I recently took my almost-5-year-old on a 4.5-hour flight by myself. Now, don’t jump to conclusions. I’m not about to go on a rant about how hard it was to keep a rowdy kid entertained in those tiny economy class seats. I’m an over-planner, and we actually had the best time traveling together – it was like one of our mother-daughter dinner dates but with tiny seats and crappy food.

We spent our entire time playing games and chatting; not a single digital device was pulled out. This is what I prepared, what we did to entertain ourselves and where you can buy the gadgets online.

“Don’t Look”

I’m sure there’s an actual name for this game, but we’ve come to call it Don’t Look, and it’s my daughter’s favorite game at home and on the road. It’s basically where you come up with a topic and you both draw it without looking at each other’s work. All you need for the travel version are two small blank notebooks and a baggie of markers.

We start with a topic (Draw) and give a few requirements (Rules). I always write this down so she feels like it’s really official. A quick “1,2,3 Go!” and we’re off. When we’re both done, we do a quick “1,2,3 Flip!” and we each share what we drew. It’s really interesting seeing how two people can come up with completely different drawings for the same exact topic.

Magnet Tiles

These things are awesome, and they’re one of those things that can keep my kid busy for hours. But they’re huge and not something you can really bring with you on a trip. However, Taobao must have read my mind because it pushed a travel-size magnet tile set to my homepage.

This miniature kit comes in a tin box that’s perfect for car rides and plane rides, where they’re bound to move and shake.

Sticker Books

My kid loves sticker books and can spend hours on end playing with them. We’ve gone through so many brands of sticker books. From the ones that are not sticky enough to even stay on the page to ones with really boring designs. Our absolute favorite ones are the Usborne sticker books with super cute designs and pretty much every topic your kid is interested in.

Remember the economy class seats? They come with gross economy class food. That’s why I always pack our own. Anyone who’s been to my house knows that I love buying tupperwear (for some weird weird reason) and this one is perfect for travelling with kids. It’s small enough to fit in most purses and waterproof for every compartment so things don’t mix together when you’re moving around.

Finally, there’s the issue of smell. If you think about it, an airplane is essentially a flying fart container. Look it up – it’s a real thing. The change in air pressure causes gases in the digestive system to expand, which leads to more farts. So when you’ve got a kid who’s already sensitive to icky smells, it helps to plan ahead and get yourself some scent patches.

These are meant to help you fall asleep faster at night, but they don’t really work. However, they’re really strong and are great for giving yourself a little bit lavender bliss while you’re in the air. 

Images: Mina Yan, Taobao

After exploring Mandalay, we headed for Bagan. This ancient city is sometimes described as Myanmar’s Angkor Wat, and was the capital of a great kingdom that rivaled the Khmer Empire to the east. It’s smaller than the Angkor Wat complex, but less commercialized, and is a must-see for anyone visiting Myanmar. But first, we had to get there.

Myanmar developed mostly along river valleys with mountains in between. Transport infrastructure is still relatively undeveloped, with few railway lines and most roads little more than dirt tracks. So we opted for a boat trip down the Irrawaddy River. The journey takes eight hours but is substantially cheaper than flying and more comfortable than going by road.

We bought tickets immediately on arrival at the airport and were relieved to find later that the office there was genuinely offering the best price: USD 45 (and half-price for our 10-year-old). This includes breakfast (it’s an early start), a reasonable lunch and a piece of cake and fruit in the afternoon. Tea and coffee are served free all day, and soft drinks and beer can be purchased.

Disembarking at Yandabo

Our boys were a little bored, so books and perhaps an iPad or other entertainment is recommended. However, my wife and I enjoyed dozing on our bamboo chairs in the cool river breeze. Shortly after lunch, there’s a stop at Yandabo. This otherwise undistinguished village specializes in making cooking pots, and although there are a few souvenir stalls, the locals were happy to invite us into their workshops, without pressure to buy anything.

