The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently adopted a convention listing standards aimed at improving working conditions of domestic workers. Singapore was one of the 63 nations which abstained from voting, citing the need to examine whether it was plausible to implement in Singapore, before any commitment.
This raised another wave of "talk" in the newspaper about rest days for domestic helpers. There are always 2 opposing views. Some try to draw a middle way.
There are many stories about maids "gone bad" after a long period of going off on regular rest days. Maids getting themselves pregnant, stealing from employers, prostituting themselves, amidst others. But there are good stories as well. Maids who go for classes, do volunteer work, participate in religious activities.
After experience with 7 different domestic helpers, I feel I have seen my fair share. I used to be cautious about giving domestic workers rest days for fear of the kind of activities they participate in.
Now I have come to realize that it is a reality I have to accept. My latest domestic helper will have one off day a month after she pays off her loan which takes about 6 months to clear. All humans need to have the basic feeling of freedom. To be cooped up at home or with the family the whole day can be tough. It is even more trying with 3 boisterous boys. We all need a break from our daily routine to keep ourselves sane.
My previous helper who worked for us for 6 years did not have any off day. She didn't complain because she gets to go out on Saturdays and Sundays with the family. She prefers not to spend any money going out on her own. I think that is a smart choice. Her focus is to come here to earn sufficient money to build her business back home and to go home with savings.
I have heard of maids who spend half their salaries on phone cards. I personally think that is a ridiculous thing to do. My new helper asked me if she could buy a phone after she has enough savings. I agreed but I laid out some rules. No talking during work hours. No excessive talking at night such that she does not have enough energy the next day. I need her to be alert during the day, for the safety of my kids and herself. I don't think that it is unfair. The helper before her used to walk around with a ear piece while she is working. I got really upset because I don't know where her focus is. I don't think it's fair for the employer if the employee doesn't give her full concentration at work.
I don't demand my worker to work excessively. She wakes up at 6am and I ask her to sleep by 10pm the latest. She can sleep earlier if they complete the basic household chores. There is not much household chores to do if she does it regularly and not accumulate a backlog. The first 2 weeks are always the toughest. She has to adapt to a new environment and routine as well as clear the backlog that accumulated due to a lack of helper for almost 2 months. If I look back, the previous helpers were able to relax pretty much during the day after they go into a routine. They could talk on the phone or watch TV programs during the day.
We don't expect a robot but we need to feel that we are being treated fairly as well. That our home is clean and our kids are taken care of. We are not fussy about the work that needs to be done or how it should be done. We believe in giving the basic guidelines and minimum requirements. The helper can take her initiative to arrange her own schedule as long as she gets the kids ready for school in the morning, feed them when they come home, shower them when it is time to and get them ready for bed. She spends about 6 hours with them daily. It's not 100% staying by them for the full 6 hours. The boys are independent enough to keep themselves occupied with toys and books. They know how to look for her to get help or food.
I hope that when she starts to go on her rest days, she does not mix with the wrong company. If she can find friends, it is well and good. I also look forward to spending a day with my kids alone without the helper. It really makes bonding much easier. It makes us less reliant on the helper as well. If she is responsible and mature, I don't mind giving her one off day per week. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.
Listen to the voice of a mother of three who would like to share her thoughts and experiences of being a mother of 3 boisterous boys in the small city of Singapore.... Disclaimer: read at your own risk and learn from my mistakes.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Analysis of holiday
I made a few observations during our family holiday.
The crowd on a Monday was drastically lower than the crowd on a Sunday. I found that there were many Filipinos at the park on Sunday. I guessed they are mainly domestic helpers on their day off.
There were many Chinese nationals at the park on Sunday. We can see that the target crowd for the Hong Kong park is mainly Chinese nationals. The cast members spoke Mandarin to all Chinese. Most of them were more comfortable with Cantonese and Mandarin. Some of them were a bit uncomfortable with English.
Once the Disneyland park opens in Shanghai, I suspect the draw from the Hong Kong park will not be so great.
