Sydney Part I

Drake was great on the flight from Brisbane to Sydney flight.  He was really getting use to flying, but I spoke too soon since he freaked out in the car and putting him to bed was a bit of nightmare.  Even the most mellow baby have bad days.  All the beach combing must've really tired him out.

Day 1 in Sydney, we were in a car again headed for Blue Mountain and its most famous rock formation, the Three Sisters.  We hit a bit of traffic so by the time we got there, it was lunch time.  We had lunch at Paragon Cafe in Katoomba.

Paragon was a throw back to the 30's and served the most mouth watering warm scones with butter cream and jam.  Writing this last bit is making my mouth water.

Three Sisters was another 5 minute drive away from Katooma.  The aboriginal people had different versions of the folktales of these rock formations.  Much like the 12 Apostles, there was a viewing point we could drive up to.  It provided a panorama view of the rock formation and valley.

We also hiked a short trail (it looked really far from the view point) right up to the Three Sisters. The little wooden bridge that connect to the Three Sisters was really scary for me to cross.  I wouldn't dare to look down the steep drop.  There were quite a few interesting trails that would've kept us occupied for days.

We fought the traffic going back to Sydney and had a late dinner at Moo Gourmet Burger at Bondi Beach.

Day 2 in Sydney, we finally made it to one of the most iconic sights in Australia.  The Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (they were closer to each other than I thought) are both located in the bustling Circular Quay.  There were many tourists just like us strolling around the waterfront and taking pictures, having a beverage at one of the many patio cafes, listening to dijurido music and loving the sunshine.

I wasn't expecting to see them, but we could see very clear the groups and groups of people climbing the Harbour Bridge.  Because we had Drake with us, we didn't consider doing this 3.5 hour climb.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mostly Sunny in Surfers Paradise

After Zorbing, we headed for Surfers Paradise.  Surfers Paradise was different than I imagined, many high rises buildings and shopping malls.

As we drove in, we saw the night market was being set up right next to the beach.  The market happens every Wednesday and Friday night.  Perfect plan for after dinner.  It had been overcast all day and we got caught in the rain halfway through strolling through the market so the night was cut short.  The next day we continued our stroll on the beach.  The beautiful beach was really picturesque.  The rest of the city reminded me of a mix of Atlantic City and Niagara Falls with laser tag, wax museum, duck tours, bars and clubs.

We had lunch the Bavarian Bier Cafe at Broadbeach before we went back to Brisbane again (for the third time) to catch a flight to Sydney.

Goodbye Heron Island, Hello Zorbing

Greg was disappointed that he didn't see much yesterday while snorkeling so he decided to try his luck early this morning.  Getting up early really paid off.  Apparently this snorkeling was the best, even better than his two dives.  He wanted to see sting rays, he saw about 40 of them, so many that they were laying on top of each other.  He saw sharks feasting on little fishes and tons of sea turtles.  I really regret sleeping in with Drake!

Like most hotels in Australia, upon Greg's return we had to pack and check out of our room at 10AM and leave our luggage outside for pick up.   We had an issue at check out.  It involved a upgraded room that was given to us without our knowledge, then the resort tried to charge us additional fee for the upgrade.

In the end we were able to sort out the misunderstanding, but we ran out of time to do anything meaningful and we weren't too interested in the free bird watching tour.  We just lounged around the pool and bar.  Lunch wasn't included after checkout, it costed $25 AUD per person.

At 2PM, we hopped on the ferry back to the mainland, Gladstone.  Flights to Gladstone and out of Gladstone were all pretty much at the same time everyday, so the ferry's departure time all coincide with the flight time.  The ride back was much smoother than coming in, I barely felt it.  I also took stronger medication.  Drake again was happy as a clam, didn't get seasick at all.

When we arrived at the Gladstone marina, the bus to take us to the airport was already waiting for us.  We flew back to Brisbane for the night.

The next day we rented a car and headed for Surfers Paradise.  I had seen on TV a few years back about zorbing.  There was a place on route, so we had to stop at Ozball.  There were two types of rides and we tried them both for $120 AUD.  It was regularly priced at $45 per person per ride.  It was really quiet and  we were the only customer there so they gave us a deal.  The price even included baby sitting!  The operator who caught us at the bottom also watched Drake. I hope that wasn't bad parenting...

