Boston with a teenager: Reluctant Education

Education, education, education. An old government slogan that applies to many households of school age children. Holidays should be a break, a change of scenery, but it’s always nice to throw in the odd educational experience. For a 16 year old who has just completed mandatory schooling, a solid dose of education was in order - so off we went to Boston to explore the Universities and the story of America’s break from Colonial rule. I was also keen to get the boy into the idea of independent travelling on a budget.

Our AirBnB was a twin room in a shared house in Revere; great value but well away from the tourist sights of the city centres. Revere is a firmly residential area of white clapboard houses adorned with patriotic tributes, sprawling shopping malls, and enormous roads - in short, what some might call the “real” America. The contrast of our small European city home to the suburban American sprawl was evident as we negotiated our way across 6 lane roads to a near deserted sandy beach barely half an hour from downtown Boston.

As is often the case in the United States, public transport difficulties ended up being a theme of the trip. We had installed the MTicket app on my phone to buy transport tickets, but couldn’t work it. However the MBTA Transit App was reasonably reliable, albeit that there weren’t a huge amount of buses to show us. We also downloaded Boston CityMaps, which gave us lots of adverts and a useful map of the subway; and Lyft, but didn’t use it.

We’d booked tours of Harvard and MIT as “prospective students”, which I suppose #1 son is. I’d always thought of him as more of a nerdy MIT type, and figured the tailored tour through his preferred faculties would be jolly interesting. However, whilst the charismatic student showing us round told us dozens of great quirky stories, it was Harvard that really grabbed his attention. The cool shady squares, ancient buildings (by American standards anyway), vast multi-storey library seemed to really inspire him. The bursary system really inspired me - Harvard and MIT give away over $100 million each in tuition fees every year! Harvard even pays for crazy overseas field trips all around the world. But I could see why the boy was inspired, Harvard has no modesty about appointing itself as the world’s most eminent university, and confidently asserts itself as such. The canteen is good (and cheap) too. Boy was inspired to do a bit more work for sixth form - mission accomplished.

A scientific friend had told me that we needed to visit the Science Museum, which contains the world’s largest van der Graff generator. This seemed a good plan for the rain forecast that afternoon. I had images of my own school science lessons when van der Graff generators turned our 1980’s expansive hair into quite an alien form. However this generator was actually developed to demonstrate lightning. You can miss the rest of the museum - this really was the thing. Played out in a purpose built theatre, the audience protected by a vast birdcage-like Faraday cage surrounding the central stage, the show demonstrates a phenomenal range of sound and light effects from the sparks generated. A bizarre highlight was playing Star Wars music through differently tuned generators as sparks flew between them.  The boy is too old to be a thrilled child, too cool to be interested in the Physics, but was as thrilled as I was, and as fascinated as all the other ages in there. 

While the rest of the family basked in the hottest British day ever, the rain in Boston continued the next day, so we invested $63 each in a one day Boston City Pass which gave us free entry to dozens of indoor and outdoor venues across town, including bike hire. This accelerated our tour through the aquarium, Paul Revere’s house, the Prudential Tower to look out across the neat rows of Brownstone Houses towards Fenway Park and the hills beyond, across Harvard Bridge (curiously measured in “Smoots” by some amusing co-MIT students of the diminutive Mr Smoot who was used as a measuring rod for the occasion),

The unexpected highlight was the museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). Neither of us are artists, or remotely appreciative of art. I find Modern Art to be a very hit and miss affair, sometimes we’ll see something that we really like, but have no idea why. And so it was in the MCA, in the form of a permanent exhibit in a large room with various immense screens showing films taken simultaneously in a large house, in which people are jointly playing a piece of music in a weird range of locations within the house, various states of dress and undress, obviously different instruments and singers, but with the music perfectly synchronised. Walking round the gallery is like walking round this old house with the music all around you. We stayed there a while soaking it all in.

Next day the rain had gone and a beautiful clear day dawned. Following some basic research of Public transport, we plotted a trip Northward to Rockport.  This took us through absolutely stunning scenery with names utterly incompatible with their British namesakes. Manchester had huge clear blue lakes on both sides of the train tracks, lined by magnificent houses with vast green lawns reaching down to the shores. Gloucester and Chelsea meanwhile looked more like... well British Manchester really. Rockport itself seemed rather genteel when we arrived. Plenty of Art Galleries lining the main streets attracted the wealthy elderly crowd more than the teenage son and his dad crowd. However we had a jolly tasty seafood lunch, and proceeded on to collect a pair of pre-booked kayaks to paddle out across to some of the islands in Massachusetts Bay. The wildlife was surprisingly abundant, there were areas of big fish jumping out of the water (although I’ve no idea why), and hundreds of birds diving from the rocky shores. We stopped at Stratsmouth Island which was occupied solely by a retired couple who were restoring the lighthouse on the island. It was a fascinating tale, there was no running water or electricity when they arrived, so they had rigged up rainwater traps and solar panels to make the house habitable as a holiday let.