I saw relatively more Singaporeans on Monday than Sunday. You can tell from our accent. It is very obvious, even when we speak Mandarin. Being the last week of the school holiday, it was natural that the Singaporean crowd was smaller.
I saw virtually no Caucasians......I don't wonder why. I guess the park is relatively smaller compared to those in other parts of the world. You can cover it in one day.
I chose to stay in the Hollywood Hotel this time because of a few reasons:
1) The Disneyland Hotel was more expensive. At least HKD500 more per night, depending on the type of room you choose.
2) I heard that the Hollywood Hotel was more suitable for kids.
After the stay, I think I will choose Disneyland Hotel next time for these reasons:
1) The bathroom in the Hollywood Hotel was tiny.
2) The Hollywood Hotel was very crowded with tour groups.
3) There is a good Chinese restaurant in Disneyland Hotel where you can have ala carte meals.
4) There is a nice garden with a maze at Disneyland Hotel.
5) Disneyland Hotel is the first stop of the bus shuttle after the park so getting on is much easier.
Travelling with kids was a bit of a challenge, especially with 3 boys. Keeping them close was not easy. They like to run off on their own or to explore new places. I know it is natural but it is not really appreciated when we are on holiday!
I must admit that the holiday gave us an opportunity to bond as a family. I got to learn things about my kids that I never knew before, due to the lack of interaction.
Ryan likes to order food just because his brothers are doing so. He is very intelligent and this can sometimes be exasperating.
Keane seeks our attention a lot so we have to show our love more often. He is very good natured but seems to be bad tempered because he has difficulty expressing himself.
Xavier is matured most of the time and loves to be the leader. We tend to forget that he is still a kid and loves to play.
I am looking forward to our next holiday. If I can afford it, I would love to bring them to the Disneyland in Tokyo.
The crowd on a Monday was drastically lower than the crowd on a Sunday. I found that there were many Filipinos at the park on Sunday. I guessed they are mainly domestic helpers on their day off.
There were many Chinese nationals at the park on Sunday. We can see that the target crowd for the Hong Kong park is mainly Chinese nationals. The cast members spoke Mandarin to all Chinese. Most of them were more comfortable with Cantonese and Mandarin. Some of them were a bit uncomfortable with English.
Once the Disneyland park opens in Shanghai, I suspect the draw from the Hong Kong park will not be so great.
I saw relatively more Singaporeans on Monday than Sunday. You can tell from our accent. It is very obvious, even when we speak Mandarin. Being the last week of the school holiday, it was natural that the Singaporean crowd was smaller.
I saw virtually no Caucasians......I don't wonder why. I guess the park is relatively smaller compared to those in other parts of the world. You can cover it in one day.
I chose to stay in the Hollywood Hotel this time because of a few reasons:
1) The Disneyland Hotel was more expensive. At least HKD500 more per night, depending on the type of room you choose.
2) I heard that the Hollywood Hotel was more suitable for kids.
After the stay, I think I will choose Disneyland Hotel next time for these reasons:
1) The bathroom in the Hollywood Hotel was tiny.
2) The Hollywood Hotel was very crowded with tour groups.
3) There is a good Chinese restaurant in Disneyland Hotel where you can have ala carte meals.
4) There is a nice garden with a maze at Disneyland Hotel.
5) Disneyland Hotel is the first stop of the bus shuttle after the park so getting on is much easier.
Travelling with kids was a bit of a challenge, especially with 3 boys. Keeping them close was not easy. They like to run off on their own or to explore new places. I know it is natural but it is not really appreciated when we are on holiday!
I must admit that the holiday gave us an opportunity to bond as a family. I got to learn things about my kids that I never knew before, due to the lack of interaction.
Ryan likes to order food just because his brothers are doing so. He is very intelligent and this can sometimes be exasperating.
Keane seeks our attention a lot so we have to show our love more often. He is very good natured but seems to be bad tempered because he has difficulty expressing himself.
Xavier is matured most of the time and loves to be the leader. We tend to forget that he is still a kid and loves to play.