The villagers of Yandabo invited us in to their workshop

On arrival at Bagan, taxis are waiting, and charge an exorbitant and non-negotiable fixed price to take you anywhere. And the first stop is around the corner, to a checkpoint where you are required to pay a fee in cash just to enter Bagan. At the time this felt like, as my 14-year-old put it, a “shakedown”. However since the temples and stupas are dotted all around the town, there would be no practical way of charging admission to them, and the money is used for the upkeep of the monuments. So just make sure you bring enough money with you.

Hiring e-bikes in Bagan

The best way to get around Bagan is by e-bike. This would not be an option for families with younger children, and the alternative is to hire a taxi or tuktuk for the day. However, the bikes cost a very reasonable USD 3.50 per day and gave us the freedom to explore at our own pace. Our 10-year-old rode on the back of my bike, while our 14-year-old, an experienced cyclist, was delighted to have his own. You have to ask for helmets, which are not routinely offered (or used). The roads are mostly in good condition, although on the way to Dhammayangyi we hit a patch of deep, soft sand and I lost control of my bike. We were traveling slowly enough that I was able to stop safely, but caution is advised on the back roads.

Ananda is possibly Bagan’s most beautiful shrine

After four years in Asia, my sons’ tolerance for temples is worn thin, so we negotiated an itinerary based on seeing four key sites, with the option of stopping at anywhere along the way that looked interesting. Ananda is the most beautiful of the temples; Dhammayangyi the biggest. Shwesandaw was described online as a temple which visitors could climb, but when we visited it was closed off… I’m not aware that any of the monuments can still be climbed, and I don’t think it’s a sustainable future for 700-year-old structures.

Dhammayangyi is the largest of Bagan’s ancient temples

Shwezigon, the last stop on our tour, was the busiest and most active temple, but also perhaps the most disappointing. Apart from the shining gold stupa, stunning against Myanmar’s deep blue sky, it was grubby and crowded. However it was interesting to see shrines to the Nats, the Bamar people’s traditional guardian spirits.

The golden stupa at Shwezigon was the model for Yangon’s famous Shwedagon

In Myanmar, Buddhism is practiced alongside the worship of protector spirits called Nats

We were disappointed also by the Royal Palace, which we paid extra to see, but which turned out to be a modern reconstruction on the site of an ancient ruin. Overall however Bagan was a fabulous experience, rich in extraordinary buildings, and with plenty of restaurants and bars to serve a tourist trade which will surely increase every year. Living in China offers an opportunity to see this extraordinary place before it becomes as crowded as Angkor Wat – don’t miss it.

Photos: Andrew Killeen

Bangkok is famous for many things; however, you’d have to say that “family-friendly holiday location” isn’t one of them. For us, it was just a stage along the way to Myanmar (of which much more in future posts). Since our flight to Mandalay would have involved a stopover in Thailand’s capital, we decided to break the journey and have a couple of days looking around.

We stayed at the eccentric but lovable Atlanta Hotel, which was established in 1952 and preserves its original Art Deco interior. Maintaining its genteel status in Bangkok involves some strict rules, including a sign at the entrance proclaiming “No sex tourists!” Which, of course, led to our 10-year-old asking “What’s a sex tourist?” And they’re fussy about who they take. You don’t so much book a room at the Atlanta as apply for one, ideally recommended by someone who’s stayed there before, and wait to hear whether you’ve been deemed worthy.

The Atlanta Hotel has kept its Art Deco stylings

On seeing the Atlanta’s rooms you may ask yourself who they think they are, to be so picky. The facilities would have a Spartan warrior writing to Tripadvisor and complaining of the lack of frills. While the rooms are clean and well-kept, only the air-conditioning seems to have been changed since the 1950s. Don’t expect a TV or a fridge (though the Wi-fi is adequate). On the other hand, the Atlanta is centrally located, and very cheap. And it’s the only hotel I’ve ever stayed at with a scriptorium.

Perhaps most importantly for us, it was the first hotel in Bangkok with a swimming pool, and this remains its crowning glory. We as a family are budget travelers, preferring to see the world than to sit around a posh hotel. However we have decided that a pool is essential for any city break with kids. Trailing around temples and museums will try the patience of the most studious of children, so unless you’re going to spend your time in a soft play center or theme park which could be anywhere, some compromise is necessary. For us this means “sightseeing in the morning, then you can swim after lunch.”

