) and of course the "speed" Gallery.

Another fun little exhibit was the Earthquake chair. The chair lets you experience what a low, medium and large earthquake would feel like. Frankly, the difference between level two and three was not as great as expected, but it could be they don’t want kids flying off the chair too!



Another fun exhibit was the "Ride the Hurricane". You step into a phone-booth type structure and when you close the doors the wind starts to increase and eventually simulated winds of over 100 Kilometers Per Hour. (see the Beaufort scale here). Okay, so I have a confession here. I can ride the craziest rides. Rollercoasters are nothing, but I didn't like the feeling of being in the winds, I felt I could not catch my breath. The kids (as you can see) loved it and we had to drag them out so others could take their turn!



But, the high point for the kids has to be the helicopter ride to the oil rig. There are two helicopter simulators set up that “fly” people over to an offshore oil rig (a great chance to tell kids about the devastation of the Gulf Oil spill). The oil platform is a miniature version of the real thing, pumps and levers, drills and pilings, even a crew quarters to see what life on a platform is like. Frankly, in some ways the pumps, gears, and tools are far more interesting to kids than the process of extracting oil so much of the pro-oil rhetoric was lost, at least on my kids.




The rest of the center is filled with standard science center stuff, but frankly it is pretty good. Overall the exhibits seem to be in good repair and the staff is friendly. The kids love it and they learn a bit each time they are there, so it is a win on all counts!

Travel Quote: Pico Iyer

Breakfast at the Westin Hotel residence in Kuala Lumpur while planning a day at Cosmo's World Amusement Park in Berjaya Times Square.

















So, as I sit at the Plant today meeting with co-workers slogging over files and drafting contracts, the Vagabond Kids and Vagabond Dad are off exploring the city of Kuala Lumpur. First stop was Beryl's Chocolates and much different from other reports, there is not a factory tour, simply a shop selling chocolates. So, quick review is probably give it a miss. The kids are next heading off to Cosmo's World at Berjaya Times Square, a review will follow soon.



But it is Wednesday and time for a quote. I am still finishing the Paul Theroux book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar but at this point in the book he is meeting with Pico Iyer in Japan.


So, today's quote comes from Pico Iyer, one of my favorite travel writers.

Yet for me the first great joy of traveling is simply the luxury of leaving all my beliefs and certainties at home, and seeing everything I thought I knew in a different light, and from a crooked angle. In that regard, even a Kentucky
Fried Chicken outlet (in Beijing) or a scratchy revival showing of "Wild
Orchids" (on the Champs-Elysees) can be both novelty and revelation: In China,
after all, people will pay a whole week's wages to eat with Colonel Sanders, and
in Paris, Mickey Rourke is regarded as the greatest actor since Jerry
Lewis.

From the Article on Salon.com "Why we travel" by Pico Iyer.


True-so-true. So, a parting shot for you today of the Petronas Towers. Back with more soon!

Oregon With Kids: Timberline Lodge

I love Timberline lodge, it brings back such great memories from my childhood. Mostly memories about what it must have been like to go skiing (we didn't start skiing until I was in highschool) and how cool it was that Mt. Hood had a big St. Bernard. Well, Heidi the dog has been replaced by a Bruno, and while we didn't get to see him, the lodge is still a great place to take the kids for a bit of fun as well as a history lesson. Timberline was inducted as a National Historic Monument in 1978. Timberline is a ski resort (one of the only in the US with year around skiing) a museum, a hotel and a work of art. It is also just fun to go see snow if your kids live in the tropics like mine!




Timberline lodge was a great ambitious public works project that was launched during the depression. I love the fact that the whole lodge was crafted by hand, with artisans creating a structure that would stand over time and act as a symbol of what can be done. Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the lodge in 1938 and stated the following

"This Timberline Lodge marks a venture that was made possible by W.P.A., emergency relief work, in order that we may test the workability of recreational facilities installed by the Government itself and operated under its complete control.

Here, to Mount Hood, will come thousands and thousands of visitors in the coming years. Looking east toward eastern Oregon with its great livestock raising areas, these visitors are going to visualize the relationship between the cattle ranches and the summer ranges in the forests. Looking westward and northward toward Portland and the Columbia River, with their great lumber and other wood using industries, they will understand the part which National Forest timber will play in the support of this important element of northwestern prosperity.