I am looking forward to our next holiday. If I can afford it, I would love to bring them to the Disneyland in Tokyo.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Disneyland Day 2
It was a leisurely Day 2 for us. We had breakfast at Hollywood and Dine in the hotel. It was quite a lovely breakfast. A proper one.
When we reached the park, I was a bit disappointed because it seemed that a lot of people were there already. I prepared myself for another long day of queues.
We took the train ride from the main entrance to Fantasyland. Keane's sandals gave way there and we had to calm him down. We bought him a pair of Lightning McQueen slippers. Ryan wanted a pair of course.
Then it was to Cinderella Carousel. There was no queue. Amazing!
We headed for the Small World ride. Surprisingly there was no queue! We headed straight into a boat. The kids loved it and it seemed as if they have never been there before.
We took some photos along the way before heading to the Royal Banquet Hall for lunch. This time it was easier to get a table and we had a nice lunch. It was sushi for the kids again. We had a sandwich and some dim sum.
I made sure that we were back at the Lightning McQueen show area by about 11.30am. We waited around for the queue to be set up. The kids had some ice-cream while waiting. Once the queue was formed, we lined up and it was a 30 minute wait in the hot sun. Fortunately we bought the kids umbrellas the day before. The tiny umbrellas provided some respite from the heat.
When the car came onto the scene, it was pretty amazing. We could see the car up close because we were in the front. The dancers were very professional. I could see their faces filled with perspiration. I had to give it to them for being able to perform a rigourous dance in the noon sun! We took photos with the car. Then the kids joined in a side activity where they could swing the checkered flag.
When the event finished, we were too dehydrated to go on another ride. We went to the shop on Main Street and spent time selecting some gifts. Then we went to buy our photos before heading back to the hotel.
After a short rest we headed down to Chef Mickey for our dinner. It was a lovely buffet with a good spread. I wanted to go back to the park to watch the fireworks. It was a dilemma. At the end Xavier and I went to the park while the rest headed to the room.
When we reached the park, we sat in front of Tinkerbell's castle for the castle lighting show. It was almost a 30 minute wait. Xavier entertained himself with Plants vs Zombies on the iPhone. The castle lighting show was interesting but nothing spectacular. There was some fireworks towards the end. Xavier was frightened by the noise. I told him that the fireworks would be much louder. He requested to go back to the hotel 5 minutes later.
As we headed back to the shuttle bus stop, I had an idea to show him the MTR train that runs between Disneyland stop and Sunny Bay stop. I told him that it was a special train. He was undecided. I showed him a glimpse of the train and he was hooked. He was very eager to get on the train. After some questions, I realized that he was in a hurry to get away from the fireworks!
The train came and we got on. He was very amused that the windows and handle bars were in the shape of Mickey. He took photos with the statues displayed on the train. He liked Donald, Mickey and Tinkerbell. We stayed on the train until it returned to Disneyland. We took the shuttle back to the hotel and rested early. It was going to be an early morning the next day.
When we reached the park, I was a bit disappointed because it seemed that a lot of people were there already. I prepared myself for another long day of queues.
We took the train ride from the main entrance to Fantasyland. Keane's sandals gave way there and we had to calm him down. We bought him a pair of Lightning McQueen slippers. Ryan wanted a pair of course.
Then it was to Cinderella Carousel. There was no queue. Amazing!
We headed for the Small World ride. Surprisingly there was no queue! We headed straight into a boat. The kids loved it and it seemed as if they have never been there before.
We took some photos along the way before heading to the Royal Banquet Hall for lunch. This time it was easier to get a table and we had a nice lunch. It was sushi for the kids again. We had a sandwich and some dim sum.
I made sure that we were back at the Lightning McQueen show area by about 11.30am. We waited around for the queue to be set up. The kids had some ice-cream while waiting. Once the queue was formed, we lined up and it was a 30 minute wait in the hot sun. Fortunately we bought the kids umbrellas the day before. The tiny umbrellas provided some respite from the heat.
