Is Santorini a gem for you AND your kids?

We’re in a bar. A bar called Magic Bus. Laid back, hippy vibe on the beach owned by tanned, tattooed, vest-wearing middle age ex-pats. Oscar, our four year old boy, is banging a bongo with his plastic stick from his orange juice while Jude, our six year old girl, is mid-show with her friend Amelia swirling and dancing on the raised area of the bar to the sound of bongos and Phil Collins on their playlist. 

Two local women squeeze past Jude to get to the bar at the show’s most crucial point knocking our girl off her stride and ‘totally ruining’ (her words) the show. It was irretrievable. Jude lost it in a diva-esque hissy fit. Meanwhile Lauren, Amelia’s four year old sister, wanted a piece of the action on the bongos. Oscar wasn’t exactly open to this. We concluded that this was the case as he used the plastic stick / drumstick to joust the bongo impostor. 

In a flash we paid the bill, herd the feral gang up and quickly moved on. 

To be fair it was the last day of our holiday in Santorini, Greece. The kids had been staying up late-late most nights as a treat, culminating in the wedding of two close friends two nights prior. It had all caught up with them after the most incredible holiday on arguably the most stunning of Greek islands. 

We were hesitant about Santorini as a destination. Initially down to cost, but also the perception of the island as primarily targeted at couples and honeymooners. Our phase of holidaying was still ‘if the kids are happy, we’re happy’. However, there was no way we were going to miss this wedding and built the trip around the event to see two close friends tie the knot in the pinnacle of wedding destinations. 

Safe to say we were pleasantly surprised. We stayed in a family-friendly beach area located in the south-east of the island called Perissa. Here we booked to stay at Hotel Aretousa - a family-run hotel who bent over backwards to make our stay enjoyable. Yes, we were the only families staying here. And yes, we weren’t exactly low-maintenance. But George, his wife, daughter and son - who each had a role to play in the running of the hotel - made us feel very welcome and like nothing was too much trouble. 

Like the time we arrived late on arrival and George waited patiently to pick us up. Like the time Oscar launched a strawberry yogurt off the first floor balcony exploding on the floor. The time we needed picking up from the wedding at midnight. And the time the kids bombed the pool at the end where the model couples were sunbathing. But there was an understanding and this understanding was rewarded with a lot of love from the kids...and hugs. Big hugs.

A four minute walk to the beach, the sea was perfect temperature and intensity for the kids to swim. The sand a strange small stone meant it didn’t stick to you like the normal stuff. Although you did find it in strange places later in the day when taking items of clothing off or showering. Much like the black rubber particles you find on AstroTurf football pitches. 

There were a stack of places to eat along the front. I was a big fan of the food. From a pork gyros on the first night - essentially a high-end kebab with chips wrapped in amongst the meat - to big plentiful salads, homemade moussaka, tasty fish and seafood right through to bakeries selling an array of sweet and savoury delights.

The lack of kids entertainment on the beachfront outside the sea was made up for by a water park being a short walk away. We spent two full days here. The kids absolutely loved it. We also did a day trip to Thira, the stunning main town on the island crammed with bright white buildings chiselled into the cliff face with iconic blue roofs the finishing touch on the picture-perfect back drop. 

Finally, the wedding. Santorini Gem is located on the outskirts of a small town called Pyrgos. We were met on arrival by a simple four poster canopy on the edge of a cliff overlooking the turquoise sea and famous volcano. It really was magical. The highlight being the famous sunset all to ourselves, slurping fizz with the couple’s sunset playlist the soundtrack to this amazing moment. 

So, is Santorini for kids? No, not if you're used to child-focused entertainment everywhere you look on your summer holiday. Will your kids enjoy it? Well, pick Perissa and Hotel Aretousa and I'd say yes, there's a very good chance they will. Oh, and you'll enjoy it too.

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.

Itchy Feet

Feet are getting itchy....feet are getting itchy : )

An average morning in Ethiopia

Sunday 6th December 2009
Day 161

I reckon our time in Ethiopia, well Africa in general can be summed up by the events of this morning. '7.30 will be fine' said reception when asking what time we should set off in the airport shuttle to Lalibela airport en route to Addis Abba to ultimately get our evening flight to the UK.