Our final day involved a proper day’s sightseeing, walking Boston’s famous “Freedom Trail” incorporating places of significance in America’s battle to shake off the colonial oppression imposed by the British Government. As Brits, we have a civic duty to express some cynicism about romanticism of some of the stories. It’s really not clear why Paul Revere is revered more than the other chap who  rode another horse through the night to warn of the British Advance. But that aside, the route is well planned, clearly marked for self-navigation with or without an explanatory leaflet, and at around 3 miles on both sides of the river - is easy to walk in half a day looking at the sights. Many visitors overlook the North side of the river, but that’s a shame as the view from Bunker Hill gives some real perspective to the City, and the old dockyard is fascinating. Back on the South side, and as someone who originates from close to Boston, England; it’s surprising to me to see the names of South Lincolnshire villages on street names and gravestones.  We finished the tour in Chinatown, where we ordered some fantastic Dim Sum, familiar tasty Cantonese food in enormous American portions!

The one thing that our One Day City Pass didn’t cover was the Boston Tea Party Museum, so we took ourselves there after lunch. It’s a bit enthusiastic for my muted British tastes, and much too enthusiastic for a self-aware British teenager, but it really is very well put together. All visitors are assigned an identity of a colonial rebel, and start in a protest meeting led by charismatic actors representing some of the heroes of the rebellion. The party then processes out onto a tea clipper and ceremonially dumps the tea into the harbour. The tour guides really were excellent, staying in character but answering any questions thrown at them with a wealth of knowledge of Boston’s history. The escalating rhetoric between the rebels and Crown was well illustrated through “paintings” of King George and Sam Adams having a heated row, their words based on actual correspondence between them. An understandably different slant to that taught in British Schools, and a welcome educational finale to the trip!

Bangkok: Asian Las Vegas

There are few things more irritating than smug parents whose children always eat whatever they are given. Most children, ours included, are fussier. Travelling with them therefore needs a certain acceptance of the quest quest for familiar food, ie global McDonalds solution….. Until you get to Bangkok. For Bangkok is street food heaven. Lining main roads and back streets, on junctions and in the vast night markets, the range of child-friendly (and not so friendly) food is beyond vast. Satay chicken kebabs will do for the majority; some of the spicier chicken and pork offerings were more for the older children; wok-fried insects were a shared challenge that I really ought to repeat for the good of the planet, but won’t be any time soon. The ubiquitous Pad Thai seemed to vary hugely stall by stall. The sharpness of most of the curries was mitigated by the smoothness of rich coconut milk. Fresh tropical fruit were skewered, juiced, chopped into any sorts of shapes, mixed with chocolate, layered on waffles. Jet lag had the children awake half the night, which was great as we just ate into the small hours.

The initial exclamation of our 14 year old as we ventured out for this first evening in Bangkok was an excited shock that it was an Asian Las Vegas - he’d rather enjoyed the US version last year. Indeed it was, the advertising screens covering the entire side of shopping centres, the 24 hour artificial light, the heat, the traffic, the crowds on the pavement, the luxury shops alongside the standard 7/11. But this is Asia, there are also temples galore, street food (did I mention that?), markets, and canals. 

We’ve found that a handy way to orientate ourselves around a new city is to pick a fairly spurious destination a couple of miles away, and wander in a general direction towards it, purely to have a destination in mind. Ambling through the streets is a good way to throw off the tiring feeling of travelling, and we see lots of stuff we’d probably otherwise miss in a frantic effort to tick off the sights in the guide book. The rather random arrangement of Bangkok is great for this, with its juxtaposition of temples, shopping centres, ancient shacks and modern office blocks. Our destination was Lumphini Park, which we reached after a few hours, and had a pleasant relaxing afternoon renting swan-shaped pedalboats (an ageless activity), tormenting giant dragon-like geckos, and of course dining from the range of street-side stalls.

Friends who had visited Bangkok over Easter recommended a bicycle tour. Even as someone who cycles in London every day, the traffic in Bangkok was somewhat off-putting. However these fears were irrelevant, the tour took us through impossibly narrow alleyways, suddenly opening into huge peaceful squares devoid of traffic, mostly in front of Buddhist monasteries and temples. The guides were entertaining and informative, a particularly interesting point for the 4 boys under 16 with us was the news that all Thai boys spend 3 months in a monastery without access to the outside world... no internet needed for meditation. Maybe this is why Thailand hasn’t been to war for so long.  The tour covered both sides of the river separating the two sides of the city, and finished with a boat ride along the river and back to the base.

Mrs _h likes shops. That’s the main reason that most of our travels feature a city in them somewhere (aside from the fact that that’s where the airport normally is). I wasn’t really expecting much of Bangkok’s shops, particularly following on from Hong Kong which is a more obvious shoppers’ choice. But the shopping in Bangkok is just as good, probably more so with kids for the added entertainment thrown in. The range of stores right from the super high end international designer stores, through standard local and international chains and supermarkets, via individual stores in various states of repair and disrepair, through to elderly farmers towing trailers of produce behind bicycles, the shopping is an adventure in itself. Our favourite shopping centre was the Siam Paragon, mainly due to the ten pin bowling alley on the top floor that amused the non-shopping majority on this trip.

