first overseas trip with Rynus

For the past 3 years, the idea of bringing Rynus with us for vacation has been falling under the radar for one simple reason, it's already a challenge bringing him out of the house, let alone going overseas!!

Yes this little boy is such an angel to us at home but the moment we bring him out, he's full of piss and vinegar (most of the time).. There's no way he could sit still with us to enjoy a peaceful meal whenever we are outside. So how would we be able to manage him while bringing him to a foreign country? Thinking about the flight journey alone, is enough to give me goosebumps. Even Renzo who used to be pretty well behaved, insisted me to "OPEN THE WINDOW" in the airplane when he's around Rynus's age. I couldn't imagine what kind of battle I need to fight with Rynus so the farthest place he's been to so far, is Legoland in Malaysia as it's only about 1 hour drive away.

HongKong is a place my in laws have been wanting to visit since long ago, and we agreed (or I agreed) to bring them there but interestingly, each time we started planning about the trip in the past, I ended up expecting (LOL).. Finally we settled the itinerary and decided to bring the kids to Disneyland in HongKong this April, and of course, having my in laws tagging along at the same time so, not just that I could keep to my promise, they also could enjoy some fun bonding time with their grandsons all day long in a foreign land. And a 3 hours+ journey isn't too bad assuming, I  could distract Rynus successfully, with new stuff in the plane for the 1st hour, junk food for the 2nd hour and, tablet for the 3rd hour. Yes forget about all the house rules of no junk food no screen time, hey we are on a holiday!!

The trip turned out to be way better than expected, in the sense that it left a much deeper impact on little Rynus in many ways.

#1: He's enjoyed so much..
Yes what's more exciting than planning a trip and making the kids really happy?! Rynus asked to go to the hotel lobby every morning, to get a sweet from the friendly front-line staff, not forgetting an extra one for his Renzo korkor. He takes the lift to level 11 when he wants to get a dip in the pool or run about in their gigantic playground, or to level 15 and proudly announce to other guests in the lift, "I just pressed level 15" which is the level we stay at. Even till now, after we were back for weeks, he still occasionally exclaims, "I want to go to level 15!", or "I want to take aeroplane, yellow aeroplane! (We traveled by Scoot so that's why the 'yellow')", or, "I want to go to Disneyland!!". It's a very clear sign that he misses his trip to HongKong, though I doubt how much he could remember a year from now.

 

#2: He's learned so much..
There's always so much to see, so much to try when you are on vacation in a foreign land. Rynus didn't quite like the food in HongKong. There's nothing new there since he's not been eating well even back at home. But he loved the MTR train, the traditional tram (叮叮车), the Crystal Cabin Cable Car at Ngong Ping 360, and of course not to forget those amazing rides at Disneyland. Somehow all these "new" things triggered him to speak up more, in full sentences. Everyone around us noticed his change after the trip when he started communicating more, and showing less sign of shyness in front of acquaintance. And for his first experience taking a plane, it's so fun to see him learning to play with seat belt, front table, light etc for a good first 30 minutes of the flight.

 

 

 

#3: He's grown so much..
When we first hit to the airport during midnight, he made a big scene, partly because he was exhausted of course as it's way passed his usual sleep time of 9pm, and I had to punish him by bringing him to "naughty corner" and let him face the wall for a short "time out" period. The method didn't quite work out at home in the past as he seemed to have no fear about it at all. But when we travel, it worked like miracle. I explained to him that I would have to use this method if he misbehaves. And here are the 4 times I used "time out" on him. It's very obvious that the method worked better and better day after day. He clearly understands the consequences when I mention the word "naughty corner" and disciplining him has became so much easier nowadays.

1st time: for forcing grandpa to get on the escalator that goes only one way down when they need to go up

 

2nd time: for playing hide and seek with everyone at the mountain top while visiting big Buddha 

3rd time: for running about at the train station when Mummy was alone to take care of the two

 

4th time: for running away while waiting for Mummy to settle payment at cashier in shopping mall 

So the next question is, "Should we bring Rynus for vacation again?!", or better still, "Where should we bring him to for our next vacation?!"

first staycation with baby Rynus - Marriott Singapore

On September 7, after attending our best friends Joel & Alicia's wedding lunch, we checked ourselves into Marriott Hotel for our first staycation with baby Rynus.

Staycation at local hotel has became our yearly family event, and we usually do it twice a year, because it's simply easier than flying overseas with the 2 boys. Talking about that, I just remembered that baby Rynus does not have his own passport! Lazy mummy better work on that before our next overseas trip! Some might think it's a waste of money to bring young kids for hotel stays, but to me, I believe it's an eye opener and great exposure for them. Renzo knows some hotels require room card to access the lift, which I am pretty sure many adults are not aware of.

With our Marriott Vacation Club Membership, we are privileged to enjoy hotel stays at 7 club resorts, 28 club connection hotels, or even more than 2000 timeshare resorts in 75 countries around the world. We celebrated Renzo's first birthday at Marriott Mai Khao beach club in Phuket, we stayed at Ritz Carlton Shanghai for his 2nd birthday, and we went to Ritz Carlton Singapore for his 3rd birthday as Mummy was pregnant with baby Rynus by then. In fact, when we attended our friends' wedding in Bali this April, we also stayed in Courtyard Marriott so in another word, our recently hotel stays were either Marriott, or Ritz Carlton, that's the way to fully utilize our club membership points since it doesn't come cheap anyway, LOL..

So this time, we decided to give Marriott Singapore a try since we've stayed in Ritz Carlton Singapore for 3 times in the past, including an indulgence in a super lovely premier suite room on our wedding day.


I knew long ago that Marriott has smaller hotel rooms, as compared to Ritz Carlton, so I wasn't expecting much and I just thought their superb location will compensate. Well to certain extend, it's true because we could afford to take a stroll around Orchard area for a couple of hours before the shops close at late night. But in all honesty, their hotel rooms are really dull with outdated interiors, and almost zero scenic views as we were given a room on the 5th floor. I thought I made a wise choice to upgrade the room to a premier suite with a living room area and a massage bathtub. Or else I really couldn't imagine how much the kids would enjoy most of their time inside the room.

We did not opt to add in the breakfast at a discounted price of SGD80 for 2 before tax, usual price is SGD90 for 2 before tax and I've heard lots of great reviews about their wide spread and quality food. I have no doubt in that after trying out their 12 bucks chocolate cake (almost as big as a standard log cake) Renzo insisted to get at their cafe. I am never a chocolate cake fan but I found it pretty impressive.

Rynus was curious about the new environment throughout the stay. It's pretty fun to see him climbing up and down, and hanging on the bed for dear life most of the time. Renzo is not a rookie anymore, he even commented that he prefers his own new house, and Ritz Carlton hotel is his favorite. The best gain of this stay, was the 2 videos we took while the boys splashing water like crazy in the massage bathtub, which I am secretly planning to include in their wedding montage one day. But for now, let's look forward to Rynus' first staycation at Ritz Carlton Singapore in one month time, well yes I've made booking for that and it will be Renzo's 3rd stay there!!