When the car came onto the scene, it was pretty amazing. We could see the car up close because we were in the front. The dancers were very professional. I could see their faces filled with perspiration. I had to give it to them for being able to perform a rigourous dance in the noon sun! We took photos with the car. Then the kids joined in a side activity where they could swing the checkered flag.
When the event finished, we were too dehydrated to go on another ride. We went to the shop on Main Street and spent time selecting some gifts. Then we went to buy our photos before heading back to the hotel.
After a short rest we headed down to Chef Mickey for our dinner. It was a lovely buffet with a good spread. I wanted to go back to the park to watch the fireworks. It was a dilemma. At the end Xavier and I went to the park while the rest headed to the room.
When we reached the park, we sat in front of Tinkerbell's castle for the castle lighting show. It was almost a 30 minute wait. Xavier entertained himself with Plants vs Zombies on the iPhone. The castle lighting show was interesting but nothing spectacular. There was some fireworks towards the end. Xavier was frightened by the noise. I told him that the fireworks would be much louder. He requested to go back to the hotel 5 minutes later.
As we headed back to the shuttle bus stop, I had an idea to show him the MTR train that runs between Disneyland stop and Sunny Bay stop. I told him that it was a special train. He was undecided. I showed him a glimpse of the train and he was hooked. He was very eager to get on the train. After some questions, I realized that he was in a hurry to get away from the fireworks!
The train came and we got on. He was very amused that the windows and handle bars were in the shape of Mickey. He took photos with the statues displayed on the train. He liked Donald, Mickey and Tinkerbell. We stayed on the train until it returned to Disneyland. We took the shuttle back to the hotel and rested early. It was going to be an early morning the next day.
Disneyland Day 1
I am now at home. It is almost 7am. I'm still feeling dehydrated. A much needed 8 hour sleep didn't really help me get over the fatigue yet. I would have posted my entries for Disneyland daily if not for the fact that IE9 does not allow me to do that. I was not encouraged to I decided to wait till I get home before I made any more posts.
The 2 days we spent in the Disneyland park went by pretty quickly. The kids had a great time and didn't want to go home. Let me try to recall what happened during our holiday.
Sunday was the first day we spent in the park. We took a shuttle from the hotel to the park and was surprised to see many queues. Then I realized that the park didn't open until 10am. To think that I thought we were late. Fortunately it was only a 15 minute wait in the sun for us.
Once we entered the park, we joined another queue to take a photo with Mickey and Minnie. It then dawned on me that the day would be filled with queues in the sun.
Keane wanted to take photos with Donald and Daisy but nobody else wanted to queue with him. So I queued with him and the rest went to the animation studio which was air-conditioned. Fortunately the queue for the ducks was shorter! Then it was off to the rides.
We grabbed a sandwich at Market House Bakery before we moved on.
Tarzan's Treehouse in Adventureland:
It was quite uneventful. I felt that the path was very narrow, making it very difficult to take photographs at the spots where they had statues. Xavier was a bit afraid coming down the stairs because he could see the water below. I had to encourage him to keep moving without looking down. Keane was the bravest and went down on his own. I had to remind him to move slower!
The kids had brunch at the Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland. It turned out to be barely palatable. The non-spicy version of Penang laksa which Xavier ordered was poorly prepared. The bean sprouts were half cooked and it was a challenge to pick them out from the noodles. There were a lot of bean sprouts in there. Keane's Hainanese chicken rice was normal, nothing to rave about.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland:
We didn't know what we were queuing for. Nearer the start of the ride, we were relieved that it was not a 4D show. I remember the Shrek 4D show in Universal Studio freaked Keane and Xavier out. We had to go in separate cars because each car could take only 2. Hubby and Keane went ahead. Xavier was alone as I needed to watch Ryan. Xavier was afraid in the beginning. I told him that it was a game and he warmed up to it. I could see that Keane was frightened and his daddy was hugging him all the way. Ryan took to the game like fish to water. He even kept reminding me to shoot at the aliens!