No trip to Bangkok is complete without at least one journey by Tuk-Tuk, and even though various guide books had warned us against some of their slightly underhand ways of earning commission from tourist traps. We were completely taken in by the Tuk-Tuk salesman dressed as a security guard, complete with epaulettes and clipboard, even though he used the established pitch that the Royal Palace was closed that day. The 11 of us piled into 2 tiny vehicles to a long-tailed boat stop about a mile from where we hoped to end up. A bit of dispute and a stroll later (you can’t go far wrong with a large river on one side) we found ourselves at the river bus stop that we had been aiming for, and resumed course. We never did see the floating market, but I’m told I didn’t miss much. Apparently there isn’t even a McDonalds.

Valencia: The most chilled hot city in Spain

Imagine a sunny Spanish city within a couple of hours flight from London, with a beach, a healthy portion of child-friendly culture, including a major football team, and little chance of walking for more than ten minutes without an opportunity to sit outside a cafe enjoying top quality beer, tapas, food or ice-cream as you desire. You may think of Barcelona here, but let’s take away the tourist throngs and flatten the hills so that children and idle parents can cycle around it, and welcome to Valencia.

For a family trip, the vast sandy beach at Valencia is a huge advantage. It’s similar in scale to the little visited beaches down the East Coast of England, but with brighter sunshine and softer sand. Even with the advancing ages of our children (10 and 14 by now, the eldest having been outsourced on a school trip), it’s easy to while away an entire day at the seaside. There was rather a strong wind while we were there, which made frisbee throwing amusingly unpredictable. The sea was pretty cold as it was early in the year, but the air was warm despite the breeze, and the sun was always always in the sky. A row of restaurants line the promenade along the edge of the beach, varying in quality but improving massively a few streets back into the old fishermans’ quarter. Around the corner from the beach lies the slightly faded glamour of the marina that hosted the America’s Cup a few years ago, with the super yachts still worth a wander to see. 

The truly unique and glorious aspect of Valencia with kidsis its river; or more correctly; the space where it’s river used to be. Like most medieval European coastal cities, Valencia’s historic centre is a couple of miles inland, having developed around a port upstream from the sea. However unlike most medieval European coastal cities, the river was drained after a serious flood in the 1950’s, and the river bed turned into a huge park stretching right across town.We hired a four-seater bicycle and pottered up and down the park to see the sights. Through several miles, the wide tract of traffic-free land is the home of a range of outstanding modernist architecture housing concert halls and museums; there are Football pitches, childrens’ playgrounds in a range of styles, shady meadows, cycle tracks and footpaths, lakes and fountains. A particularly inspired playground is themed around Gulliver in Lilliput, made up of an enormous concrete statue of Gulliver tied to the ground, with his coat tails forming a series of slides for the Lilliputian children. 

In a blur it’s the final full day of our extended weekend break, so time to explore the historic city centre. We again rented bikes to potter along, not just along the river bed, but across a network of fully segregated and connected cycle tracks around the city. This gave us a better idea of the general layout, so we the wandered through squares and alleyways of the pedestrianised city centre, dropping into the renowned market for the smells and snacks essential to sustaining a family, quick tick-off of historic sights and a surprising interest from #2 son in a castle that housed the exiled national government during the Spanish Civil war that he had been studying at school and I had vaguely absorbed via Hemingway. Our target, as recommended by a Valencia-based family blogger (https://www.anepiceducation.com/top-23-things-valencia-spain-kids/), was the ancient city gate of Torres de Quart. Well away from the tour groups in the central squares around the cathedral, this heavily fortified gate once guarded the main entrance to the city. It was one of those monuments with a crazily cheap entrance fee, and it’s castle-like construction with thick walls and winding staircases made it a fun excursion for all of us. We seemed to climb up, and up, and up; each level offering progressively more distant views of the squares below, the wider city, and eventually the surrounding hills to one side and sea to the other.

The vista across the flat roofs sprinkled with TV ariels was surprisingly ugly after the prettiness of the city at ground level. The occasional medieval tower poked randomly through the blocks of flats, reminding us that this is primarily a city for people to live in rather than visit. And who wouldn’t want to live in this sunny paradise between mountain and sea? And I think that’s what gives it the edge over Barcelona, less of a  tourist attraction, and more of a living breathing city for its own people. 

Las Vegas: Diverting kids from the Sin of Sin City

Want to visit Vegas but worried about losing your shirt? Concerned that Vegas is rather prone to leading the impetuous types like yourself into debauchery? Well here's the solution, take the children along and they can divert you from some of the sins of Sin City. We managed to spend five busy days there completely devoid of drink, drugs, prostitution or gambling, much to the disappointment of the teenagers.

We spent most of our family holiday in Las Vegas simply ambling up and down the strip. We wandered through the casinos and hotel foyers stretching from the Luxor where we were staying up to the Venetian at the other end. One day we blew $8 each on a 24 hour bus pass to take us right up to the zipwires above Fremont Street at the Northern End.  