A clock tower in Lumphini Park

So we went easy on day one, with a stroll around Lumphini Park. This is the green heart of Bangkok, with a lake, paths for jogging and cycling, and statues and monuments dotted around. From there we headed up to Erawan, a Hindu holy shrine at the very center of the city. Here worshippers pay, and patiently wait their turn to pray while the dancers perform a ritual around them.

Ancient and modern: the Erawan Shrine below the Skytrain and giant video screens of 21st century Bangkok

Worshippers pray while the dancers perform ritual dances around them

On the second day we had hoped to visit the Presidential Palace, but discovered too late that tickets need to be booked 24 hours in advance. Instead we decided to check out the National Museum. Surprisingly, Bangkok’s most important sites are not directly connected to its Skytrain/metro system. So we took the Silom Line to the river pier at Saphan Taksin, then a boat up the Chao Phraya.

A river trip is a great way to see Bangkok

This turned out to be one of the highlights of our time in Bangkok. First though we had to get past the touts around the pier, and negotiate the baffling profusion of lines and ticketing systems. In our confusion we nearly took the free shuttle boat to the mall across the river. The rule seemed to be that the further we walked the lower the price became, from the RMB 100 we were first quoted, to a mere RMB 20 each.

But the river is a great place from which to see the city, as well as being a fun trip in its own right. We landed at the Royal Palace after about 45 minutes, and from there it was a short walk to the museum. The Bangkok National Museum occupies what was once the “Front Palace”, the abode of Siam’s “deputy king”, at the time a very powerful office akin to a modern Prime Minister. The buildings and grounds are worth seeing in their own right.

A Buddhist monk’s pulpit

When we visited some of the exhibitions were closed, but the museum is still home to extraordinary treasures, from musical instruments, to royal furnishings and chess sets, to robes and religious icons. My kids were particularly fascinated by the howdahs, seats for riding on elephants in war and peace. Even more spectacular were the vast golden chariots on which the Kings of Thailand are hauled to their coronation,

One of the magnificent golden chariots on which the kings of Thailand travel to their coronations

Bangkok is an attractive place, relatively undamaged by war, imperialist pillaging, and civil upheaval, which have robbed so many Asian cities of their glories. On our last night my wife and I went out for a drink, and stumbled into the red light district, which turned out to be right next to the city’s premier hotels (if you book into the Holiday Inn with your kids, be prepared to explain more than just signs…) People were wheeling strollers up the street and carrying toddlers past the ladyboys and ladies of the night, without any concern. So perhaps Bangkok is a family-friendly holiday location after all.

Photos: Andrew Killeen, www.cnn.com, Karen Killeen

“The purple headed mountain,
the river running by…”

As a kid I used to sing these words from the hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful” with some bafflement. I hadn’t seen many mountains, but I was pretty sure they weren’t usually purple. And I’m not any the wiser as to why Nanjing’s Purple Mountain is so called. Its Chinese name, Zĭjīn Shān, means an even more improbable “Purple Gold Mountain.” Wikipedia has two different explanations in its brief entry, neither of them wholly convincing.

Whatever the reason, it’s a pleasant place to stroll, a forested haven right in the heart of China’s former capital. And after our moving but grueling visit to the Memorial to the Nanjing Massacre, we needed something to soothe our souls. At one point we stumbled on a lake, where a few hardy locals were swimming, in defiance of signs forbidding it and the general Chinese attitude that while safety precautions on construction sites are an optional extra, any water more than ankle deep is a deadly peril from which people must be protected at all costs.

It’s also the site of Ming Tombs: not as extensive as Beijing’s complex, but scattered through the forest so that you come across 14th century carvings wherever you wander.

This dog guards the tomb of a Ming dynasty general, but seemed friendly

Because we were enjoying our ramble, and had badly underestimated the size of the mountain, it was past midday when we arrived at the park’s main attraction: the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum. (We ended up taking the bus to cut short a lengthy walk.) Sun Yat-Sen, or Zhongshan as he is usually known in Chinese, is regarded as the father of the modern nation, a figure perhaps uniquely revered both on the mainland and in Taiwan. Every town in China has a road named after him, and after his death in 1925 he was interred in a vast hall at the top of a stairway nearly half a kilometer long.

