Images of Mutianyu: Great Wall of China

While I recover from wrist surgery which makes typing difficult... here is a short slide show of Mutianyu. Next time, pictures of the home I stayed in, which would be a lovely home for a family visit to the Great Wall (and it is available for overnight stays and is perfect for large groups.) More soon!

Traveling to UNESCO sites with Kids

Did you know there are currently over 900 UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world? I also found out that there are over 200 in Asia Pacific. So, wouldn't it be cool to set a goal to see all of them? At least those in your area?

I am always pleased to see when a World Heritage site gets recognized for UNESCO heritage status. It doesn't mean all of the destruction will stop or that the site will be preserved in perpetuity. What it does mean though is that people at least are thinking about preserving the sites that have significant heritage connections to that area. I pulled a list off of the UNESCO site and updated here on the blog in order to keep track of those sites that the kids have visited. While we are not always on the road, one the key reasons we take the kids traveling is that we want them to learn about the World. The UNESCO sites are a great way introduce history in a real life setting for them. Next stop will be the temples and city of Angkor in Cambodia this holiday season.



Vagabond Dad and "Grandpa" Wayne visit the Angkor site in 2007

So, as I continue to update the list and add sites we have seen, here are some of the sites we have seen. Where do you want to go?

Kids in Penang: Two Days in Downtown Georgetown

So, we really spent 4 days in Penang, but the two days were spent just lounging at the beach, so the itinerary I am suggesting could be adjusted for more or less time pool side as you see fit! And sometimes you just got to have some pool time!

Our first two days were spent in downtown Georgetown. While it is only a 20 minute ride from the beach to the town, without traffic, if you want to explore the UNESCO listed streets staying downtown is your better bet. We stayed at the Northam as it was next door to my office. While not really kid friendly it was not bad. The advantage was the rooms were huge and we were able to get two adjoining suites.

The first day, while I worked, was really all about the food. We ate lunch at one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of local food stalls. Lead by our stomachs and the local guides we found ourselves eating noodles, all handmade and finishing our lunch with a bit of famous "Penang Road Famous Cendol".



Kiera was not too fond of the Chendol shaved ice topped with Gula Malaca(palm sugar) with pandan leaf jelly bits in coconut milk so she ended up with an "ice ball" instead.




After lunch the kids went back to the hotel and walked up and down Gurney Drive and Northam Drive to view the huge condos being built and see some of the remaining mansions that used to line the streets.


Dinner, was back into the UNESCO district to the Red Garden Food Centre, next door to the famous Blue Mansion (The Cheong Fatt Tze Home)which has been turned into a hotel. The Red Garden food centre is great, with cheap food and it is off the street and enclosed for the kids to run around while eating Satay, Chicken Rice and Sausages. The Cheong Fatt Tze home is open only to guests of the hotel or for private tours at 11am or 3pm, so book those tours in advance and then you can wander through the streets for a while before an early dinner at the Red Garden.





The second day we took off early for the Esplanade. The key, from the kids point of view is Fort Cornwallis with its original cannons and plenty of places to explore. As you walk out the kids were able to play on a playground and then after a short walk (about 5 minutes) we found ourselves at the Penang Peranakan Mansion Museum. Another home that underwent extensive renovations (about US$1 Million, plus another Million plus or minus to fill with period antiques.)



The house is open to the public for a small fee and also holds free guided tours with the price of admission. The home is a fascinating look into the life of a wealth Peranakan family. Peranakans are the cultural mix of Chinese and Malay and you can learn more here.

Round of the day with lunch, again at another local food stall and it was time to head back to the pool.

Downtown Georgetown is a fascinating spot for kids and adults alike. While it does tend to lend itself better to kids a bit older there are enough things to see to keep younger kids entertained as well. Frankly, two days in Georgetown doesn't begin to scratch the surface, but again traveling with kids means that adjustments need to be made and beaches and pools are great diversions. While the Vagabond Parents could have spent another day or two exploring Georgetown, it was time to move to the beach. More on the beach coming tomorrow!