In "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", which I chose to read whilst staying there, Hunter S Thompson wrote "No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. Reality itself is too twisted.” 45 years on, this quote seems even more apt. What made an architect think that Venice would be enhanced by re-arranging its major sights, adding travellators to the bridges and propellers to the gondolas, then dropping it all onto the strip? Where better to site a flamingo-themed nature park than as the centrepiece of another casino?  Why had no-one previously thought to pack the square beneath the Eiffel Tower with slot machines? Why did Italian Renaissance sculptors leave their artistry open to the skies rather than painting some white fluffy clouds on the ceiling above them? Don't pyramids look better when clad in blue glass rather than the blocky sandstone familiar to traditional archaeologists? Is a swimming pool not exciting enough unless its separated from an adjacent shark tank by a Perspex screen? Why should there be any water under the Brooklyn Bridge? Where else is Trump Tower the plainest building on the street? Why should a fountain simply spurt water straight up into the air when it could be one of 1,000 synchronised dancing jets of water?

 Each hotel, casino, shopping centre and pool resort seemed crazier than the one before it. This is the extreme nature of Vegas, and it's fascinating for the whole family. The continuous bombardment of incredible sights kept everyone's mind occupied, the air conditioning providing welcome respite from the intense heat outside. And best of all – strolling through it is all free.

 A trip to Vegas isn’t complete without a show, and there is plenty of choice even when you are limited to family friendly performances. We opted for tickets for Criss Angel, an illusionist apparently much better known in America than Europe. Whilst there were aspects where our 9 year old daughter had to cover her face – the lady being cut in half by a massive circular saw being one memorable interlude – the overall show was magnificent. It varied from close-up coin tricks, to spectacular transformations of people and objects, all moved along swiftly by a varied cast of entertainers. The climax of the show was the most incredible levitation trick, it simply defied belief. He tactfully weaved in an appeal for childrens cancer charities, and seemed to use the levitation to show their dreams lifting them into the air. This was a show that was really worth seeing.

We might have missed out on the sin, but we can always go back later. Our 13 year old is already planning a boys trip when he’s old enough to drink in the US, perhaps he’ll take his parents. In the meantime, taking away the bad habits unveils a fantastic eye-opening experience.

Edinburgh Fringe, Live Stand-Up Comedy with teenagers

"My name is Stits, Gloria Stits. That sounds like a line from Oliver." This quote from an improvised spoof James Bond themed stage show was Probably one of the more memorable lines from our week at the Fringe. The best thing about shows like this being that they're rib-hurtingly funny for me and my teenage boys, without the more adult content of most stage comedy. The range of shows is stupendous, starting at all hours of the day and night, with dozens of categories by age suitability, genre, type of show, location, and times to select. A convenient App accompanies the phone book sized Fringe Guide to lead visitors to the optimum show for the moment.

Our kids are disappointingly sporty. Arts are really not their thing. None of them act or play musical instruments. So their enthusiasm for the worlds biggest arts festival was a little muted. Despite some enthusiasm from the boys for super-hero themed shows, and from our 8year old daughter for crafty stuff, the overall sense of anticipation was mainly around the possibility of Scotland playing a friendly at Murrayfield (I lied about that one).  But luckily with some bribery, and the choice of a show each, they were willing to give it a go.

The boys both went for super-hero things - one a comic lecture on comic-book heroes, and the other a hysterically funny debate between two stand-up comedians about whether Star Wars was better than Star Trek. Fantastic stuff - here was a whole pub basement full of nerds who knew more than they did about whose father killed whose brother in whichever episode. My highlight was my daughter's decision for her and me to run away to join a circus - in the form of a circle skills workshop. This started early one morning before the real shows started in the same big-top style circus  tent. This was part of a general children's area close to the University known as the Underbelly, with a large inflatable upside-down purple cow-shaped tent as its centrepiece. It's all a bit surreal.

Aside from the organised shows are street performers every few yards, mostly with superb crowd participation.  I was unlucky enough to play the role of "Englishman" In a slightly uncomfortable trick about our colonial heritage; the boys were an unexpected backdrop for a slightly odd dance think about climate change.

Any visit to Edinburgh leaves you coming away thinking that we really need to return to see the city itself away from the Fringe. There is plenty to see. When it rained we dipped into the National Museum of Scotland, and later on the fantastically scenic castle. When the sun came out we took in the incredible views from Arthur's Seat, passing the Scotttish Parliament on our return. We dined well, as well as soaking up the culture of a deep fried mars bar (popular with the teens) and Haggis (much better than I remembered it). We arrived for our train home in plenty of time to laze around Princes Gardens with our luggage and a picnic, rolling down the steep slopes under the splendid backdrop of the castle on its mount. 

This was a very short trip, only 5 days, but so much packed into it. We saw dozens of shows, mostly free entry where the audience pays what they think it's worth. By the time we flopped onto the train home we were exhausted. Trips, glorious trips.