However disappointment awaited us. Access to the tomb is by appointment only, and the first slot available to us was not until 4pm, by which time we were due to be on the train heading for home. If you’re visiting Nanjing I strongly recommend that you pre-book online, or at the very least arrive early in the morning.

So instead we opted for one of the park’s lesser attractions, the cable car ride to the mountain peak, undeterred by the rather alarming signs:

We were sort of hoping that we could rely on the cable car door, to be honest

Tickets cost RMB 100 for a return trip, or RMB 60 if you fancy walking all the way down again. (Kids between 1.2m and 1.4m pay RMB 50/30, and for those under 1.2m it’s just RMB 10/5.) There’s a stop halfway up, and at the top a couple of viewing platforms, some rock carvings, and, surprisingly, a small KFC. You can also walk along a path to a military fort which appears long abandoned, but is still protected by barbed wire and video cameras. Most importantly though, there are spectacular views of the city.

At the top of Purple Mountain, viewing platforms offer spectacular views of Nanjing

We found Nanjing unexpectedly charming. It’s less grid-like than most Chinese cities, with rambling, tree-lined streets and attractive buildings. The high-speed gaotie railway network can whisk you there from Beijing in under three and a half hours, making it an appealing destination for a weekend getaway.

Photos: Andrew Killeen

When I was a child Cambodia was a word associated with horror, with barely-understood atrocities depicted in grainy monochrome photos. As a teen I pogoed to the Dead Kennedys’ punk classic “Holiday in Cambodia”, never imagining that one day I would really be holidaying there.

Though Cambodia is now peaceful and friendly, its tragic past forms a major element of the tourist attractions of Phnom Penh. However we decided not to visit the Killing Fields, or the Genocide Museum, with our 13-year-old and 10-year-old sons. In part this was because we’d found the War Museum in Ho Chi Minh City quite distressing enough; and because a cynical, hard-bitten friend of mine had told me that he’d had to step outside during his visit to the Genocide Museum, to go and cry for a while, and nearly hadn’t gone back in.

We talked to our boys about the country’s history, and felt that we all understood what had taken place well enough without needing to see the grim details. It was not a decision taken out of any disrespect for the victims and the survivors, nor intended as any criticism of any family which made a different choice. But it felt right for us.

So leaving the shadows of the recent past behind, we focused on the city’s older glories. The National Museum is a relatively new building, though still nearly a hundred years old. But the majority of the carvings, statues, bronzes, and friezes inside date from the 600 years when the Khmer Empire sprawled across the region, powerful and prosperous.

The museum is packed with spectacular statues

Fans of Doctor Who might suspect the designer of the Ood had seen Khmer statues of Ganesha

The museum is well laid-out, with information in English, and its courtyards make it a cool and shady place amid the Phnom Penh heat (although we were surprised to see a rat scuttling around near the pool.)

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

The Royal Palace is another relatively recent building, having been constructed when the capital moved to the city in 1865. It’s still the ceremonial heart of the monarchy, so not all of it is accessible. However it’s worth finding the mural which tells the story of Reamker, Cambodia’s national poem, a version of the Hindu Ramayana. Though the mural is damaged in places by neglect, it’s still spectacular, filled with detail and skilfully blending different artistic styles, while remaining quintessentially Khmer.

The mural of the Reamker

Our boys had had enough sightseeing by this point, and opted to find a shady spot to discuss professional wrestling. However I was able to inveigle them into the Silver Pagoda, with the promise of treasure.

“Real treasure?” Noah perked up. He loves fantasy adventure.

“Gold, silver, and gems…” I told him. “The jewelled goblets of kings, priceless statues of ancient gods…”

Sadly, photography is forbidden within the Silver Pagoda, so I can’t show you the treasure; you’ll have to see it for yourself. All I can tell you is, the boys did not leave disappointed.

