hi mummies and daddies!

my initial intention was not to bring my girl on a holiday until she is 3 year old cos she is really getting naughtier and naughtier.

but no choice this time..my hubby told me he wants to visit his mum and dad at his hometown this september cos of a recent incident whereby his mum almost lost her life. i am left with 3 months to plan and i cannot further the trip cos i dont wish to go there during winter again! its soooo freezing cold to me..imagine how will my girl feel? need some good tips or advices! TIA

we will be travelling to xiamen, china on plane for about 4 hours. there after i might choose to go to his hometown by taking a 10 hour coach. cos the 12 hour train ride is too horrific and i dont trust the taxis there to bring us there. we will be staying at this rural town for about 2 weeks. ok, its not so rural but the only modern thing that they have there will be 3 star hotels and restaurants. other than that all i will be able to see is farms, animals, mountains and rivers. no restaurants, only street hawkers. no taxis or buses, only trishaws. but i am looking forward to the initial 2 days stay at xiamen so i can shop shop shop. lol

questions are:

easy as it may sounds but a bag of surprises may not entertain my girl for the 4 hours plane or the 10 hour coach. any other good advices?

i dont intend to let my girl eat any of the food there..but is the pigeon/heinz ready meals good enough for a 21 months old? what else can i let her eat for her meals?

how cold is autumn of 15 to 20 degrees celcius? will my girl need thermal wear or is a jacket and long sleeves and pants enough?


sorry for the very long post..but i am really in a dilemma now

If you are going to stay there for 2 wks and don intend to let your dd eat the food there .... you will need lots & lots of stuff to bring. I think it will be more advisable for you to cook her food there instead of buying those ready-make food.

As for the journey ... I believe ur dd will fall asleep inbetween so it's not such a "long" journey for her, but of cos the bag of surprise is still needed hehhehe. Maybe you would like to take note wht toys or games can keep ur dd occupy for long time ... just bring those items along.

For my dd, usually are food/snack tat keep them occuppied hhehehheh

thanks vallery!

you gave me an idea...i can cook there since i am staying at my mil's. but no stove, so can be quite troublesome starting fire with charcoal. but i will give it a try!

i really hope she will zzz too. yup, wont forget that bag of surprises. lol

Wen,

I have no idea how you going to entertain her. We on 5 hours ride to KL before. Not much entertainment is done. But I can pass you some food from Pigeon. I used it for our KL trip. I will sms you when to meet.

haha...ya, i really have no idea too. you saw how she will scream when she isnt happy. think i am going to become an eyesore to the passengers in the plane and coach.

thanks shir! you can sell it to me, and the juice too.

On the plane, just need toys & snack to entertain her, but on coach, it will be much easier as you can divert her attention on the scenery ... a good way to teach her too And looking at ppl hehheheh

:S I guess you going to be. But nvm la.. maybe she will be fine?

You are most welcomed. Let's arrange to meet up soon.

i was also thinking if my girl is okie on the plane and coach when we when to taiwan last dec (she's 20mths @ that time) but it turn out better then i expect her to be.. she's slping on time and waking up on time and most of the coach ride she will be slping or muching biscuits and fruits or looking outside asking whats this and that ..hope it helps .. i bring books for her for the plane ride the rest of the trip was my hp that get her sitted.. i rec a few videos

4hours flight not big prob. 10 hours coach is the BIG problem.

Anyway you can break the journey a bit??

oh I also have some of the pigeon food. You want? i can pass them to you. I bought some for my last trip. End up didn't use at all. lemme know.

thanks...this is something comforting to hear! i will try all methods possible

i was also thinking she might fall asleep during the plane ride since she will be waking up early to catch the 8am plane. lets hope so..

as for the coach ride, dont think so. but there will be some stopovers during the 10 hours coach, will it be good enough for her? nellua, think i heard you mention that you brought your ds on a long flight to switzerland/france or something before? how did you manage to entertain him?

thanks! i dont mind getting yours.

Give something to your child to chew when the plane takes off and coming drowing.

yes we are fond of doing long flights...hahahaha kidding lah....

my last trip was to Zurich on 13hours flight. This is our 2nd long distance trip. took a night flight and he slept half the time. luckily we got enough pts to fly SQ. er...when he's not sleeping, he was pressing the buttons on the plane and asking to watch thomas on the in-flight entertainment system. can't imagine how things will be if we flew other airlines.

actually it depends on your dd's nature. if she is the type can sleep anywhere when you are out, then you should be fine. in my case, it's really siong cos my monster gets stimulated easily by a lot of things around him. chances are she may not sleep as much as you would want her to. on the plane if you can, you can let her walk a bit up and down the aisle. but watch out for the carts.

as for coach, i think it's pretty tough to keep them still. I have not travelled by coach before but had done train. If the coach does have breaks, then make full use of them. get out of the coach to stretch and also let your dd walk around abit to let off steam...cos in coach v hard to walk about...

okie. PM to arrange when to pick up ok?

i see! oh dear...silk air doesnt have inflight entertainment. haha...but mine is going to be a short flight. so not too much to worry after what you guys have said i guess. i cannot imagine your 13 hours flight!

i doubt my girl will sleep on the coach cos we are taking a day coach! but i will make full use of the 30 minutes stopovers. ya, coach is a headache. unless we rent a private car..still thinking of other possiblilities..

sure
no hurry...we arrange and see how.
thanks so much!