Those who will follow us to Timberline Lodge on their holidays and vacations will represent the enjoyment of new opportunities for play in every season of the year. I mention specially every season of the year because we, as a nation, I think, are coming to realize that the summer is not the only time for play. I look forward to the day when many, many people from this region of the Nation are going to come here for skiing and tobogganing and various other forms of winter sports."

One of my dreams is to be able to teach my children about the places they travel. Mt Hood's Timberline lodge is no exception. What a great opportunity to teach the older kids about the history of the depression, the WPA and what craftsman style design can be (check out some of the old pictures here).

The food in the Blue Ox bar was great, simple and inexpensive, but while kids are allowed into the bar to eat, OLCC (Oregon Liqour laws) require kids to sit at tables rather than the very cool bar. The mosaic work in the Blue Ox was amazing btw.







After Lunch we took the kids up to the chairlifts and were able to take the lift about half way up. Skiers and snowborders were heading further up the mountain, but hikers and people like us were able to head up about half way up the mountain, get off and walk around. If you were able, and not exhausted like our kids were, you can walk back down the hill to the Lodge in about 20-30 minutes.

After our snowplay we loaded back up and went to Hood River for some fresh fruit and a stop at Multnomah Falls. Come back for more!

For more information about the history of Timberline you can check out the Friends of Timberline website

Mountains and Valleys: Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Hood River

As I prepare for our trip home this summer, I found part of a post from a travel blog I tried to start back in 2008, filling out some details makes me hope we can do it again this year!

Mt.Hood

I love going back to those places I visited as a child. I have such memories of driving down the Columbia River Gorge and seeing Mt. Adams. Mt. Adams was such a different view from our favorite Oregon mountain, Mt. Hood. Adams, well she is pretty, round and young. Hood always seemed a bit craggier, a bit wizened perhaps, but less, well, matronly.

When I was a young adult, probably right after college, I loved to drive the Hood River loop, starting up and over Mt. Hood, down through the orchards of Hood River and home back again through the majestic Columbia River Gorge. Vagabond Dad grow up in the Gorge, my grandparents were from "Eastern Oregon" so the Hwy 84 drive was not foreign to either of us... but it was quite a trip for the kids

This is a great day trip for kids, a full day yes, but one filled with fast luge rides, snow ball fights, historic buildings and fresh picked fruit, ending the day at Multnomah Falls.

We started from Vancouver Washington, and took the full day and drove to "Multipor" Skibowl and took a fun filled luge ride down the hill. Little did I know it is not known as Multipor anymore, they are simply known as Ski Bowl, but I am showing my age here....In order to ride the Alpine Slide solo the children must meet minimum height restrictions. I think the level was about 45 inches, but I could not find an actual measurement. My son was tall enough, but we still chose to double up. To get to the top, you ride a chair lift to the mid level where you get off and zoom back to the bottom. (You can also ride to the top (a common mountain bike area) and bike the trails around the top of the mountain. The Alpine slide opens between 10 and 11 each morning.

After a fun morning on the luge, we stopped at Historic Timberline Lodge for lunch and snow. The kids, being proper Singaporeans now, really have only seen snow in a faux snow atmosphere. So getting up on the mountain seeing the real thing was a bit of a shock. We ate lunch at one of the pubs at the lodge-Corn Soup- Oregon Pinot Noir-Historic surroundings=Bliss for the Vagabond Mom and Dad.

Mt. Adams

We then packed up in the car and drove the full loop, down Highway 26, passing through Hood River Valley and Hood River proper. We stopped at a farmers market and picked up a bunch of fresh cherries and some dried fruit. The view of the mountains was so spectacular, it made me think I never want to leave. Of course Hood River Valley is amazing in summer, it is just the other 9 months of the year that stink.

A drive down the Columbia River Gorge, stopping at the Multnomah Falls. Again, another memory from the Vagabond Parent's childhoods, but one the kids had yet to experience. There is not much to say about the Falls that hasn't already been said, by those much more prose filled than I, but an jaw dropping sight to see. Finishing with the 45 minute drive back to Vancouver Washington for an overnight stay with Grandma rounded out the day. It was long the last few miles filled with cries of "are we there yet" but it was beautiful and everything that Summer in Oregon should be.