Little did we know a quarter of the way into our journey, the arse would drop out the back of the minibus!

You could tell the minibus wasn't the best, and it wasn't as though we were staying in a crappy hotel. Nevertheless we had no choice but to pile onto this tin can shuttle. The clutch had been burnt out, the suspension was none existent and we were later to find out from a Guatamalen couple on board that this same bus had broken down twice the day before visiting some out of town churches. In fact the Guatamalen guy (a Graphic Designer) had been left to try and fix it and to the joy of everybody on board, he succeeded. However this breakdown needed more than a Guatamalen Graphic Designer. The heavy clunk and subsequent scraping sound suggested a major organ had given up the ghost and dropped out of the vehicle.

There we were stranded in the hills of Lalibela's surrounds, on the side of the road with only a couple of farmers with their hay for company alongside driver and passengers.

We were told a mechanic was on his way but we needed more than a mechanic if we were to catch our flight. We needed a new vehicle and quick. The wait seemed to take forever but eventually the mechanic arrived quite nonchently, in no particular rush and we crammed on board his vehicle and sped off at breakneck speed airport-bound.

Lalibela airport seemed ten times the distance as the way from the airport but we played it cool talkin Seatle and Melbourne with the couple who were now based in the States. Inside we were a trifle panic stricken to say the least.

At last we got to the airport, showed our passports to airport security at the gates before Layla sped in while I grabbed the bags off the roof. An argument about payment for the minibus ensued (which we'd already paid for). I held my ground got our stuff and head in to find Layla still searching for the check in officer. Passengers were well checked-in and the last passengers were boarding the plane witnessed through a thick sheet of glass that separated the terminal to departures lounge.

Still no one in sight meaning no way through Layla made a last ditch attempt running through security and the departures lounge returning with an official in tow kicking and screaming. He was angry and hardnosed and said 'No- you are too late!' He wasn't going to budge even after our sob story. 'You should have left more time,' he said. No flight meant we'd miss our connecting flight to the UK and were pretty much screwed.

There was only one thing for it.....'Pleeeaaase' Ppplllleeeeaaassse let us on the flight' we begged pathetically. Much to our surprise, it seemed to be working. We could sense a change in his expression. A chink in his armour. He actually seemed to like it. We looked at each other in astonishment and continued 'Plleeeaase'. 'GIVE ME YOUR BAGS!' he shouted. We were on.

We rushed our bags through, got onto the already boarded plane and within five minutes of taking our seats we were off. Phew!

Ethiopia - a land of extremes

Wednesday 26th November - Saturday 5th December 2009
Days 150 - 160

Our bodies took a pounding in Ethiopia. About halfway through the trip Layla was as ill as Ive seen her - fever, chest infection, stomach problem whilst I was eating for two in the shape of tape worm.

Ethiopia itself was fascinating. A land of extremes. We started in Addis Ababa, flying in from Kigali. Ethiopian Airways are hilarious. Like a public bus they just seem to decide to make random stop offs to pick up more people. We stopped in Entebbe, Uganda as the plane wasn't full.

Our two day introduction to Addis Ababa was certainly an eye opener - a vast, sprawling city situated at altitude with a thick smog lying above it like a sandwich spread. There was more homelessness, disease, disability and desperation than I have seen in Africa so far. In the morning we were walking knee-deep through the homelessness, people sheltering under blankets protecting them from the baking sun and by the afternoon we were sipping a macchiato in the beautiful gardens of the University. Remember what I said - Extremes!

From Adis (as his mates call him) we took a 12 hour coach journey to the historical town of Gonder - gateway to the stunning Simien Mountains. Whilst internal flights were cheap, travelling overland on our 'Young Man' branded coach complete with bullet sized hole in windscreen and the tagline 'German Technology; Chinese Price'. Add to this the sheer speed the coach driver decided to travel at and you could understand our anxiety. Especially as we had a front row seat directly behind lunatic driver.