Back to Borneo, Teens and Tweens

When our boys were 2 and 3 years old, we took them to Borneo. I didn't really know much about the place before that, it just sounded a bit crazy and wild. Mainly though, It sounded altogether different from the Centre Parks type holidays that everyone seemed to recommend to us but sounded grim. Logistically it was tricky, we took lots of canned food and first aid stuff together with the bulk of nappies and buggies that all trips with small children require, but the wildlife, the scenery, the adventures - everything screamed at us that we really should return. And so, with the boys now 12 and 14, accompanied by our 9 year old daughter -  we returned.

Borneo is huge in every way. Divided between Malaysia in the North and Indonesia in the South, collectively it is the Worlds third largest island. Almost all the land is concealed beneath vast dense rainforest, cross-crossed by wide rivers and narrow creaks. So much of the wildlife is unique to Borneo, most famously the Orang-Uran, but are also joined by Pygmy Elephants, crocodiles, Hornbills, dozens of types of bats and snakes in this hugely expansive menagerie. The choice of riverside rainforest lodges, traditional local longhouses, river wildlife spotting cruises and overland treks is bewildering. 

The temptation to cram too much into a holiday can be overwhelming. One of most important lessons learnt for a good family holiday is minimising the amount of actual travelling. We had scheduled 10 days in Borneo as part of a 6 week holiday, and as this was supposed to be the rest and relaxation bit - we picked an island resort for our entire stay. This had the downside of eliminating the "big" wildlife, particularly the Orang-Utans, but kept the best of the rest. 

Located a convenient 15 minute boat-ride from Kota-Kinabalu, itself the location of Malaysian Borneo's main international airport, Gaya Island is a stunning island paradise. Surrounded by white sandy beaches and so densely packed with rainforest that passage by vehicle is impossible, it formed a kind of beautiful Greater Borneo in miniature. We stayed in the aptly named Gaya Island Resort, one of a small number of eco-resorts on the island which clung to the hillside by the sea. Despite the buildings all being concealed in the rainforest, they gave up enchanting views across the clear blue sea to Mount Kinabalu in the clouds. 

The resort itself takes its eco-responsibilities seriously, minimising motorised transport around the resort and employing a team of expert naturalists and natural wonders to see. The highlight of this is a small aquarium beside the resort's private beach. This is home to an impressive collection of coral and local tropical fish, but the added benefit of an expert guide with the time to take us all individually through the best bits, in a manner bizarrely presentable to all our ages and levels of knowledge. The aquarium fulfills another critical function of nursing injured turtles back to health before releasing them back into the sea, local fishermen know that this is the place to bring them and several pass through their tanks each season.

The journey to the private beach can be a mini-adventure in itself. For an easy time, the resort offers a speedboat shuttle from the main hotel pier to the beach. However you can also join one of the resort's naturalists for a trek through the rainforest, taking in the fascinating plants and terrifying snakes along the way (we only saw 3 types on our walk, of which only one was deadly, but cobras have been spotted before). The funniest animals were the bearded pigs which exist in quite large numbers around the beach and resort, standing around with their ugly hangdog expressions in this corner of paradise.  They were joined by dozens of extremely mischievous long-tailed macaques taking delight in flinging nuts at the tourists below, definitely the favourite for the children.

We spent one day in Kota Kinabalu, partly for a day out but mainly as a break from the exorbitant costs of dining in the resort. Popularly known as KK, this has been the major administrative centre and gateway to the region since colonial times. Whilst a large part of the town feels like a polluted chaotic dual carriageway, its original backpacker corners and traditional markets still exist and are well worth a visit. It can be challenging (and risky) to encourage children to try local food, which makes it all the more satisfying when you end up having a splendid meal in a local shopping centre for under £1 a head (albeit that we had meet or payment of a McFlurry bribe for pudding).

To me now, I think Borneo has the best of everything for a children's holiday regardless of whether they are 2, or 14, or somewhere in the middle. It's exotic and different, and feels that way with the tropical heat, the incredibly accessible wildlife, and the stunning white beaches and clear blue coral-filled sea. But it's also safe, English is widely spoken, things work. You could spent months exploring the innards of the island, or a week enjoying the surface of it as we did. I'd love to go back, but think next time we will be older and perhaps our children will start their story - "when our parents were 75 and 80 we took them to Borneo".

Kowloon: Bright Lights and Chaos

Kowloon. It's a name that conjures up choking tropical heat, dense neon lights, chaotic crowds  of people, exotic street food, pick-pockets, purveyors of fake watches and tailor-made suits. And it's all those. The assault of sights, sounds and smells on the Kowloon pavements is something that still excites me after visiting dozens of times, usually with the excitement of children emphasising the buzz.

Like most global cities, Kowloon hosts a set of museums to occupy the curious minds of children. Unlike the museums of most global cities, the Hong Kong science museum is so hands on throughout that its hard to leave. From a set of tricky logical puzzles and a mirror maze in the basement, through exhibitions on architecture, environment, sound, and on up to the transport section at the top with working engines to fire up, and Cathay Pacific's first plane hanging from the roof. Running top to bottom in the central atrium is a spectacular ball run which releases a set of balls every hour through a three-dimensional maze of pivoting beams, spirals and drops. If we are struggling to work out why Chinese children are so much better at maths and science than western ones, this isn't a bad place to start.

