My little checklist for a road trip...

Road trips are both exciting and tiring at the same time. While there is a whole dimension of uncontrollable , surprisingly there is quite a lot that can be taken care of for a fun and comfortable road trip.
Here are a few tips from my road trip experiences which has pretty much worked for me and might work for you too ....

Map - I know what comes to your mind - we have google map so why would I carry a map .... Very valid question..
While google map is perhaps the best to get around, you might have to go old school as Plan B . While you are on the road there might be stretches where google maps might not be accessible at all. So a detailed map of your location can come handy.

Food and Water -Most important especially while on the road with a kid.
Keep a good stock of snacks and water and juices. You never know when you can get delayed while on the road and you don't want to be driving around hungry and thirsty.
While driving through the rural parts or certain highway stretches , you might be driving for a while before you can find a suitable stop for water and snacks. So the mini pantry in your car will take care of you.

Chargers - Super important !  
All possible chargers that you might need primarily for your phone and camera ( which I always carry ) . A car charging point is always helpful and you wont regret investing in a good one.

Do not over pack - While you have the advantage of packing all the stuff you need, my recommendation would be to not go overboard. Pack reasonably so that you don't stuff your vehicle. Let your stuff be just enough for the boot of the car so that you have enough room inside the car. Especially with kids, they might want to take a nap and a crowded car with bags is extremely inconvenient.

Cash - As much as we love plastic money for the ease of transaction and carrying it around, keep some cash with you. Outside the cities you might not find a lot of ATMs . Also if you are someone who loves street food you cannot expect the street vendors with a card machine !

Get your car serviced - This in fact should be one of the top three things to do before you head out. Get your car serviced , check for fuel and air in the tires, keep a tow rope in your car always. You can buy good quality tow ropes on Amazon.  And make sure the spares are in good condition too. Do not underestimate Indian roads. While most of the highways are in great shape, you might have rough patches while driving through smaller cities.

Last but not the least , enjoy the road, you are on a road trip and the journey is to be soaked in as much as the destination !

The making of a young traveler - My take on travelling with kids .....

Travelling is one such experience which varies from person to person. For me , travelling is pretty much a form of meditation that takes my mind into a different zone. I enjoy the travel as much as the destination. While I love to travel alone, my other favorite is to travel with my daughter.

We started off with small road trips when she was 3 years old to get her used to different places and eventually the food outside. And now my 8-year-old enjoys the long drives (even with her motion sickness), her walks in the forests and farms, playing with sticks, stones and sand. She is slowly learning to turn our travels into her own experience.

So, here is my take on why we should travel with kids. This is from my personal experience and how I have seen my little girl blossom into a strong, nature loving, responsible child.

Grooming to be a Global Citizen – We have most of our education system vouching that the children will be turned into global citizens by their modes of education. I truly believe that one becomes a global citizen only by shedding their inhibitions and look at the wider world with the same lens. Trust me, children can adapt to places and cultures much faster than any of us adults. Their mind is like a sponge absorbing everything around them. So, making them travel with you allows them to see the actual world, the good and bad both. It helps them eventually get a perspective of a lot of things in life. 

Getting that hidden foodie out!  Well, this one is a bit tricky. Works differently with different kids, as eating is one of the biggest challenges most of the parents’ face. With me, I haven’t yet achieved getting my daughter to try all kinds of food, but I definitely have noticed that she eats better when we are travelling! Which makes me a happy Mom! 

Exposure to Language and Culture – This is a big big part of travelling. This is perhaps the few things one doesn’t get to learn at School - understanding the culture and people of the place you are travelling to. It turns them into tolerant open-minded individuals who accept that they share this earth with a lot of different people. Make sure you take your kids to some of the local cultural shows or museums to give them an understanding of the rich heritage of that place. Do your research and reading and be prepared for a lot of questions if your little one is an inquisitive traveler. The last thing you want to do is tell you don’t know or shush them which shuts the kids mind for the rest of the trip.

It builds a lot of confidence – This is true for both adults and kids. Travelling in any form always builds a lot of confidence. You are getting out of your comfort zone and into an unknown territory. When you start handling things in the new zone the confidence automatically gets a boost. Especially with children, when they realize that they were able to make friends with a bunch of kids from some other country in a different city far away from home, it makes them very confident. They realize that they are capable to socialize under any circumstance. And you will be surprised that these experiences of making friends linger on for a longer time than an amusement park they would have visited.

Increase their tolerance to discomfort – This is one of my personal favorites. Travelling truly makes your child figure out things for themselves. They learn that delayed flight, bad weather, not so good food etc are all part and parcel of life. They learn to turn every situation into a more acceptable one in their own way. My most recent experience while travelling with my little girl – we had a 4 hour delayed flight due to some technical problem. My girl was sulking in the corner for a while and then when she noticed that pretty much everyone was just sitting there and in the same situation as ours she realized we were not alone. She then made friends with other kids and got busy playing for the next 3 hours on the terminal. Letting them figure things out makes them feel so much more empowered.