Kids in Singapore: A Day at the Zoo

I love living in Singapore, it really is one of the greatest cities in the world. One of its best features is not unsung, but it deserves all of the credits it gets. Yes, the Singapore Zoo is high on my Top 10 things to do in Singapore list. Even better if you have kids.




Four Cousins at the Zoo













Open every day, from 9-6 the Singapore Zoo has to be one of the best zoo's in the whole world; free and open animal exhibits,creative use of space, ability to feed certain animals, interactive guides through out and oh yeah a totally kickin' water park on the back side. (If you still have strength you should check out the night safari!)








The water park

















Our strategy for the zoo is to get there early. Particularly on weekends… here’s a little secret about many Singaporean's; they sleep in on weekends. So, if you get to the Zoo around 9am you should find yourselves with the animals not crowds of people. Besides, by 2pm in the afternoon, it gets pretty darn hot even with the well designed zoo. So we try to get a big part of the zoo done early in the morning and hit the water park at the back side of the zoo in the afternoon to cool off.










White Tiger Exhibit























One of the great things about the zoo, other than the Polar Bear Exhibit (a long story), is most of the animals are native to SE Asia. The zoo has exhibits featuring the White Tiger which are totally amazing to see these creatures this close. The exhibit is also interactive with information about the Asian Tiger, its diminishing habitat and information on the white tiger (did you know that all white tigers are cousins to each other as they all have the same ancestor?). The zoo also has the Malaysian Tapir, a huge Orangutan exhibit, SE Asian Otters, Asian Elephants, Komodo Dragons, Proboscis Monkeys, Hornbills… in addition to the standard Lions, Zebras, Rhinos and the like.
















Feeding the tortoise










The kids love feeding time, in some places it is a talk by a keeper and in others for a small fee you can feed the animals. Some of the more popular animal talks/feedings are the pygmy hippos, the giraffes and rhinos, but we love the giant tortoise. Less crowded for Singapore $5 (about US$3.50) you get a bowl of fresh fruit and you get to walk around and interact with the tortoises while you feed them. My sister and her family visited us last summer and this was a highlight of the zoo for them.



















The whole zoo is a great place to hang out, you can have breakfast with the Orangutan, see a few shows, play in the water and head over to the night safari for dinner and a whole new zoo experience. I am torn between this or Sentosa being my number 1 for things to do in Singapore with the kids. What do you think?


Here are a few more fun pics from the zoo... click on them to see a larger size

From Vagabond Kids

From Vagabond Kids

From Vagabond Kids

From Vagabond Kids

Singapore with Kids: Kampong Glam-

We are really lucky to live in Singapore. Yes Singapore can be very regulated, very controlled, very well um, very ....
Singabore. But what we miss in terms of the rock and roll lifestyle has been replaced by all of the very awesome places and things that Singapore offers families.




Kampong Glam







First, Singapore is safe and clean. Second,it is a major world class city with all of the arts/entertainment and infrastructure that surrounds it. Third and the point of this post, is that it is a cultural milieu that allows us as a family to travel around parts of the world without even leaving this 255 square mile island (which by the way is only 26 miles wide thank you very much!) Many of our long time expat friends call Singapore Asia light or Asia 101. There is so much cultural opportunities for children to explore and experience all within a 20 minute car ride from our house.




Today, let me tell you all about one of my favorite parts of town- Kampong Glam



Haji Lane























Back in the "day" of Raffles and his successors, Singapore was divided into specific sections of different cultural groups. There was a Muslim part of town, which at the time was home to the Arab traders and Malay natives. This part of town, known now as Kampong Glam is a great little corner getaway in Singapore. During the day time, Arab street is filled with Persian Carpet (and lots of Indian carpets) shops, fabric and lace trims and a real working district. One street over is Singapore's narrowest lane, Haji Lane which today is home to an eclectic mix of retro shops, up and coming new fashion designers, in fact it was featured in Time Magazine's list of 10 things to do in Singapore.