On the same site is the Hong Kong museum of History. Less hands on, but a well presented and interesting story nonetheless, it takes visitors from the early tribes settling on the flatter land, through colonial oppression and war, and economic development. It concludes with a slightly terrifying waxwork of Mrs Thatcher handing over the territory to Deng Xiao-Ping, followed by an optimistic view of the future of Hong Kong within a greater China.

Stretching North from the Museums are the craziest sets of markets, which amuse kids and parents alike; both beautiful but sickening at the same time. The bird market in particular has stunning brightly coloured creatures crammed into tiny cages with an impossible number of other birds. Onto the pet fish and reptile markets, where our children reliably plead with us to buy them some form of oversized lizards. Then around the corner to the flower market, where the splendour of the tropical flowers that bloom naturally in the heat of South East Asia make Columbia Road look quite drab. Finishing up in the dense crowds of Mong Kok, the most densely populated region in the world, but known to regular visitors as the ideal place to buy the latest electronics, generally cheaper than at home. Suddenly the familiar pressure to buy ipads for the whole family appears, so perhaps this bit is best avoided.

Around the Southern tip of Kowloon is the Tsim Sha Tsui, more popularly known simply as TST. Here are the bright neon lights in Chinese and English that are instantly familiar from films and pictures of the City. Its worth a stroll through Kowloon Park, a strange oasis of peace and tropical birds built on the sight of the previously crime-infested but self-governing Kowloon Walled City. The shock of then being plunged into the hectic noisy chaos of Nathan Road is all the more intense from here. Personally I prefer to navigate around rather than through the dozens of shopping centres clustered in this area, however the sheer scale of the Harbour City shops could make it a day out in itself. Aside from the welcoming Air Conditioning, the basement dedicated to childrens clothes and toys – covering the scale from Dior Kids to Toys R Us, will please some in the party. The top floor dedicated to electronics stores will please others. However you might struggle to squeeze a 60 inch TV into your suitcase if that appeals.

The final piece is a stroll along the waterfront itself, along the Avenue of the Stars, where you can pose alongside statues of Cantonese and International film stars. You may of course need to queue to model your Kung-Fu pose next to Bruce Lee, or simply photograph everyone else doing that for you. The walk takes you past plenty of other air-conditioned diversions; yet another amazing shopping centre in the Former Marine Police Headquarters Compound complete with unusually sympathetically restored colonial buildings, the Space Museum, and the Peninsular Hotel with its fleet of green Rolls Royce Phantoms and surprisingly accessible baby-changing facilities. All of this whilst presenting a spectacular view across the harbour to Hong Kong Island itself, only £2 away for a family of four by Star Ferry.

Hong Kong is an amazing destination. But to me, the buzzing life and chaotic activity of Kowloon is the most exciting part of it.

 

The New Territories of Hong Kong

Our view of Hong Kong is oddly skewed from most visitors by the way that most of our visits involve staying with family deep in the New Territories, close to the Chinese border and well away from the tourist spots of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. It remains incredible to me that many people visiting Hong Kong, and even many ex-pats living there, are completely unaware of the chaotic cities and rural wilderness a few minutes away. The city of Yuen Long for instance is utterly bewildering to westerners. White faces are rare, the few we see are confused foreign spouses like me, their Eurasian children galloping into the vast throngs of people with their local cousins - enthralling for them but terrifying for me.

Despite our lack of a common language, I am aware from certain facial expressions that my mother-in-law has concerns over the freshness of the fish on British markets. The fish market in Yuen Long provides an explanation for this - the fish are still alive. She nudges the boys urgently to draw their attention to a bowl of very agitated prawns randomly jumping out of the bowl and regularly landing in the bag of the old man standing by it chatting away completely oblivious. My daughter meanwhile gazes curiously at a densely populated tank of eels, struggling to connect which head follows which slithery body through the throng of other eels to which tail.

A bus ride out of Yuen Long, and the unfolding countryside varies immensely. In parts there are poorly maintained concrete roads with scrapyards dotted across former swampy farmland. Elsewhere there are new developments of 2 and 3 storey houses with pillars either side of the door and gleaming Mercedes' under tarpaulin sunshades outside. Into this mix, the ancient walled village of Kam Tin was once one of the larger settlements when the area was covered in farmland, and has parallels with remote Italian villages with its quiet narrow shady streets, children playing and old ladies sitting outside. This is also a good place to head for traditional Cantonese eating, particularly dim sum. The extraordinary range of tastes and textures of the food is matched by the deafening racket of the dozens of people chatting loudly to each other and their phones, half a dozen TVs playing different shows, the clattering of chopsticks and the staff yelling instructions to one another. But don't ask what exactly it is on the plate. Sometimes it's biologically obvious, sometimes ignorance is comforting.

