London - How Tos

i dont like giving tips. i dont feel comfortable when people ask, what's the best way, how do you do this, how did you come up with that, why did you choose to do that. i dont know...its just embarassing. i know some questions come up because i blog about the trip, so i guess its natural that some people would like further info...so padah muka sendiri lah kan.

anyway, i'll list down a few 'how to's to our trip that maybe some would find helpful, should they too want to plan a holiday of some sort. note that they apply to this particular trip for this particular family at this particular time. it may not suit everyone or answer all questions because its not meant to.

1. as we come from a hot-all-year-round climate country, we have limited access to thick, winter clothing. going for a holiday in winter does not happen every day or every year even to majority of us, so its best to choose clothes that are high in quality but also not expensive. we dont need to splurge on winter jackets, especially for the children as they may not fit the next time we plan a similar trip.

i was very, very lucky to have friends who offered to lend their children's winter jackets. i was doubly lucky that i have friends who were willing to get a couple of jackets overseas. both saved us quite a bit. if both methods were not available to us, i would have opted to get the jackets there. cheaper, more choices and easily available. i would have planned in such a way that we would have gone to the shops as soon as we land and i would have done enough research to know which shop to go to, which jackets to buy, what size to get. planning is key, to me.

aside from jackets, good, thick sweaters need to be bought. since we have four children and all need a few sweaters, we need to prepare around 16 pieces to be comfortable. that doesnt come cheap so we bought (almost all) of their sweaters were bought at either brands outlet or fos. pretty cheap, as each cost only $30. the only one i splurged on was a marks & spencer sweater for akmal which i was eyeing for the longest time, but it on sale at 70% off. i also got a couple of mothercare sweaters for asyraf & ariff which was also 70% off but was a pack of 2, so i got 2 for only $21.

2. when travelling with children, be prepared to not see everything. be prepared to make a u-turn, if they decide they've had enough. be prepared to stop for food, if they decide its time, even if you're happily grabbing lingeries at marks & sparks. be prepared to drop everything if they say its toilet break time, even it it means losing your place in a long queue at primark. being prepared is the key. also be prepared to hear people ask, eh...you went all the way and you didnt see this?? you dont need to see everything, you dont need to do everything but what you need is to avoid temper tantrums, that is the most important thing.

3. be friends with your stroller. or in our case, stroller with an S. stollers and buggy boards. they are not your enemy, they help. they act as a mobile bed, as a carrier of shopping bags, as a place to rest your tired arms, as a means to avoid children from running in public places. it doesnt matter if you need to carry them up and down the stairs at not-so-friendly tube stations. it doesnt matter if you need to wait for elevators for 10 minutes because they are always full with other strollers. it doesnt matter if you hit the person in front of you because they walk so slow. its ok...as long as your children have a place to lay their head for a bit, to get their susu break, to rest their feet from all the walking. and most importantly, anything is better than having to carry your children...apa hal nak kena berdukung pulak time orang nak relek-relek gi cuti ni.

4. prepare! have a list, have your itinerary, have your budget, have a back up list. have a freaking booklet, if you must. preparation is crucial when you're traveling with small children, when you're travelling to unchartered waters (unchartered because its the first time i'm going with the four boys, doing what they want to do - if i had gone on my own 10 years ago, it would be planned in a totally different way).

it doesnt matter if people say you're weird or pathetic or sad or ocd or whatever. the most important thing is that you face the day with minimal waste (of time, effort, energy & money), you know where you will be going, what you will be doing, when to stop, when to start. you dont waste time making decisions or thinking about what to do. while being prepared is crucial, its also important to not stick to it 100%. of course, if everything goes well and according to plan, you follow the book. but if something creeps up, you must be flexible enough to come up with a back up plan in a jiffy.

5. take a bit of time everyday, if possible twice a day, to prepare and to reflect. no, not a 'hummmmm' yoga moment. but with this many children following you, getting up half an hour early to prepare their clothes for the day, their socks, their shoes help. preparing the breakfast before they wake up is a bonus - because they usually wake up with an empty stomach and doesnt take to 'hold on a second' comments easily.

if you're off earlier the next day, its good to take a bit of time before you call it a night to prepare for the day after. maybe hang their sweaters at the back of a chair, put their socks in the shoes so that they know where everything is and wear both at one time - saves a lot of time trying to gather them again to get their shoes on. try not to wake up with them because then everyone's tummy will be grumbling at the same time and you'd have little shorties running around your ankles while you're preparing food. and never, ever be woken up by them.

6. try documenting your trip as often as possible either in a journal, a diary, a notepad, word document or in my case, the travelog. i enjoy reading it again, i would like to remember everything and with the limited space i have in my brain - seeing that there's just so many things to remember - i like to pen down our excursions on a daily basis. it also saves time to edit the photos daily. we took almost 2000 photos when we were in london. imagine if we had to go through it after we returned home. i would have thrown up! there are also people who would get upset if i dont update my travelog, so i have to please my fans :)

so yeah, that's about it. that's pretty much how we survived. and alhamdulillah, my boys were wonderful throughout. not because they are good boys (no seriously, its not because of that) but because we cater this trip, as much as we can, to fit their schedule and they are always first up when we plan something. that way, we avoid unneccesary screaming and tears and stress and we all come back happy and fulfilled and all the dosh we spent do not go to waste.

so good luck, good luck, good luuuuccckkk...