Blessed Little Travelers

This is our second year residing in Dubai and Chinese New Year is not a public holiday in the UAE. This year we decided to stay in Dubai as there is no school holiday that coincides with the Chinese New Year period. There is a few celebrations going on as there is quite a number of Chinese in UAE. There is lion dance competition at Dubai Park and Resort, lion/dragon dance parade at City Walk and some celebrations at Jumeirah Lake Towers. Many Chinese restaurants offer reunion dinner package (at a premium price of course) and some renowned hotels offer buffets with Chinese new year theme.  One week before the celebration, I started making some Chinese new year cookies/snacks to get into the mood. My favourite is the pineapple tarts to symbolise wealth. I even attempted to make the fillings from scratch but I have to admit it is a lot of work for 36 tarts that I make. I also make a couple of others easier snacks such as seaweed crisp, cornflakes cookies an...

We spend a two days one night at Double Tree by Hilton Marjan Island over the kids half term break in October and I am very impressed with how family friendly the place is. We have been in the UAE for one and a half year now and we did staycation every now and then at different Emirates and this is by far my favourite. View from our room The resort is huge and there is a long stretch of private beach dedicated for its guest. Although there are many people, I do not feel too overwhelmed. There is plenty of restaurants to choose from and most of them are on Entertainer which is a plus for us as we get buy one free one on its main course.  Excited and well prepared for staycation The girls team We arrived at 12pm and since the room is not ready, we went for lunch first. The food at Vespa is nice. We even double back and had dinner there as well.  Love the food at Vespa After lunch, the rooms are ready and we are also ready for the water slides an...

It is not easy to find places to entertain the kids in the summer that doesn't involves shopping mall, indoor playground or just chilling at home with TV/games. We all would prefer to minimise screen time and kids love the nature. So, when I came across a wildlife park that is fully indoor, I make it a point to bring the kids. It is in Sharjah, google "Sharjah Desert Park" and it's about 30-40 mins drive from Dubai. The entrance fees is AED 15 for adults and absolutely free for kids under 12 years old. Payment is made at the entrance as you drive in and you can enter the 4 sections inside in the park with the same ticket---> Arabia's Wildlife Centre, Children's Farm, Islamic Botanical Garden and Sharjah Natural History Museum.  ARABIA'S WILDLIFE CENTRE Our favourite is the Arabia's Wildlife Centre. It exceeded our expectation. Everything is indoor and there are a wide variety of animals-- from snakes, to birds, frogs, leopards, goa...