Hong Kong - the D'Bay Way (Part 1)

It sounds extravagant to say we struggled to choose a destination for our latest holiday, but we did. There are so many interesting places on offer in Asia and we're keen to see as many as possible, but the limitations of heat, rain (much of Asia is in the height of monsoon in August), and two small children with a limited, highly Western-oriented, diet did, unfortunately crimp our options. I'd love to be one of those families who confidently head to rural Cambodia or Bhutan, toddlers and preschoolers in tow and has a wonderful time subsiding on local delicacies, staying in huts and traveling by river boat, but for our kids that's sadly not a viable choice. Yet. I still have hope for next year.

So, we compromised. Hong Kong seemed a good combination of somewhere new and different, with enough culture and local colour to satisfy our yearnings for adventure (at least a little), while still providing the sorts of experiences the kids wanted from the holiday - like playgrounds and digging in the sand.

I've actually been to Hong Kong before, so "new" perhaps isn't strictly accurate, but I was only eleven at the time, so I'm not sure it counts. My over-riding memories of that visit were dirty streets with people living in cardboard boxes, markets with chickens, pigs, snakes and other animals being slaughtered on demand, providing the ultimate in fresh meat and a harbour where we were warned people were taken straight to hospital if they fell in the water. I'm happy to say this stay was quite different.

Instead of staying in an hotel downtown we opted for an apartment in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island. This proved to be a great choice. Discovery Bay, or D'Bay is a residential suburb on the Eastern side of Lantau Island popular with expats and Cathay Pacific pilots and crew. It's close to the airport and Disneyland, has its own beach, plenty of restaurants, supermarket, bookstore and great access to public transport with ferry and bus terminals. It's also car-free, so remarkably quiet and relaxing - although you do need to watch out for golf carts! We rented a one-bedroom apartment, which, although a little cramped with two active boys, provided a good base with the advantage of being able to cook our meals and wash our clothes.

Discovery Bay - beach and view from our apt.

Hong Kong has a huge amount to offer visitors, including those with young children. Prior to arrival, I'd found SassyMamas 50 Things To Do With Kids in Hong Kong (she actually has a sequel with 50 more), narrowed the list to a dozen or so and had a family meeting to work out which 4-5 were our top picks. In the end we chose Disneyland, the Big Buddha, Victoria Peak and Ocean Park as our days out, with the remaining days to be spent on the beach, relaxing or, in my case, disappearing off to the Sham Shui Po markets for a spot of shopping!

Victoria Peak is a famous landmark in Hong Kong and provides a fantastic view of the city, the harbour and outlying islands and across to Kowloon and mainland China. We caught the ferry from D'Bay to Central - an experience in itself as you cross the shipping lanes and watch freighters being unloaded in the bay. We saw one monster ship with roughly 3500 shipping containers aboard heading out to ports unknown. From the ferry terminal, a fifteen minute walk takes you to the lower terminus of the Peak Tram, a funicular railway. On a hot Sunday morning, the tram was packed, the queue winding around and up the street, while passengers were squeezed in like the proverbial sardines, doors pushed shut on Kieran's back and me holding grimly on to Rory with one arm and a bar with the other as we headed up, the steepest section 27 degrees to horizontal making the skyscrapers outside look like something in a crazy mirror house. At the top, Sky Tower provides a viewing platform with the inevitable giftshop exit as well as a mall and restaurants for your shopping and dining pleasures - we grabbed an adequate meal at Bubba Gumps (although they completely failed to bring Kieran his order) and decided on a walk instead.

Views from Victoria Peak

Waterfall on Hong Kong Trail

There are plenty of trails around Victoria Peak providing really nice opportunities for some outdoors time. We headed along the Hong Kong trail for a kilometre or so, past waterfalls and lovely outlooks over the ocean to a rest area before turning back. Deciding to forgo the tram trip down in favour of a taxi trip to a mall touting the "largest exclusive brand store chain selling LEGO® products in Hong Kong" we jumped in one of the many red taxis for a drive down the peak worthy of any aspiring rally driver. Unfortunately on finding the store, we discovered that advertising can indeed be misleading - the shop was significantly smaller than our apartment, although they did have a catalogue. Our trip home by metro provided the boys with their fourth form of public transportation of the day and was a highlight for Rory at least! We also determined that the mass of people setting up cardboard boxes in the pedestrian overpasses and open spaces were not, as we initially thought, the world's best dressed beggars, but rather migrant workers on their day off, gathering to socialise, chat or play bingo or cards with friends, in the only places available to them. While the community spirit was heartening, the necessity seemed a bit sad.


