Hong Kong Phooey - a day exploring this gem with kids

Anyone looking to push their travel experimentation beyond Center Parcs with two kids in toe would be hard-pressed to find a better destination than Hong Kong.

Our decision was based on it being a) a convenient stop-over from Australia to England (where we had just visited family) and b) a place we’d both wanted to visit that would give our six and four year old a taste of somewhere a little more diverse.

The good news is there’s a whole heap to explore, the people are dead friendly, the food is yummy and I’m pretty sure your kids would have a blast too.

After flying the day before from Brisbane, Australia, day one saw us up at the crack of sparrows. We were actually too early for our first stop (Peak Tram) so killed 30 minutes in Hong Kong Park. When I say ‘killed 30 minutes’ we found the best kids playground I’ve ever seen - multi-layered and chiselled into the side of a cliff overlooking the Hong Kong sky-rise. We then stumbled into a colossal aviary, negotiating ourselves down a wooden walkway surrounded by a range of different bird life.

Literally everybody who’s Hong Kong’d recommended Peak Tram on our visit. Arguably the most iconic tourist attraction in Hong Kong, Peak Tram is on old tram/cable car that takes you perilously vertical up a cliff-side to one of the highest peaks on Hong Kong Island. Once at the top - subject to minimal haze - you get stunning panoramic views over the bay. Definitely worth a visit but we’d recommend getting their early (pre-10am) as the queues later in the day were absurd.

Next up we hit the good ol’ open top tourist bus. Completely new to this seemingly spralled-out place, we thought it’d be a great way to be delivered neatly onto the doorstep of some key spots we wanted to visit, as well as a feeble attempt to get our bearings.

First stop was Mid-Level Escalators with the sole intention to get a good noodle joint. Lonely Planet had recommended a legendary place called Mak’s Noodles on Wellington Street in Central. Yes, the noodles were superb but more importantly the staff were brilliant with the kids and the place was relaxed enough to let them slurp and burp their way through a bowl of noodles.

We then turned a corner and fell upon an incredible looking coffee house off Wellington Street on Cochrane Street. Turns out the Cupping Room is the number one place to get a posh coffee. I’m sure Layla sniffed it out. The Barista in fact recently picked up the third spot in the World Barista Championships. Layla was happy!

Back to the open top bus, we decided to cruise around the city, pretty much doing a 180 degree to the Star Ferry terminal which would take us to the next closest island, Kowloon. We disembarked and jumped on the top-deck giving us the opportunity to look back on Hong Kong Island and take in the enormity of the city. Kowloon would wait to be explored another day as we literately disembarked walked around the port and boarded the next boat back to Hong Kong Island.

By this point the kids were beat so we got onto the top-deck of the bus, our littlest crashed, our oldest went into a trance as we were transported around the remaining half of the bus loop taking in the sights. You could choose to listen to a tour guide by plugging in your ear phones. I chose not to.

We got off at the Man Mo Temple and took a peak inside. The kids were mesmerised by the incense and fascinated by the rituals performed by locals dropping in on their post-work commute.

Finally we strolled back to our accommodation located in Sai Ying Pun west towards Kennedy Town. Our Air BnB was literally the size of a wardrobe, but to be fair the home made great use of the space and our family of four had a nice comfortable stay.

Totally hammered from our first day in Hong Kong, we still had three more of the buggers to go. Jet-lagged, dazed and feet throbbing we collapsed in our wardrobe-cum-apartment contemplating whether to re-energise and head out for dinn...zzzzz.

Family holiday first-timers - day one in Skiathos

Here we were on the small island of Skiathos, and here I was lying next to our Villa pool disappearing into a Greek haze of sun, song and tranquility. Then SMACK. Semi-consciousness shattered by a thump, an all too familiar silence, followed by a wail.

My wife filled me in on the 20-second scene of devastation. The clues - Daisy the doll, face down floating in the pool; a poo lodged in the swimming pool filter; trail of wetness heading into the house; missing handle from the log burner with pool of water at its foot; crying child in arms of mother.

Yes, we're family holiday first-timers. We're well travelled by all accounts my wife and I, but travelling with an 18-month child is a completely different animal, as we duly found out in 20 seconds on our first day of holidaying as a three.

Lesson one: the tiled floor, which keeps the villa beautifully cool, also becomes a temporary ice rink on application of pool water. Lesson two: anything loose, left lying around the pool will end up in it. Lesson three: leaving a nappy off around a pool, even in hot climes, is a recipe for filter blockage. Lesson four: any loose levers, handles or slightly shoddy workmanship within a holiday abode will be punished.

Onwards and upwards we thought, and off we went to try and make a small dent in the 60 beaches to be discovered. On accessing beach number one that first morning of our holiday, we hit another snag. Our girl decided she didn't like walking on sand. In fact, any foot-on-sand contact was met with a squirm, a 'no' and an 'up,' meaning lift me up… lift me up now. This was a beach holiday. We were in trouble.

However, once in the turquoise-coloured sea all was ok with the world as schools of fish circled our girl’s feet as she strengthened her doggy paddle in the calm ocean. Talking of doggies, our afternoon was spent at Skiathos Dog Shelter. Set up to house homeless canines on the island, you could volunteer to walk them along a scenic cliff-top path.

Our hound of choice, Rocky, loved us....so it seemed, until he came face-to-face with our daughter, a coiled spring of excitement raring to go as Rocky was led out of the pen. Lets just say Rocky was awfully tolerant.

Day one was complete with an evening meal in the old harbour of Skiathos Town. It was here we discovered the charm of the locals. A group of old Greek men on the table next to us were making our daughter laugh pulling funny faces before leaving her with a ruffle of the hair, a tickle of the chin and three fresh figs as a gift.

For family holiday first-timers who overcame our 20-second introduction, lesson learned from day one in Skiathos is having a child CAN benefit rather than hinder your holiday....honest.