Bring enough snacks, milk, water....ur dd still needs pacifier? bring along also.

if your dd like to watch dvd (hi-5, barney, etc)...then you might need dvd portable.

dont forget insect reb...in case alot mosq there. as well as paracetamol and other medicines.

better to bring jacket, long sleeves n long pants if it's cold weather in sept.

as for me...i will bring alot things one haha.

Enjoy ur trip! =)

When i travel with DS, i will bring along the travel cooker, in the event that the hotel doesnt have a kitchenette.

When on the plane, I keep my DS entertained with my Laptop, I will load movies and cartoons for him. Other than that, I will prepare books, colouring materials, games and snacks etc for him on the plane. I try to avoid high sugar snacks... cos it will cause a sugar rush and make the situation worse off.

But most of all... I will try to make res. for afternoon flights. Cos DS's nap time is from 12-4pm. So I will make flight arrangements ard this timing... so the moment he gets on, he will sleep and hopefully wakes up only when we arrive.

Thus far, it's been working well.

Just to add on, when we travel to those less developed countries that we've never been to b4, I'll bring along some dried foods like grounded small fishes, pork floss and a bottle of mineral water etc etc... just in case we cant get fresh foods. I'll also bring a long some rice.. cos DS takes only short-grain rice.. in case we cant get locally.

thanks! its a good idea.

i will be bringing bottles of drinking water cos i am not so sure about the water there. as for fresh food..it should be ok since my mil grows and rears them. but i am still pondering over how to cook there. haha

oh, i didnt see this thread.

hmm...travel cooker? is it the same as a slow cooker?
as for the laptop, does the plane have switch to charge the laptop while i use?
my flight time is fixed for all airlines. so i can only take the plane between 8 to 9am.

thanks for your advices!

thanks!!

yes, she still needs her thumb.
i am also planning to buy a portable dvd player, and yup...thanks for reminder! i have to bring insect repellent! i am starting to buy warm clothings already. haha

Are we able to bring our own drinking water up the plane for making milk?

What type of baby food to bring overseas?

Thanks

i bought a bottle of ice mountain drinking water at guardian at the transit lounge and it was packed for bringing up the plane. But I am sure if you tell the security that its for the toddler, they will be lenient. Everything for my girl passed at the security. Even medicine, food, juice, bottled pediasure. Hot water was provided in the plane.

i brought pigeon ready meals, only organic brand jar food cos larger portion, nestle/moon rabbit brown rice cereal sachets and few bottles of bottled pediasure in case no water to make milk. all for consumption overseas. haha

So can use mineral water to make milk? Never try b4

I just bought some pigeon ready meals and snacks. Did not let dd try b4 also. Dunno she will like anot and they are ex. Haha

And for bottled pediasure is taken at room temperature?

can. but must use drinking water, not mineral water. cos the mineral content is too much for kids to take.

how about letting her try a packet first in case she doesnt like it when you bring abroad then quite a waste. heehee..where are you going btw?

i give to ashlyn at room temperature. but if she doesnt finish it then i will chill it in fridge for later but within 24 hours. if your girl is not used to it, maybe you can pour into her milk bottle and warm it with hot water. btw the chocolate flavour is quite nice but the strawberry tastes quite artificial to me and my girl doesnt really like. vanilla is the best. haha

Ok. ya, i was referring to the drinking water... Lol, always called it mineral water haha...

I'm going zhuhai, macau and probably Hong Kong too

Wanted to buy when i saw the bottled pediasure but hesitated coz i remembered it was very sweet. still thinking to buy anot... but left not much time for me coz i be flying wednesday morning

hi mummy_wen,

i've posted some tips here to keep kids occupied in airplanes, maybe you can find it useful.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=3697...901&topic=14183

haha..okok
yea, pediasure is really very sweet. If you dont mind. I think your girl can also take those packet uht milk like magnolia or marigold too. if you are travelling the city area, you will be able to buy from there too. so dont have to bring too much liquid stuff. just bring a 400g tin of fm maybe?

do enjoy your trip. have fun!

yummy mummy,

thank you so much for the wonderful tips!
i think some of it might work on my girl.
especially the play doh, kid friendly mag and ice in cup!
i brought a portable dvd player too the last time.
it was extra baggage that didnt go into good use.
my girl didnt even look at the screen for more than a minute!
for her, she just wants hands on!
great tips for my next upcoming trip.