But beyond the ancient treasures, Phnom Penh is a clean and safe city, and in the cool of the evening is a pleasant place to stroll around, listening to the gamelan-like bands performing to the crowds milling around shrines, the air rich with the scent of incense and offerings of flowers and food.

A percussion band plays by a dais for offerings at a riverside shrine

Photos: Andrew Killeen

Whenever we travel with our kids, a crucial question for them has become what wildlife we will see. Their eyes roll when I suggest visiting a temple or museum, but they both love animals, and it’s those memories which are often the most vivid for them: wild horses in Mongolia, macaws and macaques in Malaysia, and most recently swimming with turtles on the Philippine island of Cebu (although being attacked by a feral dog in Vientiane is a less pleasant recollection).

One of Cebu’s major attractions is the whale sharks at Oslob, so naturally we planned to make that part of our experience. However, when we visited a tour organizer, he was oddly unenthusiastic about taking our money.

“Look,” he said, “I’d have to charge you 5,000 pesos each [nearly USD 100]. You can get there much more cheaply just by booking a driver. But you’ll have to set off in the middle of the night to get there for dawn.”

My experience of the Philippines up to that point was that everyone was very keen to make money from tourists, so I found his attitude intriguing. We went back to our accommodation and did some research.

The whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, have for centuries passed by Oslob, at the southern tip of Cebu island, as part of their annual migration. Although they are true sharks (not whales), they present no risk to humans, but feed on plankton and small fish. Their presence only became a problem with Cebu’s growing population and the increasing industrialization of fishing, when they started eating the shrimp the fishermen used as bait.

The locals got in the habit of feeding them shrimp to lure them away from their fishing grounds. However an enterprising local hotelier saw an opportunity, and arranged for his guests to swim with the sharks. And so an industry was born.

Now tourists head out for Oslob by the busload. They are ferried out in strictly controlled numbers, take their turn with sharks, and come back again. The tourists are happy, the locals are prospering, the fish are fed. What, you may ask, is the problem?

The problem is that the whale sharks now stay at Oslob all year round, instead of following their natural migratory patterns. They are now wholly dependent on the industry for their survival. As my colleague Andy Penafuerte wrote, the practice is defended on the grounds that some of the money raised goes back to protecting the marine environment. However most conservationists view that as a fig leaf for a situation which is bad for the whale sharks and bad for the ecosystem.

However, I have to be honest with myself, and admit that our reasons for not going to Oslob were emotional rather than rational. As frequent flyers, we can hardly climb on any environmental high horses. But one blog I read about Oslob described it as a “circus”, and that was enough to put me off.

I’ve written before about the ethical questions involved in traveling in Asia with animal-mad children. For every responsibly-run rescue center, there’s a depressing aquarium or zoo where the animals are inadequately cared for or made to perform. I can’t pretend that there’s any consistency or rational coherence to the choices we make as a family, but on this occasion, we decided to stay away.

Photo: I Travel Philippines

Islam came to Malaysia in the Middle Ages, brought by Arabian and Indian traders. This long history can be found everywhere in KL, in its culture and architecture. We felt that we hadn’t really seen the city until we’d visited a few of the sights which reflect this Islamic heritage.

The Jamek mosque, or Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad to give it its proper name, lies at the heart of KL, near to the central Merdeka Square. It was built in 1909 to plans by a British architect, who also designed KL’s dramatic railway station, with its Moorish minarets and staircases.

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station

Entrance to the mosque is free, though donations for its upkeep are welcomed. If, in the tropical heat, you’re insufficiently covered up, clothes are available to help you meet the dress code. My wife ended up in a red jilbab, which drew comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale when she posted pictures on Facebook.

A guide offered to show us around, and pointed out that the building was not in the local style, but is modeled after the Mughal mosques of Northern India which the British colonialists were more familiar with. I was expecting the guide to ask for a tip, but I had misread the situation; the guides are simply proud of their mosque, and enjoy showing it off to visitors.