The scenic countryside of Ethiopia soon took our attention away from sheer fear as we twisted up and around huge mountains dipping down into deep valleys with views stretching green threw to the horizon.

Back again to shear panic again as we started to see burned out vehicles at the side of the road. And then in the road. A couple that flipped on their roof followed by the inevitable. A shiny bust up 4x4 completely blocking our path.

 Another thing we noticed was the sheer volume of people in this country-roaming the streets, out in the fields, watching the world go by. What was most evident was that even in the most remote location an incident or accident will draw a crowd. People seem to come out of the woodwork from absolutely nowhere.

Needless to say this road accident created a huge crowd. Some rough looking village folk. And the kids. The kids looked wild.

After a while the kids got bored with the vehicle more interested with the farangi (white folk) on the coach. Within 15 minutes we had a crowd of 20 kids staring up at us, as the only westerners on the coach, and there they stayed until eventually the vehicle was towed out of our path.

Gonder was grand containing a royal enclosure complete with castle that dominated the town. We spent a day looking around before heading to the Simien Mountains where we completed a three day trek which was fantastic apart from we both came down with an illness that knocked us sidewards. The major issue was energy levels and add to this an unpredictable backside we weren't in the best shape for a mountain climb.

The worst of it came at our camp where the toilet was a hole in the ground situated 100 metres down a steep embankment.  The amount of times Layla and I made that journey was ridiculous through night and day sometimes handing the baton (toilet roll) over at the halfway point of the hill.

Once again the sheer volume of people became apparent as way up in the remote Simien Mountains we unzipped our tent to be faced with around 15 village folk sat at our entrance starring into our tent.

Next up Lalibela. Ethiopia just seemed to visually get better and better. The town's centrepiece was a series of churches carved down out of the rock dating back to the 12th century when King Lalibela returned from a 25 year stay in Jeruselum intent on creating Ethiopia's equivalent.

It was hard to get your head around how magical this place was. Aside from the churches there was a nice friendly vibe, a real community spirit, beautiful steep cobbled street, arts and crafts, great coffee, beer and honey wine. We were also lucky enough to be there on Market day which was crazy chaos but unforgetable. Do you get the feeling we liked this place?

Mountain gorilla'ing

Saturday 21st - Wednesday 25th November 2009
Days 146 - 150

Was mountain gorilla tracking worth the money? Don't get me wrong we saw three humungous silverback gorillas up at close quarters. Very close quarters. Starring into their eyes was something Ill never forget. It was a humbling experience to know these big beasts could snap you in two if they wanted to, yet, even though my heart was pounding, my hands trembling they were looking at us as if to say 'What's the fuss? Chill out people. I'm just going about me business.'

The national park 'Parc de Volcanos' in itself was worth the trip up north from Rwanda's capital Kigali. A series of rolling green hills (thus the nickname land of a thousand hills) then turned into more abrupt mountainous landscape followed by volcanoes which represent the border between Rwanda, Uganda and DRC.

Kigali is an interesting city and we were grateful to friends of a friend for letting us crash at their place as we explored this intriguing place.

The genocide obviously dominates the city from the Paliament building still maintaining one wall covered in bullet holes and scars from a mortar attack, through to the building where the Prime Minister was assassinated with a Belgian contingent attempting to protect her. Again the bullet holes tell the story. Then theres the Genocide Museum. A word of warning - don't attempt it with Kigali belly....it's emotional enough without a dodgy tummy.

The Genocide Museum is extremely well done and you can't help but walk out with your jaw dragging along the ground. It is thought one million people were killed in 100 days from April 1994 and the museum talks you through the history, a no-holds barred account of the massacre followed by the massacre itself followed by the aftermath. If that doesn't get you, the mass graves in the garden and the 'childrens room' will. It even got me and I'm as ard as nails me ; )

Kigali itself is full of character and looks like a modern city. However, I still felt a spooky undercurrent resonated which is completely understandable and probably will be that way for some time to come.