A dry ride which involved us being strapped inside of the giant plastic ball and pushed off the hill.  We were tossed around like laundry for about 5 minutes.  It was so much fun!  I wanted to do it again and again despite being a little dizzy.  The second ride was the wet ride.  The inside of the ball was fill with about 3 litres of water.  We didn't have our bathing suits with us so they provided us with board shorts and towels.  We hopped in and again was pushed off the hill facing forward.  We were able to face forward during the ride.  It felt like we were about to face plant into the grass any moment.  I wanted to do it again and again despite the yellowish water!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef) - Day 3

Today was my turn to dive! I showed up for my refresher dive at 8AM. I was a bit nervous since it had been at least two years since my last dive. Also I was still concerned about the sharks. I had to demonstrate a few skills such as taking the regulator in and out and goggle clearing. Now I was more confident about the dive.

We took a quick ten minute boat ride to dive site called Bommie.  The dive lasted about 45 minutes. I saw big and small colourful fishes, huge stingrays hanging out at the sandy bottom, a sea turtle with a coral stuck to his fin (he did manage to get rid of it when he started swimming), and white tip sharks.  I am glad I change my mind about diving.  It was one of the best dives I have ever done.  The only thing I notice was the coral wasn't as colourful as I thought.  I read somewhere Great Barrier Reef is dying at a rapid pace.  What a shame.  I only hope someday in the future Drake will be able to see the reef for himself too.

After lunch we took Drake to play in the ocean.  He splashed the water around, picked up shells and dug into the golden sand.  He absolutely had a ball.

Heron Island is surrounded by reefs that you can just walk to.  I strapped Drake in the Ergobaby and we went for a walk.  Drake fell asleep almost immediately.  The reef, of course, didn't have as many fishes around them as the Bommie, but if we looked closely we can still find little fishes and star fishes.

Tides started to come in.  Greg decided to go for a snorkel by the jetty and the HMCS Protector wreck.  He hadn't seen a sting ray yet, he was hoping to find one or two.  He came up short and didn't find anything too interesting.  I was able to spot a few lemon sharks and told him whereabouts from the jetty.  He wasn't fast enough to catch a glimpse.

I decided to go for a snorkel as well since it might be my last chance.  It turned out the lemon sharks hung around to say hello to me.  I came to about 3 feet with one.  As soon as I caught the face of the 5 foot fish with very intimidating teeth, I swam away as quickly as I could like a scaredy cat.

Heron Island is known for a lot of turtle activities and the resort offered free guided turtle watching at sunset.  We put Drake in the Ergobaby again and went for a little moonlight beach walk in search of baby turtles making their way to the ocean.  We were warned that this was the tail end of the turtle hatching season and the island had a very low activity level this season.  After a hour of walking back and forth, we saw a turtle nest which was just a pile of sand (the eggs were buried deep in the chamber).  We didn't see any baby turtles.

I guess yesterday we got rained in, today we did a lot to make up for the lost time.  I am a little sad we are leaving tomorrow.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Heron Island

Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef) - Day 2

Greg got up really early for a morning dive. The dives were 70 AUD each. Only the tank and weights were included in the price. BCD and other equipment can be rented from 7 to 22 AUD.

Drake and I slept in and went for a late breakfast. I had originally planned to snorkel only, but this is the GBR! After breakfast I signed up for a dive tomorrow.

Greg returned from his dive around 10:30. He had to do a refresher first which was right off the jetty and there were sting rays and sharks. Sharks!? What?! Hmmm... I'm not so sure about this. The dive trip was only 1.5 hours since they only had to go ten minutes out. He said the dive was amazing with more turtles and sharks. I was starting to get excited for my dive tomorrow.

The beautiful morning had turned into rain, so we lazed around the resort until lunch.

Greg went for his second dive in the rain at 3PM. The resort offered 3 dive trips per day: 9AM, 11AM and 3PM.

Upon his return I decided to go snorkeling off the jetty. Apparently the fishes liked to gather under the jetty to get away from the heat. Late afternoon was high tide and was a good time to snorkel. I saw a big turtle and lots of colourful small and big fishes. I came really close to a white tip reef shark, so I was told by Greg who was walking on the jetty with Drake. I was grateful I missed it. I had left my sandals on the beach but the tide had came in so fast in less than half hour while I was in the water.  I nearly lost the sandals if someone hadn't moved them to higher grounds.

It rained for the rest of the day and night. Hopefully tomorrow there will be sunshine.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Heron Island, Australia

Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef) - Day 1

This morning we caught the 8:50AM Virgin flight to Gladstone. The flight took just over an hour from Brisbane. Drake was an angle and slept through it. When we arrived, we were put on a bus for a quick ride to the marina where we were checked in for our 2 hour boat ride to Heron Island. This island is very small, it only has one resort and it is very famous for great snorkeling just off the shore.