Cinderella Carousel in Fantasyland:
This was the safest ride of all. Only Keane went on a horse. The other 2 preferred to sit in the chariot or carriage, whatever you call the seats.
We had tea break at the Royal Banquet Hall. It was a tight squeeze because half the hall was cordoned off for an event. We managed to get a table with 3 chairs and hurried through a lunch of sushi for the kids.
It's a Small World in Fantasyland:
This was the ride that the kids enjoyed the most on the first day. It was harmless, uneventful and interesting for the children. They loved trying to identify the animals they could recognize from the display.
We missed Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Autopia because of the long queue. We caught a glimpse of Lightning McQueen but was told that there was a quota for photo taking and we missed it. I made it a point to remember the time of the shows for the next day.
That's all we did on Day 1! It was too hot for us to bear. We headed back to the hotel at about 3pm and rested.
We then made our way to the Chinese restaurant in Disneyland hotel for dinner. It turned out to be much better than what we had on the first night in the Studio Lounge of Hollywood hotel. We took a walk in the Enchanted Garden in the hotel grounds. The kids had fun in the maze.
It was then back to the room for the fireworks show followed by endless games on the iPad and iPhone.
The 2 days we spent in the Disneyland park went by pretty quickly. The kids had a great time and didn't want to go home. Let me try to recall what happened during our holiday.
Sunday was the first day we spent in the park. We took a shuttle from the hotel to the park and was surprised to see many queues. Then I realized that the park didn't open until 10am. To think that I thought we were late. Fortunately it was only a 15 minute wait in the sun for us.
Once we entered the park, we joined another queue to take a photo with Mickey and Minnie. It then dawned on me that the day would be filled with queues in the sun.
Keane wanted to take photos with Donald and Daisy but nobody else wanted to queue with him. So I queued with him and the rest went to the animation studio which was air-conditioned. Fortunately the queue for the ducks was shorter! Then it was off to the rides.
We grabbed a sandwich at Market House Bakery before we moved on.
Tarzan's Treehouse in Adventureland:
It was quite uneventful. I felt that the path was very narrow, making it very difficult to take photographs at the spots where they had statues. Xavier was a bit afraid coming down the stairs because he could see the water below. I had to encourage him to keep moving without looking down. Keane was the bravest and went down on his own. I had to remind him to move slower!
The kids had brunch at the Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland. It turned out to be barely palatable. The non-spicy version of Penang laksa which Xavier ordered was poorly prepared. The bean sprouts were half cooked and it was a challenge to pick them out from the noodles. There were a lot of bean sprouts in there. Keane's Hainanese chicken rice was normal, nothing to rave about.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland:
We didn't know what we were queuing for. Nearer the start of the ride, we were relieved that it was not a 4D show. I remember the Shrek 4D show in Universal Studio freaked Keane and Xavier out. We had to go in separate cars because each car could take only 2. Hubby and Keane went ahead. Xavier was alone as I needed to watch Ryan. Xavier was afraid in the beginning. I told him that it was a game and he warmed up to it. I could see that Keane was frightened and his daddy was hugging him all the way. Ryan took to the game like fish to water. He even kept reminding me to shoot at the aliens!
Cinderella Carousel in Fantasyland:
This was the safest ride of all. Only Keane went on a horse. The other 2 preferred to sit in the chariot or carriage, whatever you call the seats.
We had tea break at the Royal Banquet Hall. It was a tight squeeze because half the hall was cordoned off for an event. We managed to get a table with 3 chairs and hurried through a lunch of sushi for the kids.
It's a Small World in Fantasyland:
This was the ride that the kids enjoyed the most on the first day. It was harmless, uneventful and interesting for the children. They loved trying to identify the animals they could recognize from the display.
We missed Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Autopia because of the long queue. We caught a glimpse of Lightning McQueen but was told that there was a quota for photo taking and we missed it. I made it a point to remember the time of the shows for the next day.
That's all we did on Day 1! It was too hot for us to bear. We headed back to the hotel at about 3pm and rested.