So passed the first couple of days of our Hong Kong holiday. I'll continue with more on the other sights in Part 2.

Flying with Toddlers - A Rant on Airline Policies

We've had the fortune (or possibly misfortune) to fly quite a lot with our boys. They're both seasoned travellers and have probably racked up more miles in their short lives than I did in my first two decades. Our four year old confidently navigates security checks, reads the emergency card before take-off and let's us know when the iPad can be turned back on!

Like many, we generally eschew the full-service airlines in favour of the low-cost carriers to alleviate some of the economic burden of travelling as a family of four. We do, however, often prefer for our wriggly, independent-minded, can't-sit-still, twenty month old to have his own seat with full restraint - namely his car seat - especially on flights over a couple of hours duration. While an extravagance, this seems a safer, more comfortable solution for us, for him, and for those unlucky enough to be seated around us. So it drives me slightly mad that airlines seem to strive to make this request tortuous if not impossible to accomplish.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly urges parents to use an approved child restraint system (CRS) on aircraft, and in 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board released a Safety Alert with the same recommendation. In the US, carriers are prohibited from denying use of an approved CRS for a child if a parent has bought them a seat. Unfortunately, it appears that the rest of the world is somewhat behind.

Not only do you have to fly through innumerable hoops to prove your child restraint is approved for use in aircraft (and this definition varies depending on which country the restraint comes from), it is almost impossible to actually book a seat for an under 2yr old on most airline online systems. Recent experiences have almost had us vowing to forgo flying until after our youngest's second birthday (although we'd still have the child restraint issue to deal with then).

If you want to book online with Tiger, Scoot or Virgin Australia, forget it - their airline systems can't handle under 2's in seats. With Virgin, the call centre is your best bet - they were happy to help, and while it took the better part of an hour to book a one-way ticket, they did waive the call centre fee since I had no alternative. Tiger and Scoot got the boot from us - yes we could book over the phone, but the cost for our tot was full adult fare PLUS the infant fee! So our 1yr old costs more, not only than the 4yr old, but than an adult! No thanks.

Our recent trip used a mix of airlines - Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, Air NZ and Air Asia. Despite having called ahead to confirm, providing the make and model, I was told at check-in for Qantas that my car seat wasn't allowed onboard. After arguing the toss, the check-in staff relented, so on we went....right down the back off the plane which seems to be the default position for car seats - probably to discourage further use! After buckling in the seat, and toddler, I was then approached by cabin crew wanting to verify the "Approved for use in aircraft" sticker yet again. Unbuckle toddler, wrestle seatbelt undone, pull out car seat and repeat.

Similar situations occurred for subsequent check-ins. With Virgin I was told flat out that car seats weren't allowed. During the ensuing discussion, the staff member admitted that usually the car seats don't have the appropriate approvals and "yours is the first one that meets the standard" (it should be noted that Virgin Australia do not allow Australian-approved car seats on board - ours is from the US). The general impression I was left with was that car seat carrying mums (or dads) are troublesome, should be refused on principle and only accommodated if absolutely necessary and with the least assistance possible.

While I appreciate the need to ensure the safety of all passengers, surely if airlines have a policy allowing approved car seats, they can make the effort to streamline their use - because surely a safely and happily restrained toddler is better for everyone than the squirming, wriggling, seat-back pulling demon on poor mum or day's lap! And while we're at it, how about a universal set of requirements for approved seats? Is that really too much to ask?

Rant over - and on a more positive note, I'm writing this having just had two wonderful flights on Malaysian Airlines where our tot travelled, car seat enabled with no questions asked!

Tips for car seat travel
- check the regulations and policies for each airline you're travelling with, some require prior approval by phone
- make sure your seat has the appropriate stickers for approval
- if you get knocked back at check-in, persistence can sometimes win the day
- expect to have the seat nearest the window, and possibly right at the back of the plane
- tuck a blanket under the seat and into the seat back pocket to form a pocket - it will catch all the things junior throws around!