The cultural landmark in Kampong Glam is the Sultan Mosque. It was built in 1928 (at least this one, earlier ones were replaced with this bigger better version. Families can tour the mosque during most days (Fridays are the day of prayer and tourists are not allowed in). Men must wear long pants or at least those below the knee. Women are also asked to wear long skirts or pants that cover the knee, but free robes are available to borrow if you forgot or can't be bothered to bring long pants.




Sultan Mosque


















The mosque has English guides that explain the history of the mosque and just down the street in one of the neighboring shops is an Islamic bookstore carrying books written in English explaining the Islamic faith if you are interested in learning more about the worlds second largest religion.


As you continue to wander down the streets, there are perfume shops that can make any scent you like, using essential oils (this is due to the fact that strict adherents of the Islamic faith will not wear commercially made perfume as it contains alcohol). You can also find shops that sell custom made beaded slippers (Peranakan Style) a post in its own right for the future, and great little cafes where a simple meal of rice and mutton can be had for a few dollars. Many of the food stalls in this area are Muslim food so no beer or wine can be found... but at night...a funky scene pops up with Sheesha shops selling flavored tobacco smoked through a water pipe (Sheesha) with snacks and some sell beer. It is mostly a young persons crowd at night, but for adventure seeking families an evening stroll is a great cultural lesson about middle eastern style night life.

Kampong Glam also is home to the Malay Heritage Center, in the former Sultan of Singapore's final "palace" Istana Kampong Gelam and its grounds. There is really a whole post about the history of the Istana I think I will save that for next week! Let me say you could easily spend an hour or two with the family learning about one of the most fascinating Asian cultures.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @vagbondkids for real time updates of where we are traveling or become a fan on Facebook

Singapore's Changi Airport:Terminal Three-

Originally posted July 2008. Edited for new content below

In terms of being spoilt, Singapore's airport does it. Forget all of the bad airport experiences you have had, there is hardly a grumpy soul, a surley gate agent or intimidating immigration officer to be found. For the kids and adults, it is hard to find a more efficient and friendly airport. In fact, the airport, when coupled with the fact we like to fly Singapore Airlines when we can (which has a generous baggage allowance, in seat entertainment on all flights, and some of the nicest attendants in the air) makes the start (or end) of your travel so plesant you almost forget the pain you will/have suffered doing a cross pacific flight.


Anyway, back to the airport. On our recent trip we flew out of Terminal 3, Singapore's newest and fanciest terminal. Check in was a breeze as we checked in online the day before we flew. We went straight to the "Internet Check In" counter and picked up our boarding passes, dropped of the bags and went to have lunch. Check in was less than 10 minutes total. While we arrived more than 2 hours before our flight, as Jeff wanted to eat at the tappenyaki restaurant located on the second floor, I have seldom seen a long line in Terminal 3. That being said, total check in time, even on busy days in Terminal 3 using the internet check in option has never been more than around 20 minutes for me. Compare that to your airport, I dare you to beat that time!

After we dropped the bags we went upstairs to Sakae Tappenyaki on the second floor. The kids shared a fried noodles and Jeff and I both had a lunch set. For "airport" food, it was quite good and the prices weren't too bad. A dinner set should run you about 15 Singapore dollars per person and includes 4-5 items in the set. . The great thing about Tappenyaki restaurants (Think Benihana in the US) is that the chef cooks the food right in front of you, offering a bit of entertainment along with your meal. Now, the Tappenyaki restaurants in Singapore (and elsewhere in Asia) don't offer quite the show that the US version does, it still is enough to entertain the kids while they wait for food. Oh, and Sakae gives a 10% discount if you use American Express!

Seriously one of the favorite things the kids do at the airport is to right the "luggage trains"... perhaps not the safest way of entertaining the kids, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

We cleared immigration and let the kids run around the playground in the airport for an hour or so, clearly we figured that we needed to tuker the kids out... it worked pretty well I have to say. Our flight to the US pretty smooth sleep wise....but that is a post for another day!

