Hard News: Ready to Fly
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so we shouldn't just take the kids to Bali for the school holidays then? won't it be dangerous taking them out of Club Med? wife doesn't want a repeat of that Portugese nastiness.
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so we shouldn't just take the kids to Bali for the school holidays then? won't it be dangerous taking them out of Club Med? wife doesn't want a repeat of that Portugese nastiness.
Apa?
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don't know what 'apa' means, sorry. since this thread is titled 'ready to fly' and you're obviously well travelled I thought I'd ask. I'd love to do something more adventurous than Club Med Bintan or Bali, but when you have a 6 y.o. and a 4 y.o. it's difficult. I presume Russell hasn't brought his kids with him to Vietnam?
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In Bahasa apa means loosely "what"...or eh?
Take them to Bali....and for heavens sake take them out of Club Med if you do....Nusa Dua is probably the last place I'd subject a family to, nasty, horrible sterile place where the only locals you encounter are the staff.
Day to day, the most dangerous things here are the dreaded Bali Belly (avoidable) and the roads (hire a driver when you want to go any distance).
Seriously, there are lots of family friendly resorts and hotels especially around the Sanur area (where I brought a six year old some years back). The beaches are clean and safe, food, babysitters at reasonable prices, unlike a place like Med, so you can get some adult time. And you're close to the mountains etc for something a little more adventurous if you have the urge.
If you do want some suggestions, fire me an email
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During my ex-pat days my boss referred to Singapore as 'a cross between East Germany and Disneyland'. I've never heard it summed up so well.
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When I was in Singapore recently I received a list of things to do from a friend that lived there for a while that make me think that perhaps Singapore isn't quite as repressed as i've been led to believe.
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During my ex-pat days my boss referred to Singapore as 'a cross between East Germany and Disneyland'. I've never heard it summed up so well
William Gibson called Singapore 'Disneyland with the death penalty' which might have its charms, but I'll be stuffed if I can see them.
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Singapore isn't quite as repressed as i've been led to believe.
my favourite sign in Singapore is on a park just off Scotts:
Permitted Activities- Hip Hopping
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If that isn't toleration what is? I can't think of a single park in NZ where there is an official Crown endorsement of Hip Hopping
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That said, the whole world would do well to look at Changi Airport (one of the world's busiest) and work out how it can actually be done well. It's one of the wonders of the modern world....clean, efficient, polite, free Wi-fi, not grossly over-priced and edible food
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I couldn't find this free wifi last time I looked, and I looked hard a couple of weeks back at Singapore Airport. All the networks I could get on and stay on were pay (and it wasn't cheap). There was one that sort of looked to be free but dammed if I could ever connect to it no matter where I went or did. It is possible that this was a Mac issue (I know Wellington Airport's wifi had a mac issue at first, and possibly still does).
They did have a heap of free internet terminals though, which sort of made up for it.
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Ben,...turn on your cellphone..an SMS comes through with the login details. Singtel and Starhub both offer it.
If it doesn't arrive, On Singtel send an SMS to *9434 and they'll send you a login and password.
I've used it probably 30 times with no problem..blisteringly fast too...you may need to clear your cache before logging in though. The same companies offer free wi-fi in various malls including Suntech. Singapore itself is in the process of offering free 512 across the island...everywhere (censored of course).
Even in third world Indonesia free wi-fi in cafes, malls and bars seems to be becoming the norm
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I'll add my vote to Changi as being one of the better places to stop off and transit.
Since September 9 - have had to fly NZ to UK via LAX once - and it was with work. Will never do it again if I can help it.
Singapore Airlines service is always superb - and Changi is a pleasure to land in. Flew back over Christmas and had a 12 hour layover each way - got a room in the airport, sat in the pool, slept in a bed, enjoyed a nice breakfast. Not free, not super-plush - but very relaxing.
Landed at Heathrow far more refreshed. And the flight from Singapore to London was far less crowded, than the normal midnight departure. Apparently being willing to land in London in the afternoon GMT, gets you more seat space.
I watched the European Championship where Greece beat Portugal there - at some ungodly hour of the morning while waiting for a flight. Myself - 3 cleaners and a couple of blokes from security.
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Should say about Singapore in particular - while it's a great little city in some ways - it's best to move on.
I've always said if you've never been to Asia before, South East Asia especially - it's a good place to start. You get the heat without the filth, the traffic without the chaos, the food without the bizarre. It's plastic Asia.
It gets better the further north you go. Four days is the longest I've ever managed in one go.
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