For More info:

Northam Hotel- 55, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah George Town, Penang, Malaysia

Penang Road Famous Chendol (Cendol) Lebuh Keng Kwee off Penang Road

Red Garden 20 Leith Street

Cheong Fatt Mansion 14 Leith Street Guided tours at 11am and 3pm daily.

Penang Peranakan Mansion: 29, Church Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia. Hours Monday to Sunday including Public Holidays from 9:30 am to 5 pm

Monday Dreaming: Photo's From Penang

While I sit here dreaming a life even more traveled than the one I have now. One that involves good things and family, and while enjoying the thought of dreams that were started by new friends, I am very grateful to have had 3 days in Penang with my kids and my husband. A bit of time to recharge at the beach, drink a few glasses of wine at a beach hut, get a much needed massage and hang at the pool and slip and slide down some wicked pool slides. While I dig back into work today, and unfortunatly out of my dreams here are some more shots from Penang to keep you all entertained!



The slide at Park Royal Hotel


Kiera's tearing it up!


Splashdown



And my view from the coffee shop



For more Monday Dreams, visit Mother of All Trips Monday's are for Dreaming

Kids in Penang: Kopitiam Lunch

It's Photo Friday over at Delicious Baby, and today's shots are all about Penang Malaysia and eating a simple lunch with the kids. Penang is famous for its food and it is hard to find a more food obsessed group of people in Asia. Sure Singapore has its foodies, Malacca has its niche, Hong Kong citizens love the Dim Sum. But Penang, it is just part of life and each and every street corner has food waiting to be discovered and eaten. No matter what the kids want, if this shop doesn't have it, just cross the street.

Waiting for the food is the hardest part!

Strawberry Juice Blended!

A huge shout out to the amazing photography and mouth watering writing over at Eating Asia that turned me onto the love of Penang Food. Also some props to our new friends at Our Travel Lifestyle for dinner with them and their two fun kids!

Vagabond Kids' First Published Article: The Next Great Place in Indo

Here it is, Jeff's first article for Expat Living

Open publication - Free publishing - More yogyakarta

Photo of the Day A Famosa- Malacca

Malacca Malaysia

Photo of the Day- Angkor Wat

Angor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Traveling with kids in Yogjarkarta

Our latest trip was a two hour flight from Singapore on Air Asia to the city of Yogjarkarta (aka Jogjakarta) Indonesia. For short those in the know call it Jogja.


Pool at the Sheraton



We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel and loved it. The room was pretty spacious (big enough for a roll away bed) had a nice little deck overlooking the pool and the pool itself was frankly amazing.





The trips to the temples themselves are going to be posts for a later time, but they are amazing works of art. UNESCO has listed them both as world heritage sites and while they are fascinating for adults, I was a bit worried that the kids would be board. In order to try to offset this potential, we got the kids cameras. Probably the best move yet. For about 99 Sing dollars each we outfitted the kids with 9 megapixel Fuji point and shoot cameras. Let me just say that the cameras were used to the full extent of the trip.












Making of Indonesian Shadow Puppets in the Kraton












Highlights of the kids trip included a tour of the Kraton. The kids and Jeff were able to tour portions of the Sultan's home and the surrounding Kampong village. The also were able to visit the bird market and view all of the odd and unusual creatures. The kids also road on one of the horse drawn carriages around the city for a 15 minute tour to nowhere. The kids both say this was a total blast!




Bird Market












Another highlight of the trip was probably the discovery of Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken) Jogja style. We ate at a few places, but the Suharti was the best. The staff's English skills were a bit lacking, but the menu had English and we mostly got what we ordered, which was the Fried Chicken and two bowls of chicken soup. We didn't get the veggies, but hey who needs that anyway? The link above was from one of my all time favorite food writers in Asia. Robin Eckhardt from Eating Asia. I have yet to have a bad meal if Eating Asia reviewed it! Our kids also found the Sasanti Restaurant to have amazing food, great decor, wonderful staff and even appreciation for a certain little girl who turned 7 that day. All and all we would definitely hit both places again.