A few things to note about terminal three: If you are a Star Alliance Gold Member, the lounge is one of the better ones. The food is decent and the open air balcony is nice. In fact, there has been more than once I have seen the A380 parked at the gate next to the lounge. The Silver Kris, business class lounge is by far the best I have been in, not that I go there often! If you are not able to get into the lounge, fear not... the terminal has everything from drug stores to a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in the transit area. They also have a brewpub! Brewerkz, Singapore's first brewpub has opened a branch at the airport and the beer and burgers are great.
(edited to note that the Brewerkz outlet has closed in Terminal 3)
I guess my only complaint about terminal three, if you can call it one, is the fact that a few of the gates are quite a long walk from the center of the terminal. While
they do have travelators, the long walk can tire out some small legs. really, quite nit picky if you ask me in terms of things to complain about.

The kids were more than excited and ready to get on the plane. We flew one of the last direct flights from Singapore to LA in Economy, the flight is being converted to Business and First Class only. The flight while long was not that bad and we hit the ground in LA ready to hit Disneyland!

Air Travel with Kids: 16 Hours The Long Haul with kids

Note, I am pulling some of my better posts from an old blog I started about travel with kids and adding them here. This post was written in July 2008 but still holds true today.

So, as we prepare for a 16 hour non-stop flight with our kids I thought I would draft out a few tips that we find helpful for keeping a 5 and 6 year old entertained on the flight.

1. Portable DVD players are a god send. These are a must if you don't have the ability to have your own in seat movies.

2. If possible fly airlines that have in seat entertainment. Singapore Airlines has this on all flights, I can confirm that Northwest also has it on its PDX to Tokyo flights (and according to Seat Guru all of the Airbus planes that NW flys have personal TVs).

3. Order the kids meals early. Often if you order the kids meals the staff will prepare goodie bags to give the kids on the flight. Sometimes they will even let the kids talk to the pilot. Rare now days, but it still happens!

4. Check in via internet, skip the long lines at the airport and go directly to a cafe/snack location and let the kids have a snack and burn off some energy.

5. Give the kids there own carry-on roller bags. Let them take books, colors and small toys to play with on the flight.

6. Just be prepared for a long flight. No matter what you do, it is not easy, but it is possible. Entertain the kids with stories of where we are going and what we are going to do when we get there.

7. Pack gum or other things to help get ears to pop. My daughter has allergies and is often stuffed up. This causes her lots of pain when we fly, but gum helps. If you can't get gum (like us because we live in Singapore) chewy candy like gummy bears will work too. Talking your kid through the process of popping their ears is touch and go, but with kids a bit older (like Kiera is now) it works too.

A few trips re cross pacific flights (heading east). Try to get the kids to sleep in order to be on the same schedule as they will be in the US. For this trip, we will arrive in LA in the evening. We leave at 4pm. We have already told the kids that we should get on the plane, eat dinner and go to sleep. I will have my blackberry with me and will let the kids sleep for about 7 hours. (we have 16 hours in air). I am then going to try to wake them, give them a snack, Singapore Airline is good about giving snacks on demand on international flights, even in coach. The goal will be to get to LA, get our rental car, check into the hotel and head for dinner at Downtown Disney before trying to hit the sack around 9:30pm. I will let you know if the plan works.

Anaheim California Trip Plans and Review

Repost from July 2008

One of the most important things about traveling with kids is being able to adjust and go with the flow. I know I struggle with this, I have certain expectations and things that I want to do, but I think Jeff has even more trouble with it. What we learned on this trip is while planning is great, and frankly made our trip more do-able, you need to be able to adjust when necessary.

I like to be a seat of the pants traveler, to go where the winds blow and be able to move around when I want. I have learned, from the school of hard knocks, that doesn’t work when you have kids. Without certain plans in place kids get grumpy, they don’t deal well with transitions and while I may be able to run an extra hour without dinner, the kids are much more difficult to keep going. My Spouse on the other hand does a fair amount of logistics planning, but forgets to plan for the little things. So before we left Singapore (in fact months before because we knew it was peak season) we booked our hotel. We were able to book through Hotel Travel.com and got a fair rate on a hotel right across the street from Disneyland. Jeff also was able to book our car from Alamo, on line. From that perspective we were set.