We were told the sea was very rough today and were given ginger extract sea sickness pills. I also wore sea sickness wristbands. I felt covered. I was wrong. I should've known from the stash of barf bags on the table. The sea was so rough that it felt like a roller coaster ride that lasted 2 hours. Half of the boat had the barf bag attached to their faces. I lasted about 1.5 hours, then I up-chucked my morning salad. The boat crew was very experienced, they helped everyone switch out bags and handed out cold towels. Drake again slept through the entire ride.

I guess one has to ride through hell before arriving in paradise. We were greeted by the warm sea breeze as we stepped off the boat. The nausea disappeared instantly.

We grabbed a welcome drink and set our watch one hour ahead and then we were off to a late lunch at the restaurant. I was hungry since I left all my stomach content on the boat. The buffet style food was excellent. Lamb curry with rice, fresh arugula salad, antipasti and orange chocolate cake.

After lunch we found and settled into our room. The room was very roomy with full amenities. There were only a couple hours left before our preset dinner reservation (which was only done on the first night, after that we made our own). We decided to go walk around and get ourselves oriented. It was also happy hour at the bar. Greg grabbed a draft beer to go for 6 AUD (regular price 6.50 to 7 AUD).

There were a lot of different birds nesting in the trees. Good potion of the resort pathways were covered in bird dropping which smelled "great". Our room also came with ear plugs. Apparently these birds can be really disturbingly loud.

Dinner was again awesome. It was a seafood feast - raw oysters, smoked salmon, mussels, and really big prawns to start. I had dhal and rice for main and red velvet cake for the big finale.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location: Heron Island, Australia

Quick Stopover in Adelaide and Brisbane

We had a good restful night in Warrambool.  Today's plan was to drive to Adelaide which was about a little less than 7 hours away.  I think if we were to plan it again, we would rather turn back onto Great Ocean Road and go back to Melbourne.  The 7 hour drive didn't have much in turns of exciting scenery.  It looked like any road we have been on, however we did make a unplanned but worthy stop at the Princess Margaret Rose Cave about 20km off the highway A1.  On route we spotted a bunch of Emus running in the field.  One more Australia animal checked off.

The cave entrance fee was $16 AUD per person.  It was a guided tour that happened every hour.  We got a ten minute background information before we descended down to the caves.  Photography was allowed, but video was not allowed.  I asked why during the tour, the guide said because once someone was video taping he wasn't watching where he was going and tripped and broke one of the rock formations.  Stroller was also not allowed in the cave so I strapped Drake in the Ergobaby.

It was a little chilly in the cave.  We all stood around in an area that was about 800 square feet listening to the guide.  I have never been to a limestone cave.  The cool formation was cool, but I started to wonder if that was all we were going to see.  The guide then walked over to a light switch and turned it on, we saw the rest of the cave which was completely dark without any lights.

The tour lasted about 45 minutes.  We could've loved to check out other stuff that was above ground of the cave but we had another five hours to go before reaching Adelaide and we needed to beat the check-in hour.  When we approached the Rose Cave earlier, we also saw a sign for a place called Platypus Cafe.  We asked the guide at the Cave if the cafe actually had Platypus.  She told us the cafe had been shutdown due management issues.  It was really too bad, Greg was really hoping to see a Platypus on this trip.

We reached Adelaide just after sunset and went to bed shortly.  The next day we only had the morning to check out the city before boarding a flight to Brisbane. We headed to Henley Beach since it was really close to the airport.  The water was really clear and we even saw a diver diving around the pier.  The Henley Beach Square offered affordable restaurants and ice cream shops.  We grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the airport.

We were actually only passing through Brisbane as well to get to Gladstone.  Then a ferry ride from Gladstone to Heron Island aka Great Barrier Reef.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Adelaide

Great Ocean Road - Day 2

We got our day started a little early since there were a lots to see today. The target was to spend the night in Warrnambool (2.5 hours from Apollo Bay). Last night, our inn keeper told us about 20 km back by Kennett River we are guaranteed to see koalas hanging out in trees.

We back tracked to Grey River Road by Kennet River. It took us no time to find a few koalas sleeping high up in the trees, especially there were already a small group of tourists gathering. Instead of turning back onto the GOR, we kept on driving on Grey River Road hoping to spot more of these cuddly bears a bit closer to the ground. The detour rewarded us with a few more koalas and a young kangaroo waiting by the side of the road.

