Traveling with Kids

Flying with kids can always be a challenge to parents especially with the issue of keeping them well-behaved during the entire flight. As everyone knows, children can be restless and irritable when they are kept in a place they can’t explore or they have very limited things to do. To help parents to cope up with this situation, here are some travel tips that might help to keep children behave properly while they are up in the sky.

1. Schedule your flight well.

● As much as possible, book a flight which coincides with the sleeping hours of your child. Nothing would be perfect than having your child asleep for the entire duration of the flight. Aside from the fact that you will be spared from several hours of saying “shhh” every now and then, you’ll have the opportunity to re-charge your energy for the tasks that awaits you upon landing.

● If you will be airborne with your kids for several hours, consider taking flights which has a break in between as even well behaved children can be restless when they are kept in a place with very limited things to do prompting tantrums and other improper behavior. Flying non-stop with your kids might not be advisable because letting them exercise their small limbs during breaks might work some magic to their moods.

2. Keep them occupied.

● Don’t forget to include materials to keep your children occupied while packing for the trip. Stuffed animals to cuddle and play with might save you from hours of walking behind your children while they wander around the plane. You can also bring art materials such as coloring books and pens, stickers, dolls, toys, cards, story books to read. Bring out one activity at a time to keep things properly organized. This will save you the trouble of repeatedly picking up things underneath the seats of irritated passengers around you.

● Some airlines do provide complimentary activity packets for children however you can’t be sure of it so it would be wiser to bring your own rather than risk having your children throw tantrum or keep bothering other passenger because of lack of activity to do.

● Include a CD player or other gadgets that they can listen to while they are being confined in an airplane. Make sure to bring earphones that fit their ears as well to be sure that they are comfortable.

3. Keep them well fed.

● Most kids get cranky when they are hungry so remember to bring your own supplies of sandwiches fruits or snacks in sealable plastic bags to keep them happy. Just remember to keep things tidy to avoid unpleasant reaction from nearby passengers.

● Having their favorite snacks will make them satisfied so make it a point to bring their preferred brand of drinks in small packets instead of forcing them to settle for what are available in the plane. However you might need to check with the airline company regarding this matter.

4. Make them comfortable as much as possible.

● Temperature in the plane might be too cold for children so a light quilt or blanket might be of great help to keep them comfortable. Some airlines do provide blanket upon request however the texture and the thickness might not what your child needs thus it will be safer to bring your own.

● Small pillows to provide comfort might make them sleep longer therefore bringing one will be a great idea.


● Dress them appropriately making sure that their movements are not restricted by their clothing. Jackets might be necessary to keep them warm especially when there are no blankets available in the plane.

5. Examine your own expectation.

● Don’t expect your child to be behaved perfectly because they are in the plane. Nowadays children are more responsive so they communicate easier expressing their thoughts and ideas so let your child speak to other passengers as long as they don’t mind. Conversation with little ones can sometimes be a refreshing experience for some adults who are not parents yet so allow your child to entertain other people.

● Let your kids wander around the plane as much as allowed every now and then to help them ease the feeling of boredom. Ask the flight attendant for some guide regarding what is allowed or not to make sure that your kids are not in the way of other passenger.


● Refrain from saying “sshh” to your children every minute. As long as the sound they are making is not loud enough to cause distraction to other passengers, let them be.

● Hope that there will be other children in the same flight who behaves less desirable than your child so that your child won’t attract much unpleasant impression from other passenger. You won’t feel good for sure being referred to as the parent of an undisciplined child.

● Don’t let the unpleasant behavior of your child gets the better of you. If the other passenger can see that you are doing your best to make your child behaved properly, they will give you some credit and won’t blame you for the way your child is behaving.

Traveling can be one of the best opportunities to spend quality time with your children so don’t let the concern of taking air plane rides with your children hinder you from creating memorable family moments. Just remember these tips when you are doing the flight booking for your family vacation and you’ll have a better chance of having a good start of a fun-filled holiday!

Top 10 Most Popular Festival in Philippines

Philippines is one of the favorite tourist destinations in Asia not only because it is a beautiful country which possesses numerous tourist attractions, but a great part of it must be attributed to the ready and genuine smiles of its hospitable people, which make every tourist’s stay in the Philippines truly memorable. Visitors often travel to Philippines during festival period, within these celebration, they are treated with spectacular street performances, representing the unique culture and traditions of each provinces. To give you a better understanding of these various festivals, here are some of the most popular ones.

Dinagyang Festival. Join the locals of Iloilo City as they shout "Viva Señor Santo Niño" and "Hala Bira" amidst the cracking of drums when they amaze the spectators with their fantastic costumes and make up during the street parade. Get your camera ready for it will be a regret on your part missing to capture the local people garbed in their grandest native attire. Dinagyang Festival is celebrated every fourth weekend of January to commemorate the Christianization of the natives and to honor the Holy Child Jesus. It is a very colorful parade coupled with a dramatization in honor of the patron Saint - Sto. Niño.