Well, these are just top 5 from my long list of experiences by travelling with my little girl.

Keep travelling and enjoy every experience it brings…..

Happy and Safe Travels! 

Dubai Diaries

Dubai is one such city from my recent travel where I felt that every bit of infrastructure was put together with one sole purpose – Tourism!

As you drive through the new part of the city what you see are tall artistic buildings reflecting the bright sunlight off them.

Perfect place for family trips, especially with kids. There is a whole lot of fun and adventure stuff for people of all ages. Ideal time to visit Dubai would be between November to February. The beautiful weather will let you stay outdoors as much as you want to. The summers tend to get extremely hot so you might want to research if you want to plan after March.

Use Headout  www.headout.com/   to customize your itinerary to suit your holiday plans . 

Here is a quick read of my top favorites.

Dubai Parks:

A must do if you are travelling with a kid as I did. My personal favorite was Legoland and Motion Gate.

Make sure this is a one-day plan when you put your itinerary together. Legoland is a sure shot hit with the kids . There are various lego themed rides and play areas where kids can get creative with legos.

Motion gate on the other hand will bring all your favorite movie characters to life – from walking through the Smurf village to going on a ride with Shrek and Fiona to posing with Po and the Madagascar gang, it is a fun place and a full day of fun!

There are a lot of food courts and coffee places inside the parks, so you don’t have to move out for food. Not a lot of options for kids though, so plan your entire day accordingly if you are going with younger kids.  

Dubai Dolphinarium:

Another hit with kids and adults alike. This is a 40-minute show with both Seal show and dolphin show.

Try to advance book seats in the splash zone to have a better experience. The seats are regular seating and VIP seating. The seats in the center of the splash zone is the VIP seating. Get your seats pre-booked to avoid the long queues at the entrance.

There are 2 very good websites that I used to pre-book my tickets to all the parks and shows.

Klook  www.klook.com/‎

Headout  www.headout.com/

You get an extensive list of all the attractions in the place along with options to pre-book your tickets.

 

Green Planet Dubai:

The four storied building with the Amazon forest growing inside it, is truly a very innovative way to let people get close to some exotic animals and birds.

You will take about an hour inside Green Planet and the tour inside has been put together keeping the various layers of the Amazon rain forest in mind. As you walk through each layer of the forest you will see the relevant species varying from insects to reptiles to birds and monkeys. It is a complete zoo experience redefined!

The Burj Khalifa:

Did you know that the initial name was Burj Dubai but was later renamed as Burj Khalifa in honor of ruler of Abu Dhabi - Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Abu Dhabi lent money to Dubai when they were not able to proceed with the construction of The Burj. Hence the name Burj Khalifa

Having heard a lot from friends about the trip to the top of the Burj, I decided to go on the view from the top tour. Be prepared to stand in a long queue leading up to the lift that takes you up to 248^Th floor. This is the highest level on The Burj where tourists are allowed for the view from the top. Minimum time in the queue is about 45 mins !

Personally, I loved the experience in the lift from ground to 248^Th floor than the actual view from the top. The super fast lift takes you up in exactly 60 seconds and you can feel your ears pop when you are in the lift.

Once you enter the lift it turns into a mini theater as the walls of the lift are screens which shows a quick 1-minute video about the Burj. Pretty impressive!

The Desert Safari:

Last but not the least – my favorite experience out of my entire trip, the desert safari.

With the increasing popularity of this, there are quite a lot of operators in the market who arrange the Safari. Make sure you do your research before you narrow down who you wish to go with. While it is super fun, it requires immense skill and experience to drive on the sand dunes. Hence read up well, and research on the operators before booking.

Again, try pre-booking the Safari as good operators tend to get sold out real fast during holiday seasons. Must do on your list…

There is so much for everyone in Dubai and these are my personal favorites as I was travelling with my 7-year-old. For all the adventure lovers there is a whole lot of stuff in Atlantis. The aquaventure water park has some adrenalin pumping signature rides which should give the thrills you are looking for.

It really is amazing to see a desert transformed into a high-tech commercial city. You will see old Dubai bustling with life even at 10 PM, with its local eating joints and grocery stores crowded. Pretty much everyone out in the streets, 80% of them being local Indians!

While the new Dubai is a stark contrast with the huge sky scrappers and posh locale where you see the super-rich Arab women walking around in their Niqab with glittery Gucci shoes and stylish Michael Kors bag!

Truly a city of contrasts!