We then made our way to the Chinese restaurant in Disneyland hotel for dinner. It turned out to be much better than what we had on the first night in the Studio Lounge of Hollywood hotel. We took a walk in the Enchanted Garden in the hotel grounds. The kids had fun in the maze.
It was then back to the room for the fireworks show followed by endless games on the iPad and iPhone.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Greetings from Hong Kong Disneyland
It's been a month since my last post.....it always feels strange to take stock.
I'm now in a room in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort's Hollywood Hotel with my family. Bringing the kids on an overseas trip was as much as the challenge that we thought it would be. The easiest part of the holiday was making the booking. I called up the resort for room availability, made a reservation and paid for it. That took all of 20 minutes. Then I went online to redeem tickets on Singapore Airlines for 5 of us. That took all of 10 minutes. Easy peasy. From then till yesterday, the kids were always thinking of going to HK Disneyland. It was a good tool to illicit good behaviour for that month!
I came home from China on Friday night after 2 weeks of intensive meetings and discussions. The flight on the way into Shanghai was on time for once. But the flight out from Shanghai was delayed by an hour. I reached Singapore at about 9pm. The family came out to fetch me at the airport. Once we reached home, I immediately set out to get the kids to bed - shower and sleep. For Ryan, he had to drink his milk first. That boy is a milk addict. Both Keane and Ryan fell asleep very quickly because I said that whoever didn't close his eyes and sleep would not be able to go to HK Disneyland with us.
We packed 2 suitcases for the entire family. It was a bit of a struggle because we wished we could pack the entire wardrobe. Xavier was pretty brilliant about that. He said, "4 days and 2 sets per day means we need to bring 8 sets for each of us!". But that would have been a bit too much so we settled on 7 T-shirts and 4 pairs of pants each. Xavier was very excited and couldn't sleep. We all went to bed at about 1am.
The next day, everyone woke up early to get ready. We had to take the taxi at 7.15am. The taxi driver was very amusing. After we settled into the cab, he said he had 4 questions for me.
1) Passports? Check.
2) Tickets? E-tickets, so check.
3) Wallets? Check.
4) Terminal? T3, so check.
Fortunately this maxi-cab had a TV screen. So it was a smooth ride filled with Tom and Jerry. After checking our luggage, we went for breakfast at Kopitiam. Then headed for customs clearance. It was tough to keep the group together because Ryan kept exploring. 3 of them were very excited about getting on a plane. We made our way to the gate and it was a smooth transit to the plane.
The flight was delayed so it was a bit tough to get the kids in their seats. Krisworld was switched on but the experience was quite disappointing without the headsets. Fortunately the crew distributed the headsets and all was pretty well for a while. Throughout the flight, everyone was interested in different things. Keane flitted between games and food. Xavier was very keen on the food and exclaimed that everything was good except the raisins. Ryan fell asleep and woke up when we were halfway to Hong Kong. He was pretty easy to handle when there was food. Food and a movie kept him in his seat, but not for long. He kept wanting to change places. He refused to remain in his seat during landing. Keane dozed off during landing. We had to wake him up and he remained grumpy for the rest of the day. I'm sure I don't need to go into details.
We took a taxi to the hotel and it was a pretty easy check in process. The room was average. The toilet was tiny. But we were able to get 2 queen sized beds so it was still a good fit. The kids were very happy. I had a brilliant idea to bring them to Tung Chung where there was a Citygate factory outlet mall. I thought we could fit in some shopping and dinner. That turned out to be not very brilliant. The kids were tired, we definitely couldn't shop. So we ended up going to the supermarket. We ended up with 2 boxes of Tamago maki, 4 waffles, some snacks and a lot of bread. Then it was back to the hotel before any more complaining could throw both of us into a temper.
At the hotel, the kids finished up a lot of the food. Xavier was very excited about taking a bath. So we went down for dinner after a short rest. Dinner was not nice. The food wasn't good and Ryan kept running off. The evening looked like it was headed for disaster. We went back to the room and put out a bath for the kids. It was very fun for them and after splashing around for some time, we rushed to get them ready for the fireworks. Our room gave us a fantastic view of the fireworks and it was pretty amazing.