The city was fun, easy to get around, inexpensive and close to Singapore. When you combine that with tasty food, cheap beer and places to tour again and again, I am sure we will be back again.

Planning for Yogyakarta

The pool at the Sheraton Mustika Image from Trip Advisor

In a week or so we will be on Spring Break for the American School in Singapore. While staying at home in Singapore is certainly an option, it also seems silly not to take advantage of the ability to travel. By the time you add up the costs of traveling around Singapore, admission fees to Gogobambini, the Zoo, Wild Wild Wet, Sentosa and all the other "I'm bored" activities we fall back on in Singapore we may as well go abroad. This time we are off to Yogyakarta.

Yogya (or Jogja) is on the island of Java is about a 2 hour flight from Singapore and we are flying on AirAsia. The total ticket price for a family of 4 is Singapore$426. This includes one check in bag and a "travel amenities kit" for each of the kids. The kits (which the kids fell in love with on the last Air Asia flight but were unable to get) have a travel blanket, pillow and eye cover. At S$12.00 it is probably the only souvenir the kids will get this trip other than photos.

Image from Wikipedia

Stupa at Borobudur

We are also taking advantage of our Starwood Points and will be staying at the Sherton Mustika. Combining points and cash, the stay is only US$25.00 per night (not including tax/service fees and F&B). After finally getting to see the movie Up in the Air last weekend I am one of those that don't collect my points and miles for the sake of collection. I try to use them! This is a perfect example of making good use of my award points. I do wish that Air Asia would start a mileage program, but I suppose that goes against the principle of a Budget Airline.

Kraton Complex (Sultan's Square) Image from Jakartaexpats.com
In any event I am cruising the next, checking out websites like Virtual Tourist and Lonely Planet for tips on the area. We plan on spending one day at Borobudur, the kids are primed with new cameras and over the weekend I am going to be taking them through some of the history of the site. One day we plan on hitting the Malioboro shopping area and a morning at the Kraton (Sri Sultan's Palace) one day. Other than that, we have two kids who are happy to hang at the pool and what a nice pool it appears to be. Can't wait, I feel like a kid myself planning this jaunt!

Maritime Museum in Malacca

Originally posted October 2008

I really like Malacca, it is a fun city with great food and the history is enough to keep me coming back for more. It is funny, but the more I travel, the more fascinated I am by the history of the place.

We have not been back to Malacca since this post, but plan another trip in the near future. It is only a 3 hour bus ride from Singapore in an airconditioned coach.








This time we stayed at the Hotel Equitorial. We did a "free and easy" package with a travel agent here in Singapore which means you book your hotel and transport through the agent and often can get better deals than if you booked by yourself. The total cost of the package was around Sing $150.00/person which included bus fare, 2 hotel rooms for 3 nights.

The best part about the hotel is its proximity to St. Pauls, the Stadhyus and Declan's favorite Museum, The Maritime Museum.















The Maritime Museum is housed in a replica of a 18th century Portuguese ship which was sunk off the shore of Malacca. The Museum shows the history of Malacca and its importance as a Maritime center dating back to the 14th century through the British occupation. While the museum was okay, it was frankly better for an 8-10 year old I would venture, but the fact that it was in a big giant ship was enough for Declan (and Kiera found it pretty cool too!)

Hours: Daily (closed Tuesday) 9-6
Entry fee a very inexpensive RM2 for adults and .50 for kids

Malacca Slide Show

Originally Posted November 2008
I have been playing with Picasa 3. And I am newly in love with the movie maker function. What a fun way to sort through 400 pictures, find the best ones and make a short video. I offer now for you the first of what I hope to be many mini-slide shows from the places I travel!


Malacca