Bus route 51 over the top of Hong Kong's highest mountain, Ta Mo Shan, is one not to be missed. Round each hairpin bend the views extend further, before disappearing completely as the road climbs through dense forest. A military airport appears in a previously unseen valley, a vast People's Liberation Army camp occupies a distinctive former British military base on the slopes. On and on upwards and the views across the Chinese city of Shenzhen appear, seemingly expanding more with each trip up. As the road steepens, the pained labours of the bus become more apparent, with the occasional super toned cyclist struggling past us. And then we're at the top, and begin the terrifying descent into Tsuen Wan, where the children again vanish with cousins into some vast neon-lit arcade to execute some more zombies.

A more peaceful time can be enjoyed around the Plovers Cove reservoir, a short bus ride from Sha Tin. Numerous bike hire venues surround the estuary and the reservoir itself, with off-road cycle routes populated by all kinds of pedal powered vehicles, both fun and more serious. The boys select a nice dual pedalled model with a comfy armchair type attachment for Grandma, I am quite surprised by their generosity. As we pedal out across the dam the views of the mountains open up again, the steep green mountains like a tropical version of the Scottish Highlands. In the distance we see an enormous statue of Buddha's mother, which apparently marks the site of a nunnery funded by Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong's richest man. When the apocalypse arrives - he will be protected in his secret bunker there.

Hong Kong is marvellously exciting wherever you go. There is so much to see and experience that its hard to narrow it down to a shortlist. However, I think a few days in the New Territories as part of your trip will show you what makes Hong Kong Different.

Hong Kong, extreme energy, extreme towers, extreme shopping

The spectacular island of Hong Kong is perhaps the most energetic place in the world where it seems no-one needs to sleep. Whatever it chooses to do, it takes to a mad excess, particularly when it comes to extreme shopping and extreme construction. The resulting skyline of 40 to 110 floor tightly clustered skyscrapers crawling up the steep mountainside from the harbour creates views that are imitated but never remotely equalled. Whilst the views of the Island from the opposite shore in Kowloon are impressive, there is plenty of fun to be had taking children up some of the towers to look out from amongst the throng of buildings.

Some of the more popular but quite different viewing sites close to the Star Ferry are Observation Wheel (a little like the London Eye), and the Bank of China Building Observation Deck. However my personal recommendation is the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre way up on the 55th floor of the International Financial Centre, or IFC 2. Not only are the contents exciting for an economist like myself, but the general entrance is great with kids, passing through a smart lift lobby, getting photo ID, and into the gleaming office lifts. Your children may recognise the building as being the one that Batman leapt from in “The Dark Knight”, but even if they miss this subtle reference, emerging from the lift is like stepping into the cloud layer. The height is breathtaking, but the humidity and apparent smog are also evident. The combination of IFC and IFC2 offer both extreme construction and extreme shopping. Fortunately there is a satisfactory set of food options across the two centres, including a McDonalds. As much as travelling with children opens their minds to different styles of cooking (see the blog on the New Territories), McDonalds does cheer everyone up.

A different kind of view emerges by taking the Peak Tram from Central, through the mid-levels, to Victoria Peak. Although a rather crowded tourist hot-spot, it’s a cheap and effective way to get a good idea of the overall layout of the Central Hong Kong, The extremes of construction are much clearer here, where the mountainside appears to be too steep to build on, yet 40, 50, 60 storey apartment blocks are impaled into the slopes. Eventually the tram rises above the building line to give another magnificent harbour view. Whilst most of the Victoria Peak Terminus building is rather touristy and tacky, the views from the rooftop are worth paying the premium on the tram fare to see.

On another Tram, horizontal this time, the Hong Kong Tramways has been running the same route along the waterfront for over a century.  It’s one of the very few areas where the business-like intensity of Hong Kong has been sentimental enough to allow some kind of nod to its heritage. The mechanics and controls of the tram are as cutting edge as one would expect from Hong Kong’s impeccably reliable public transport system, but the outside appearance is little changed since double deckers were introduced in 1912. Get off at Admiralty for some more luxury shopping – a particularly useful spot for buying a handbag that you will no longer have any money to carry in it.

 The best thing for me about Admiralty is the bus station underneath it, taking you well away from any of the shops. The 629 bus to Ocean Park is the one trip that should be mandatory for a family holiday to Hong Kong. A phenomenal theme park alternative to the Disneyland on Lantau, Ocean Park combines wildlife and heritage with rides for all ages and of course more views. This is the only place in Hong Kong where you can see Pandas, cared for in a large enclosure which is surprisingly uncrowded and educational. There is also a substantial aquarium boasting performing dolphins, again with an emphasis on education and ecology. Passing through the steeper parts of the site is made easier by a vast outdoor escalator – in this case only the second longest in the world. The rides are suitable for a good range of ages and fear levels, and feature plenty of cooling water splashes. A cablecar links the 2 sites on either side of the mountain, which itself presents more views of the bays of Southern Hong Kong, and the queues of container ships carrying China’s produce to the world.