Eventually we got back on GOR after about 1 hour. Next stop was the oldest lighthouse in the Australia. Our original research told us the road that led to the lighthouse is full of koalas. But the inn keeper in Apollo Bay told us, it wasn't guaranteed unless we went to Kennet River. Well, we spotted a big koala almost right away hanging out on a tree branch that was practically arm length from us.

This Cape Otway lighthouse cost us $18.50 AUD to get in. We were able to climb to the top and the 360 degree view was pretty spectacular. The rest of the grounds had an old bunker, a small simple museum and a few pieces of sculpture. Nothing to write home about.

Drake so far has been doing really well in the car.  He played with his toys in the car and slept a lot.  I think the motion really soothed him.  I did feel really bad having to take him in and out of the car, especially when he had just fell asleep.  Our next stop was Wreck Beach. Unlike the Wreck beach in Vancouver, this one actually had ship wrecks instead of anti-clothing enthusiasts.  Unfortunately we got terribly lost by taking the wrong turn onto a road called Old Coach Road.  To be fair, although it looked completely unpaved and full of giant pot holes, the road had a name.  Our logic was why would anyone bother naming a road if it wasn't meant to be traveled on.  After 30 minutes of driving mostly on the shoulder of the good old Old Coach Road, we gave up and turned back.  It was good thing.  When we finally found Wreck Beach, we were certain Old Coach Road probably would've led us off of a cliff.

Wreck Beach also took 300 steps to get down to.  By the time we got there, it was already high tide.  We didn't want to trek too far to seek out the wreck in fear of being trapped by the water.  Despite not finding the ship wreck, the beach was still beautiful to see.  Soft yellow sand met with sapphire blue waves.  It was worth getting lost for until we had to take the 300 steps back up to our car.

We drove on for about ten minutes.  "What is that?" We spotted a slow moving animal waddling on the side of the highway. A bulldog? As we approached, we collectively screamed. It was a large koala! As we got closer, he ran up the nearest tree. He stayed low and stared at us as we stared at him in awe.

For the grand finale, our last stop of the day was the 12 Apostles, a collection of limestone formations by the GOR.  We first stopped at Gibson Steps which was a set of stairs (much easier than the Wreck Beach steps) that led to the beach where you can see the first Apostle up and close.  Another 500 meters past Gibson Steps was the viewing spot for the rest of the Apostles.  There were only 7 left standing.  The rest collapsed into the ocean over time. The viewing point consisted a platform that extended out into a rock formation, so you can view the Apostles face on.  Watching the Apostles against the sunset and the white capped ocean was an amazing feeling.  It was an awesome way to finish up our day.

Nightfall had set in.  The road got really dark.  We drove another hour to Warrnambool to settle in for the night.  We were tired, so the hour long drive felt so long.  We wished we had just stayed in Port Campbell which was the town closest to the Apostles, but that meant we had a lot of driving to make up tomorrow to reach Adelaide.  When we reached Warrnambool at 9:30PM to check-in to our hotel, we were surprised to find out we almost missed the reception hour.  I was really surprised since all the hotels I have been to in North America had 24 hour reception.  Glad we made it! Time for bed!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Great Ocean Road, Australia

Great Ocean Road - Day 1

Our stay in Melbourne was pretty short.  Aside from St. Kilda, we attended a wedding and had a quick morning tour of the commercial centre aka downtown. My overall impression of the city was it looked like any typical city in North America, not much of a culture shock.  I was really excited about our road trip on the Great Ocean Road (GOR).  We picked up our rental car in the morning and headed out shortly after lunch. The target was to spend the night in Apollo Bay, 3 hours outside of Melbourne.

Our first stop was the Anglesea Golf Course. But we were not in for a game of 9 holes. This course is famous for its kangaroos. They just hang out all over the course while people played. As we pulled up, there was a big sign that said the course has no access to kangaroo viewing. But just to the right of their parking lot, there were a bunch of kangaroos just hanging out and enjoying the sun. We were able to get out of the car and get as close to 5 to 10 meters from them. It was a really amazing site to see.

We then stopped in Lorne for some tea and snack. We came across a few cockatoos in the park by the water. We probably shouldn't have fed them our apple cords since the locals considered them pests, but Drake was absolutely delighted by them.