I set our schedule, in terms of who we would meet and when, where we would go and who we would stay with while we were in Oregon. This is crucial as managing greater family obligations is probably harder than your own direct family expectations. But the best planning and expectation management we did was to use the advice from The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland and that was….” Plan your day in the park before you get there!” While we didn’t follow the touring plans offered in the book… we did plan our day (see my upcoming post on Disneyland in a day).

So, when we got to LA, things went rather smoothly, all things considered, we didn’t sleep well on the plane, but the kids did. I am sure that without advance planning on our part, even as to our estimated dinner plans, we would have been a mess. When we landed, we got our rental car and drove to the hotel. Originally we had hoped to be at the Hotel by 7 and be able to walk over to Downtown Disney for dinner, but again, adjustment was the key. Things took longer at the rental car place and we were all super tired, so before stopping at the hotel we decided Pizza at the California Pizza kitchen just down the street from the hotel was our choice for dinner. Well, frankly, I knew the food wasn’t the best in the world, but I didn’t expect the huge line. I knew Bubba Gump’s next door would be packed and we wanted to grab something and head back to the hotel and other options were too fancy or required us eating at the restaurant. So, we thought Pizza was the answer.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. The pizza, billed as gourmet, was too expensive, the types of pizza were not young kid friendly (and our kids are great eaters) and the wait was pretty long, even for take out. Note to self: Next time, just head to the hotel and call for Domino’s. The price will be better and the food can’t be worse.

Eating a late dinner after a 16 hour direct flight and the stress involved of getting and renting cars, facing rush hour traffic and having two tired kids tends to make adults crazy and cranky as well, but all told, tempers were kept in check and after a brief mumble or two, a few slices of crappy pizza we showered and got into bed. Sleeping was easy, it was the 3am wake up that was hard. Declan woke up at 3 and fussed and fidgeted. All of us sharing one room meant that we all woke up as well. After about an hour the kids went back to sleep, but I don’t think Jeff or I did. This made our planned wake up call at 6:30 a no-go, but I let everyone rest/sleep until 7. We got up, got dressed and went to breakfast in the hotel. We were eating by 7:15 and out the door on our way to the park to get our tickets before 8am. A few notes of advice, either try to get your tickets early or get them at the hotel if possible, many hotels offer this service and it saves you lots of time and is one less line to wait in. All and all, having made plans and being willing to adjust our schedule

So, more about the day at Disney later, but as always a picture.
Notes and recommendations:

Hotel: Anaheim Plaza Hotel- 1700 Harbor Blvd.
Price- Inexpensive (we were able to book online for 115 a night)
Room 2 stars
Service 3.5 stars
Breakfast 3.5

My Notes: It was ranked 2 stars in the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, and frankly I would have given it a bump simply because the service was pretty good. The hotel caters to big tour buses but the staff was all friendly and gave Park information as soon as you check in. While I think if given a chance we would have stayed somewhere nicer, for the price and location it was a good deal. Plus, the kids loved the breakfast buffet (which actually wasn’t bad… I have had much worse in Asia) and the hot chocolate had whip cream on top!

Rental Car: Alamo- 3.5 stars
I have rented multiple times from National (right upstairs from Alamo) and found the check in at National to be much easier. We stood in line for a long while, only to find out we could have used the computer kiosk. The plus though was the huge play structure in the Almo section which kept the kids happy.

The Whos, Whats, Whys And Wherefores

Another blog. Like I don't have enough already? I can hardly keep up with the blogs I have. But, I am in the process of re-thinking my life. Rethinking those things that matter to me. What matters is not my job. What matters is not the the trappings of modern life (see my Simple Living Blog). What matters is the life I live with my family and the experiences we share. One of the greatest joys in my life is travel. I love that my kids Declan and Kiera (Declan is 8.5 and Kiera is almost 7) were born in Taiwan and have been around Asia. I love the fact that there is a whole world for us yet to see.

In some ways blogs are like scrapbooks, they allow us to remember things about our trips and allow us to share these memories with others. This is the techie version of our world travel scrapbook. I will also do my low-fi version, you know the old fashion scrapbook. You can see those scrapbook pages here(using Far Flung Craft papers). If I can, I will get Jeff to start posting on the food blog, but hey, there are only so many hours in the day and I don't want to spend all my time online you know ;-)

So thanks for joining us on our Journey!