Higantes Festival. Prepare to feel small and tiny as you watch the “higantes” of the Anongo, Rizal. This festival dates back to the late 1800s in honor for the town’s patron saint San Clemente. It is characterized by huge papier-mache effigies or "higantes" which parade the street of Angono every 22nd and 23rd of November. You will surely be surprised by the artistic capabilities of the locals as they bring each giant character to life.

Kadayawan Festival. It is a celebration of Good Harvest in the city of Davao. This globally famous festival is a week long celebration and thanksgiving for nature's bountiful harvest. Watch the locals as they perform graceful dances in the streets wearing costumes that signify their livelihood sources. Kadayawan Festival is being celebrated every 3rd Week of August which annually attracts thousands of visitors to purchase airfare to Philippines. This is a celebration of the plentiful harvests of fruits and orchids during the season.

Ati-atihan Festival. It is a festival in Kalibo, Aklan which is considered as the wildest among Philippine fiestas. It is also believed this is the “Mother of All Philippine Festivals”. Celebrants paint their faces with black soot and wear bright, outlandish costumes as they dance in revelry during the last three days of this two week-long festival, so be careful of our signature clothes as you watch the street parade. Catholics and non-Catholics alike observe this special day with processions, parades, dancing, and merrymaking. This annual festivity is held every third week of January to honor the feast of the Holy Infant Jesus.

Maskara Festival. Get ready to see various smiling faces when you visit the city of Bacolod for its most popular fiesta, the Mascara Festival. It is celebrated on the third weekend of October closest to October 19, the city's charter day anniversary every year. Festivities kick off with food fairs, mask-making contests, brass band competitions, beauty pageants, windsurfing regatta, drinking and eating contests, trade fairs and exhibits. To make your experience more exciting, try on some of the wonderfully designed mascara and pose for a picture!

Moriones Festival. It is the most popular festival celebrated in the island of Marinduque. Morion means "mask" or "visor," a part of the medieval Roman armor which covers the face. Moriones, on the other hand, refers to the masked and costumed penitents who march around the town for seven days searching for Longinus. This week-long celebration begins on Holy Monday and ends on Easter Sunday. This festival is characterized by colorful Roman costumes, painted masks and helmets, and brightly-colored tunics. You will surely be entertained with the amazing performances of the locals as you learn more about their belief and customs.

Pahiyas Festival. This is a festival which attracts huge crowd in the town of Lucban in Quezon Province. It is celebrated by a colorful feast in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saints of farmers, as a thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. Visitors will be treated with the fantastic sight of houses lining the old streets of Lucban, artistically decorated with “kiping”, a wafer made up of rice that comes in different brilliant colors and other agricultural harvest. It is held every 15th day in the month of May which has been going on since the 16th century. The locals surely knows how to make an artistic display of their gratefulness for a bountiful harvest!

Panagbenga Festival. The city of Pines comes alive with high spirit during the Panagbenga Festival as the city brings out its most beautiful flowers to make different characters and images for the famous “parade of flowers”. Don’t miss this festival which is held yearly during the month of February. The celebrations are held for over a month and peak periods are the weekends. The Panagbenga Festival showcases the many floral floats and native dances. It is definitely a festival worthy of the effort searching for discount airlines as you get the chance to see hundreds of floral variety one can only find in Baguio City.

Pintados Festival. Are you ready to get painted? Well, you better try it and enjoy a unique experience. The Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival is a merry-making event in Tacloban City in the province of Leyte which last for a whole month of June. The highlights of which include the Leyte Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, the Pintados Festival Ritual Dance Presentation and the "Pagrayhak" Grand Parade. These festivals are said to have began from the feast day of Señor Santo Niño, held every June 29th. The Leyteños celebrate their religious festival in a unique and colorful way and since they are experienced in the art of body tattooing, what could be the best way to present their culture but to showcase their artistic gift.

Sinulog Festival. The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest, most distinguished and most colorful festivals in the Philippines. It is a major festival in Cebu City held each year on the third Sunday of January in honor of the Santo Niño, or the child Jesus. It is fundamentally a dance ritual which represents the period before the introduction of Christianity to Philippines. Visitors will surely have fun watching the different lively and spectacular street performances of the locals wearing equally fantastic costumes.

Visit the Philippines, get to know its people and their traditions in an entertaining and fabulous way with these various festivals one can only see in this beautiful archipelago.

