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Flying Via Emirates with Kids : A Fun Long-haul Flight Experience

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Last month, our family experienced flying Emirates for the first time. We usually fly our local carrier – Philippine Airlines or any Asian carrier but for our latest trip, we wanted to try a new airline.

Photo on Emirates’ site. Source: https://www.emirates.com/english/skywards/about/skysurfers.aspx

It was a choice between Etihad and Emirates – which honestly was a difficult choice to make since the cost, reviews and flying times were almost the same. I was really tempted to fly Etihad – with their flying nannies on board (has anyone experienced this? how was it?) but given the long layover, we chose Emirates. For Emirates, layover will be at the Dubai airport which had better reviews and kid-friendly facilities versus Etihad’s Abu Dhabi airport.

Mia and Mika sitting comfortably on our flight via Emirates

Here’s a review of our experience with Emirates

Amenities, Toys and Activities for different Ages

Mia and Mika’s carry buddies – Ernie the penguin and Fudo the tiger

By far, Emirates have provided the kids the best gifts and giveaways. Mia was given an Lonely Planet Kid’s pack and activity book, coloring materials and a small carry-buddy (a blankie-stuffed animal). Mika was given a carry-buddy, a baby pack and a magic slate for her to doodle on. I loved the Lonely Planet kid’s pack! If you’re flying via Emirates, don’t forget to ask for these cool packs.

Coloring and activity book

Emirates Lonely Planet kit

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Traveling with Kids: What to do in San Francisco

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San Francisco has got to be one of my favorite destinations. The weather is cold, the people are warm, food is great and shopping is… well, don’t get me started!

Last year, I was fortunate enough to bring my whole family with me on my yearly trip. They loved the city too – so much so that Mia is already asking when we are going back.  Our trip lasted for two weeks but it was still not enough for us to enjoy San Francisco!

If you are traveling to San Francisco, do not be disheartened by some reviews online that the city is not really kid-friendly. There are a lot of activities and places to see for kids (and babies!) – and I’m sure your kids will have loads of fun!

Here are some of the activities which we found both enjoyable and worthwhile to do:

Take a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge

Never leave the city without taking a photo of the most photographed bridge in the world. Honestly, I have made the mistake of not visiting the Golden Gate Bridge when I was in the city the past years. The bridge is amazing. It’s very beautiful in photos but it’s more captivating when you see it “in person”.

View of Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County

Best to go in the early afternoon to enjoy the view because it may get VERY foggy when it’s nearing evening. There are even times when the fog covers the entire bridge and it will be a waste of time because you won’t be able to see any of it. If you are with very young kids, it may be impossible for  you to cross the bridge by foot so better ride a cab or buy a ticket for the hop-on buses.

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US Visa application process for babies and young children

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We all have heard not-so-good stories about getting US Visas and how difficult it is. However,  last week, we applied for the girls’ US Visas (non-immigrant) and it was hassle-free! Here’s a walk-through of our application process.

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Payment of application fee

We paid the $160 fee (Php 7680) applicable to the Visa type we were applying for, through BPI online. I had to click on the link for online paying through BPI and took note of the reference number provided. Please note that for each individual, you need to get a number. You should not pay a lump sum as the reference number for each applicant is required before you can schedule. In our case since both girls and Michael are applying, we had to pay 3 application fees separately.

It was very easy to pay, enroll the biller (US VISA) with the reference number, and pay the fee. Please just do remember to print out a proof of payment as this may be requested from you- in our case I printed out the screenshot of the confirmation and also the email confirmation from BPI.

You can get the list of payment options and information here :http://ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-paymentinfo.asp

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Why We Travel With Our Children

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Michael and I share the same penchant for traveling. We like to explore and experience different places and we hope to influence our kids to have the same passion. Before Mia even turned one, we already had mini out-of-town trips aside from our regular visits to our province. We do this so we can have a feel of how (difficult) it will be to be tugging a baby along when we travel. When Mia turned 1, we got her a passport and started planning our first out-of-the-country trip.

Some people may consider taking very young kids to trips as just a waste of time and money – they say they won’t remember it anyway. Some think that traveling will expose young kids to risks that can be avoided by just staying home. Yes – those points are very valid, but as a parent, I want my children to go places, experience different cultures, meet different people – and I want them to start early.

Traveling with children is not easy. Planning, saving up, preparing, and packing are already hard as it is, triple it up when you will have kids in tow. But all these do not outweigh the benefits and long-term effects of traveling – here are the reasons why we travel with our children.

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