Across this side of the island are the pleasant areas of Aberdeen, Repulse Bay and Stanley. Hong Kong lacks anywhere that could be remotely be described as “undiscovered”, but the tall blocks of flats surrounding these attractive bays look less out of place than they would in more rural island locations. The beaches are pleasant and extremely safe – even young children wander the towns and take taxis independent of parental supervision. The market in Stanley is pleasant for a wander and to pick up souvenirs, and the shopping generally is much less intensely glitzy than most of Hong Kong.

Although not on Hong Kong island itself,  no trilogy of a Hong Kong family tour would be complete without mention of the Big Buddha on Lantau. Built in the closing years of British Rule, with a distinct look towards the future (the Buddha faces towards Peking), this largest seated Buddha in the World is an engineering marvel even more incredible than the skyscrapers seen earlier. An exhibition inside the statue tells something of its construction, but the overall effect is incredible. Despite the usual parade of tourist memorabilia stalls here, the monastery to which the Buddha is attached still offers a wholesome vegetarian meal to travellers. Parts of the monastery are open to quiet visitors, and this is a good place to learn something about the Buddhist culture. Our pictures here are of the same boy in the same place with 13 years between the picture on his first, and most recent visit; just to show its worth coming back to. Not only does the climb up the steps to the Buddha offer amazing views over the mountains and sea, but the journey by cable-car, some with glass floors for added fear, give spectacular views of the airport, the countryside, the emerging Bridge to Macau, and eventually to the majestic Buddha statue itself.

Hong Kong island is glitzy and glamorous, which can mean expensive. But the most incredible experiences of this incredible island are the views, and they cost nothing. Don’t forget the rest of Hong Kong; Kowloon and the New Territories should be explored, but it’s the vertical sights of the island and the views from and over them that amaze children the most.

New York, now that is exciting

New York, New York, no other city on earth has a buzz like it! The vertical architecture, the smells of hot dogs and pretzels, the stifling heat and bitter dry cold, the theatres and shops, the restaurants and bars….. but why on earth would one take children to ruin your fun? The answer is that New York always serves up something new, and with children you will see an entirely different city to what you saw before.

New York has such a wealth of attractions and diversions that its never the same between different people and different visits. The broad range of restaurants caters for all from down and outs to glamorous and trendy; from very old to very… young.  As ever in America, finding food that children eat is not difficult.  One deservedly well-rated venue we headed to on our first night was the Ellen Stardust Diner, famous for its waiters cum dancers putting on regular singing and dancing routines throughout the evening. As cheesy as it sounds, the America-style enthusiasm for this even encouraged the cynical boys in our corner to release a smile.

And talking of cynical boys – the comic book shops of New York are where the tables were turned. The various branches of mid-town comics dragged us straight into scenes from the Big Bang Theory! The boys were delighted, here was nerd heaven on a massive scale. Staff could assist with the most abstract and specific questions, delightedly running round the shop servicing their various requests.

New York, or Manhattan at least, is compact enough to walk around, with the occasional jump onto a bus or subway when little legs get too tired. But the buzz of the streets and the new sights on every block can keep the energy levels high, topped up with the occasional sugar-fuelled diner stop. It takes a couple of hours at child pace to walk from Central Park at one end, via the High-Line, to Battery Park at the other, before getting the Staten Island ferry for the best and cheapest views of the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan. The option is there to join the queue for the Statue of Liberty itself, however this didn’t seem to be a great way to experience the city, so we skirted it.

The highlight of our trip for the boys (we had an extra one in tow) was a visit to the incredible USS Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum. A vast aircraft carrier moored on the Hudson river. Intrepid suffered major Kamikaze damage during the second world war, events which are vividly demonstrated on the impacted decks through lighting effects and film footage from the time. Numerous real life exhibits bring reality to war stories – lying in a bed in the cramped sleeping quarters was particularly graphic was me.  The information boards were informative and more honest about the reasons for going to various wars, including Vietnam, than I was expecting. And its not just the aircraft carrier itself, the museum includes a submarine, the Space Shuttle “Enterprise”, a Concorde, a collection of aircraft. This is the one unmissable venue to let kids lead you around.

A more poignant experience comes from the World Trade Centre site. By the time we visited, the new buildings were largely complete, demonstrating the pragmatism and optimism demonstrated by New Yorkers. However the impact of the memorial to the events of 9/11 was moving for all 3 of our children. The foundations of the twin towers have been excavated into a pair of vast empty square holes, with water running down the walls of each one. The names of those killed are all carved in the stone surrounds. Its an immensely calming experience after the hectic buzz of the city. As the children read through some of the names, the enormity of the events that had occurred 15 years earlier came through to them.  

Despite my dismissal of queueing for the Statue of Liberty (and the same goes for the Empire State Building), a trip to New York should include taking in a view somehow. An exciting but costly and brief way to do this is by helicopter, but any tall building will do. We went to the “Top of the Rock” in the Rockefeller centre. The views across Central Park one way, and the mid-town to lower Manhattan the other were incredible. As we stood there (in April – this was an Easter break) snow began to fall, it was jolly romantic – and the children were jumping with excitement!

And excitement, after all, is what New York is about, and what travelling is about, and what children are about. New York will always be exciting, and with the infectious excitement of children it becomes even more so!