Top 10 Symbols of Chinese Culture

Each nation has characters or symbols that represent its culture. They may be food, famous people, historical landmarks or a certain fashion that have been associated with a particular country. When we come across pictures of Great Wall, giant panda, red lanterns and dumpling, the very first thing that comes to our mind is China because these things are part of Chinese culture. However nowadays Chinese culture is no longer contained in China primarily because there are so called “China towns” in every successful nations. Here are some of the famous cultural symbols of China that represent the nation’s rich and colorful culture.

The Great Wall of China is undoubtedly one of the famous symbols of China. It reflects the Chinese people’s spirit of courage and persistence. In fact, there is an old saying in Chinese that goes “You are a real man until you climb up the Great Wall” which only shows that courage and persistence are intrinsic values of Chinese culture. The magnificent wall winds up and down across deserts, grassland, mountain and plateaus. It features a remarkable piece of engineering making it one of the greatest wonders of the world.

This giant creature with cuddly features is regarded as one of China’s National Treasure. However it is sad to say that giant panda is on the verge of extinction. At present, there are fewer than 1,000 giant pandas living in the world thus the giant panda also symbolize Eco-environmental conservation. Their cute faces, unusual beauty and grace delight everyone who see them up close. Visitors to China can see this reclusive animal in Sichuan Province's Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

We usually see the massive display of this symbol especially during Chinese New Year. Red lanterns with Chinese characters make China towns’ street alive and full of energy. People who would like to experience the fun and excitement of Chinese New Year need not go to China, they can secure cheap airfare to Singapore to witness how the Chinese folks drive away bad spirits and attract good fortune. Lanterns play an important and irreplaceable role in Chinese long history and symbolize the brilliant culture of China. The art of making Chinese lanterns is part of traditional culture of Chinese which was inherited from their ancient people and passed from generations to generations. The craft work of lantern is still widely used in current society which can be seen in some happy days such as the Lantern Festival, wedding and celebration ceremonies. Besides, lanterns have some other functions in daily life. For example, at ancient time, when there was no electricity, lanterns were used as a tool of illumination, which brought great convenience to everyday life.

An airfare to Beijing is worth it when you visit the place because you will surely be amazed of the costumes and make-ups of the Beijing Opera. Each costume is picked and made through high aesthetic standard signifying the Chinese culture of giving importance to detail and beauty. The costumes are graceful, magnificent, elegant, brilliant and most of them are made in handicraft embroidery. Make-ups on the other hand are rich and various, depicting different characters and remarkable images. Beijing Opera is the quintessence of China. As the largest Chinese opera form, it is extolled as 'Oriental Opera'. Having a history of 160 years, it has created many 'firsts' in Chinese dramas: the abundance of repertoires, the number of artists, opera troupes and spectators.

Chinese cuisine is quite popular with everyone because of its distinct method and excellent taste. Jiaozi or better known as Chinese Dumpling is one of the Chinese food that is greatly appreciated by foreigners, not only because it is easy to eat but most importantly it has such great flavor that appeal to varying taste buds of different nationalities. Dumplings are one of the major foods that you will often see in the table of Chinese folks during Chinese New Year which they believe bring luck and prosperity.

The most significant symbol of every nation is its flag. For the People's Republic of China, it is a red field charged in the canton with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly. The red represents revolution; the five stars and their relationship represent the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of Communist Party of China (CPC). Sometimes, the flag is referred to as the "Five Star Red Flag".

The Chinese culture of fashion has evolved through times however it retains its distinct designs. The Chinese “qipao” or “cheongsam” which simply means “long dress” enjoys a growing popularity in the international world of fashion. It appeals to the international market because of its aesthetic value and distinct features. Even those who do not possess Chinese features are keen to wear this kind of clothing but it surely looks better for those who have “chinky” eyes.

The Chinese Decorative Knots can trace its history to the Tang and Song Dynasty during 960 – 1279 AD. It began as a form of Chinese folk art which was popularized later in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Chinese knots are usually lanyard type arrangements where 2 cords enter from the top of the knot and 2 cords leave from the bottom. The knots are usually double-layered and symmetrical.

Some Chinese figures became popular because of their outstanding skills in Chinese Martial Arts. Some of the names which made it to international knowledge are Bruce Lee, Jacky Chan, Jet Li and many more. Kung Fu and Wushu are examples of martial arts which originated in China. In Chinese, kung fu can be used in contexts completely unrelated to martial arts, and refers colloquially to any individual accomplishment or skill cultivated through long and hard work. In contrast, wushu is a more precise term for general martial activities.

A sedan chair is a human or animal-powered transport vehicle for carrying a person, once popular across China. It has different names like "shoulder carriage", "sleeping sedan" and "warm sedan" etc due to the time, location and structural differences. The sedans familiar to modern people are warm sedans that have been in use since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The sedan body is fixed in the wooden rectangular frames on the two thin log poles. The top and four sides of the seat are enclosed with curtains, with a chair blind that could be rolled open in the front and a small window on each side. A chair is placed inside the enclosed space.