The Masjid Jamek was Malaysia’s national mosque until 1965, when the Masjid Negara was opened. The new building, opposite the railway station, blends tradition and modernity in its architecture, in a bold statement of the confidence of the newly independent Malaysia. Its plazas and fountains offer a cool, calm relief from the bustle of KL.

Up the hill past the Masjid Negara are a number of public buildings, including the Museum of Islamic Art. This costs a modest 14 ringgits for adults (RMB 3.5) and 7 for children, and boasts an impressive collection of art from all around the Islamic world. There are models of famous mosques, showing how their construction varies across time and cultures; we were pleased to find the Great Mosque of Xi’an, which we’ve visited in real life. Among the many displays are pottery from China, traditional clothing from Central Asia, and early Qurans from Arabia. I was particularly fascinated by the ancient Persian maps and books about medicine.

A medieval book of medicine, at KL’s Museum of Islamic Art

My children, though they are accustomed to being dragged around museums and temples, were beginning to find so much culture in one day a little wearing. They brightened up when we found the weapons and armor on display: swords, chainmail, bows, and early guns. They know now the difference between flintlock and matchlock muskets, and were pleased to learn that the British-made guns almost certainly came from our hometown of Birmingham. However, in the end, I had to promise them that the next day we’d do something that interested them, and check out the local wildlife.

Photos: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas via Wikimedia Commons, Andrew Killeen, Gryffindor via Wikimedia Commons

For my family and I, living in Beijing has been a great opportunity to explore Asia. Following our jaunts to Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, and South Korea, this winter we traveled to Malaysia.

Our main destination was the tropical island of Langkawi, to escape the worst of the Beijing freeze and recover from an exhausting year. However along the way we stopped off at Kuala Lumpur (KL to its friends), for a quick look at the capital.

“Kuala Lumpur” literally means “Muddy confluence”, and the city began life as a mining town, complete with gang wars and cholera – I imagine it like Deadwood in the TV show. It was a British governor and a Chinese community leader who began the process of building the modern metropolis, and the mix of cultural influences is apparent in the very fabric of KL.

The international airport is a long way out from the city itself, and our metered taxi ride cost a hefty 160 ringgits (around RMB 250). It’s possible to pay a fixed fare at various desks in the airport, but research suggests this is unlikely to be cheaper. If you’re on a budget, and your children can handle it after the 6 hour 30 minute flight from Beijing, you can save some money by taking the train or bus into town.

The first thing you may notice is that cars drive on the left – a legacy of British imperialism. Anyone used to the grid-like layout of most US and Chinese cities will also be baffled by the spaghetti-like tangle of roads in the city, and the complex one way system. KL is not really designed for pedestrians: an absence of sidewalks, gaping holes which present a dangerous trap for anyone using their phone while walking, and drivers less cautious than those in China mean you have to be on your toes.

Fortunately taxis are plentiful and cheap, as long as you don’t get scammed. Insist on paying by the meter, and don’t believe in any nonsense about it being “broken”. Grab is the local equivalent of Uber or Didi, and if you’re staying in KL for any length of time it might be worth downloading it.

On the positive side, the city center is relatively compact. Although there’s a sprawling urban area around it, KL itself has a population of a mere 1.8 million, making it a village by Chinese standards. We stayed near Chinatown, where most of the hotels and hostels are too be found, and it’s a good base for exploring. Like most rapidly developing Asian cities, KL is a hotchpotch of glittering skyscrapers and ramshackle huts. Add into the mix some attractive colonial-era buildings (sadly not all in the best state of repair), and it’s a fascinating place to discover.

If shopping is your thing, then the Indian market offers better bargains than the much-hyped Chinatown or Central Market. Be sure to haggle to get the best prices! Or for high-end purchases, the KLCC mall at the foot of the iconic Petronas Towers offers big fashion brands, and a place for local teens to strut in their Harajuku-style finery.

Malaysia is a majority-Muslim country, and anyone who’s fond of a glass of wine with their meal will be shocked to discover that alcohol is not served in most restaurants, and in shops is heavily taxed. In the next post I’ll write about some of the sights which reflect Malaysia’s historic Islamic heritage.

Photos: IQRemix via Flickr, Andrew Killeen