After that, it was pretty easy to get everyone to sleep......and it is now morning.
Wish me luck for the rest of the trip!
I'm now in a room in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort's Hollywood Hotel with my family. Bringing the kids on an overseas trip was as much as the challenge that we thought it would be. The easiest part of the holiday was making the booking. I called up the resort for room availability, made a reservation and paid for it. That took all of 20 minutes. Then I went online to redeem tickets on Singapore Airlines for 5 of us. That took all of 10 minutes. Easy peasy. From then till yesterday, the kids were always thinking of going to HK Disneyland. It was a good tool to illicit good behaviour for that month!
I came home from China on Friday night after 2 weeks of intensive meetings and discussions. The flight on the way into Shanghai was on time for once. But the flight out from Shanghai was delayed by an hour. I reached Singapore at about 9pm. The family came out to fetch me at the airport. Once we reached home, I immediately set out to get the kids to bed - shower and sleep. For Ryan, he had to drink his milk first. That boy is a milk addict. Both Keane and Ryan fell asleep very quickly because I said that whoever didn't close his eyes and sleep would not be able to go to HK Disneyland with us.
We packed 2 suitcases for the entire family. It was a bit of a struggle because we wished we could pack the entire wardrobe. Xavier was pretty brilliant about that. He said, "4 days and 2 sets per day means we need to bring 8 sets for each of us!". But that would have been a bit too much so we settled on 7 T-shirts and 4 pairs of pants each. Xavier was very excited and couldn't sleep. We all went to bed at about 1am.
The next day, everyone woke up early to get ready. We had to take the taxi at 7.15am. The taxi driver was very amusing. After we settled into the cab, he said he had 4 questions for me.
1) Passports? Check.
2) Tickets? E-tickets, so check.
3) Wallets? Check.
4) Terminal? T3, so check.
Fortunately this maxi-cab had a TV screen. So it was a smooth ride filled with Tom and Jerry. After checking our luggage, we went for breakfast at Kopitiam. Then headed for customs clearance. It was tough to keep the group together because Ryan kept exploring. 3 of them were very excited about getting on a plane. We made our way to the gate and it was a smooth transit to the plane.
The flight was delayed so it was a bit tough to get the kids in their seats. Krisworld was switched on but the experience was quite disappointing without the headsets. Fortunately the crew distributed the headsets and all was pretty well for a while. Throughout the flight, everyone was interested in different things. Keane flitted between games and food. Xavier was very keen on the food and exclaimed that everything was good except the raisins. Ryan fell asleep and woke up when we were halfway to Hong Kong. He was pretty easy to handle when there was food. Food and a movie kept him in his seat, but not for long. He kept wanting to change places. He refused to remain in his seat during landing. Keane dozed off during landing. We had to wake him up and he remained grumpy for the rest of the day. I'm sure I don't need to go into details.
We took a taxi to the hotel and it was a pretty easy check in process. The room was average. The toilet was tiny. But we were able to get 2 queen sized beds so it was still a good fit. The kids were very happy. I had a brilliant idea to bring them to Tung Chung where there was a Citygate factory outlet mall. I thought we could fit in some shopping and dinner. That turned out to be not very brilliant. The kids were tired, we definitely couldn't shop. So we ended up going to the supermarket. We ended up with 2 boxes of Tamago maki, 4 waffles, some snacks and a lot of bread. Then it was back to the hotel before any more complaining could throw both of us into a temper.
At the hotel, the kids finished up a lot of the food. Xavier was very excited about taking a bath. So we went down for dinner after a short rest. Dinner was not nice. The food wasn't good and Ryan kept running off. The evening looked like it was headed for disaster. We went back to the room and put out a bath for the kids. It was very fun for them and after splashing around for some time, we rushed to get them ready for the fireworks. Our room gave us a fantastic view of the fireworks and it was pretty amazing.
After that, it was pretty easy to get everyone to sleep......and it is now morning.
Wish me luck for the rest of the trip!
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