Before we knew, sun was setting and the road became quite windy. We drove straight to Apollo Bay for the night. Drake did well in the car today. He was happy in the car seat playing with his toys and only fussed a little while trying to fall asleep.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Great Ocean Road, Australia

Hello Daddy and Melbourne

Drake and I waited anxiously at PuDong Airport.  Greg's flight was delayed for a hour.  After 2.5 weeks away, Drake was a little unsure initially.  But he took no time to warm up to Daddy.

Our flight to Melbourne was pretty smooth.  We were again seated in front of the bulkhead with a bassinet.  Drake was much better on this flight.  He slept through it for the most part.  I even managed to get some sleep.

We arrived in Melbourne in the morning.  From the airport to St. Kilda took about 20 minutes and cost $100 AUD.  Since we were traveling with two other friends, we hired a Maxi cab which was a caravan taxi.  We were a bit surprised by the high cab fare. But we later found out, more than 2 person in a Maxi cab cost 1.5 times than the regular fare.

Melbourne was colder than expected. It was colder indoors than outside, especially during the day which was kind of like Shanghai. Although all of us were jet lagged we decided to still check out our St. Kilda neighbourhood.  It really reminded of me of a cleaner Venice Beach.  A lot of little shops, bakeries, and restaurants next to the beach.  It was a very chill place to hang out for a drink but St. Kilda was a pretty expensive area.  A bottle of beer at a restaurant went for  $8 to $10 AUD.  Apparently labour is very expensive which explained the even more pricy cocktails.  They went from $15 to $20 USD.

  giant Easter bunny roaming around the streets

Drake hanging out on St Kilda Beach. It was windy and overcasted that day which attached a lot of surfers in the water.

We had originally planned to go to Philip Island to check out the little penguins that marched to shore at dusk.  Then we found out there were penguins right off the pier of St. Kilda beach.  

 St. Kilda neighbourhood art work

Beautiful estate in St. Kilda, very Southern, no?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Melbourne, Australia

Drake Meets His Chinese Family

It didn't take very long before Drake was adjusted to the time difference.  I think babies are better at taking cue from the sunlight and darkness.  However, we were traveling in another country after all.  Drake was a busy little man. He had to stay up for a few late family gatherings which he met his granduncles, grandaunts, cousins and his great grandmother (who is 97).  Drake was a big hit with the family.  I didn't get to hold him much since there was always someone in the queue to hold him.  He also collected quite a few red envelops.  It is tradition that the elders give the new member of the family red envelop at their first meeting.

Drake also drew a bit of a crowd wherever he went.  Mixed babies are still a novelty in China.  People constantly commented how gorgeous his eyes were and he looked like a real life doll.  As a mother, of course, I was really flattered, especially when he was very well behaved when people who he never met before picked him up.  When I was at the spa, every shop girls wanted to play with him and passed him around like a little puppy. I got really nervous since one of them could just take him away and he probably still wouldn't cry.

Everyone might love babies, but China wasn't particularly a baby friendly place.  There was no such thing as changing table anywhere.  I felt very odd changing him in the middle of a restaurant where people were eating but I soon got use to it since no one else cared.  Babies can get away with anything.  No ramps where there were stairs. I really appreciated my Kelty Kids stroller that converted into a backpack.  It was a great investment!  I did think 99% of the people tried their best to accommodate Drake.  The other 1% were the idiots who had no problem smoking right next to Drake.

One funny thing I noticed was aside from commenting on how big Drake's eyes were, people always thought Drake was wearing too little clothing.  China was still a little chilly in the March.  But not so cold that Drake needed 10 layers.  All Chinese children we saw including Drake's cousins wore so much clothes they couldn't even put their arms down and they always had red cheeks.

We had a great visit in China. I am so glad Drake's Chinese family got a chance to meet him and Drake got a taste of his heritage so early on in his life.

Drake's going to China

We are on the road again.  The plan is for Drake and I to go to China for 2 weeks and then Greg will meet us in Shanghai to head to Australia for 3 weeks. This will be the first trip with Drake, our 7 month old baby. I am really excited and nervous about this trip.  Excited because Drake will meet his family from China for the first time.  Nervous because Drake will take his first 12 hour flight.

We arrived at the airport very early to check-in. I requested a baby bassinet for Drake which put me in a bulkhead seat. When our flight was called I really appreciated because of Drake we got to board the plane first.  No waiting in the aisle for people to put away their luggage or showing up at our seats with no overhead compartment space left.  It definitely took some stress out of traveling with an infant.

Even though I was seated at a bulkhead seat, it didn't guarantee us a bassinet. It was first come first served. Once the plane reached altitude, I asked the stewardess for one right away. It was about 75cm long and held a baby up to 20lbs.  There were two studs on the bassinet that were inserted into the bulkhead in front of my seat.  There were two pieces of flaps that zipped together over the bassinet which acted as the seat belt.

Even though I was so happy to have the bassinet, Drake didn't get much sleep on the flight.  The stewardesses (and other random passengers) kept coming by to play with him, especially when he was about to fall asleep. I could tell he was getting really tired and increasingly fussy.  But I didn't have the heart to tell people stop bothering him.

Drake however did have a very good appetite.  I brought tons of food with me on the flight: an apple, a peach, two hard boiled eggs, steamed carrots and oatmeal.  He ate them all.  I packed a big bag of dry oatmeal for the trip.  Just add hot water and butter. Easy and healthy!

When we finally arrived in Shanghai, I was running on about 20 minutes of sleep and was happy for this flight to be over.

A Trial Trip to Los Angeles - Part II

Continue from previous post: A Trial Trip to Los Angeles - Part I

4. Travel gear - The first thing we have to deal with is the Drake's mobility. Currently we have a Uppababy Vista stroller, Ergo Baby carrier, and Baby Buddha sling. The stroller is too bulky. The sling or the carrier is compact, but a 20lb baby can be hard on the back after awhile.

I started researching light weight travel strollers for when we are tired of back carrying Drake. Aside from the typical stuff, I found this interesting car seat stroller combo. The Lilly Gold Sit n' Stroll is a stroller that converts into a car seat. I thought this will be so great when we rent a car to get around in Uluru however the car seat is only safety rated in the USA.

Our friend who has travelled with his baby extensively highly recommended the Kelty baby backpack.
It is a much more appropriate back carrier for our trip. I didn't think we needed another one until I found Kelty also made a backpack that converts into a stroller. Unfortunately, they have discontinued it so I turned to the good old Craigslist and found one that was really good condition for only 100 bucks.


We were pretty excited to try it out.

Pros:

• It was super light weight at only over 9 lbs. It also suppose to be able to hold up to 50 lbs.
• It was comfortable on the back with a good support.  Hubby took Drake out for a morning stroll everyday. 
• Its overall shape is upright instead of diagonally which meant it took up less space when in or moving through crowds.
• It acted as a high chair very well. Perfect height and didn't have to take Drake in and out in restaurants.
• Good under carriage space. We were able to store water, neck pillow and both of our jackets.

Cons:

• It didn't fold as well as traditional travel stroller. Only the handle part was foldable. It took up half of the space in our car trunk. But we didn't have any issue checking it at the gate of our flight.
• It didn't turn very well. It was great going in a straight line. But if I wanted to be agile and make quick and sharp turns, it was nearly impossible.  It took a bit to get use to.
• The stroller was only recommended for babies who could sit upright on their own which explains the lack of back support. I used a neck pillow to solve this issue. Drake was able to catch some Z's in it but didn't look all that comfortable to me. Then again I am not a baby.

Speaking of which, the second thing is Drake's sleeping arrangement. The three popular choices seem to be Kidco Peapod, Baby Bjorn and Phil&;Teds. The Peapod was recalled in November due a case of tragic infant suffocation death.  Although I believe it was a freak accident, I decided not to go with Peapod because it folds into a circle which is an awkward shape to fit into a backpack, suitcase or a overhead compartment.  Baby Bjorn has the same issue.  It folds into a shape of a large suit case.  It also had no side access.

Phil&Teds recently upgraded the crib from 9 lbs to only 7 lbs.  It hasn't gone on sale and unknown when they will go on sale.  With our travel date approaching fast, we decided to just get the Traveller II.

Pros:

• It is the most light weight and compact travel crib on the market.  It folded into a small tub shape that can fit into anything easily.  
• Once set up, it is almost as big as a regular crib.
• The side opening was really good to have if I wanted to lay down next to Drake before he falls asleep.
• It kept the light out relatively well (although the new design takes away this feature with all mesh sides).
• I just love the chic design

Cons:

• It took awhile (10 minutes) to put it together and take it apart and pack.

Before this trial trip, we asked for advice from friends about traveling with kids. They all gave us good ideas and suggestions.  However every child is different, your friends' experience isn't necessarily going to be the same as yours.  That is why we needed to do a trial trip.  We really didn't end up doing too much sightseeing.  We didn't have to deal with jet lag.  But we are still so glad we did it. We got to know our son much better.  Hopefully it will come in handy when it is time for our big China and Australia trip.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Vancouver