Free Trip

My mind was changed when I received a phone call that I had won an essay writing contest. The prize was a multi-night trip to Orlando including airline tickets, rental car, and a suite at an all suites hotel. At the time I had two toddlers. Our family vacations up to that point had all consisted of trips to the beach. These trips were nice, but not like the trips we had before the kids came along. We could spend limited amounts of time on the beach since the kids were so small and we could no longer take a nap on the beach, read, lie out in the sun, or really play in the ocean like before. Instead we would play at the edge of the water while constantly watching the kids, dig in the sand, and taking naps in the room.

Both my husband and I were apprehensive about flying with two toddlers, but we made the reservations anyway. I am so glad that we did. We thought that while we were in Orlando that maybe we should do something low key like Sea World. We also decided to spend a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. We planned on spending the rest of the trip at the hotel pool. Our plan was to stick to a low key schedule to keep us and our toddlers happy.

Flying with Toddlers

The plane trip was pretty easy. Both kids were excited and thankfully quiet on the plane. Our two year old son fell asleep while the plane was on the runway. Our three year old daughter just played contentedly with her sticker book. We felt relieved and realized that this was much easier than the many hour car trips to the beach.

Sea World

Sea World was not so enjoyable for us. Our three year old was not so impressed by the shows. We had to take her out of the whale show after just a few minutes. While the audience was amazed by an enormous whale performing tricks, she was trying to figure out how to get out of there. We tried attraction after attraction at Sea World and nothing made her happy. We were close to leaving the park when we discovered a ball pit and sand play area. So, we spent five hours playing there. The kids had a good time, but we were pretty bored.

Magic Kingdom

Disney's Magic Kingdom was such a different experience for us. I was amazed by the number of rides that we were able to go on as a family. My husband and I actually had as much fun as the kids did. This was the first time that I realized that there was a place that we could go and really enjoy together as a family. Prior to this, we would go places and do things that we would know that the kids would enjoy and we would simply focus on the enjoyment we received from watching our kids have fun. This was totally different. We were really feeling like kids ourselves. I found out that my three year old daughter was a bit of a daredevil. I found out that my son was not so fond of the dark. Once we learned their ride style, we were able to ride the majority of the rides in each section of the park. We got some amazing pictures and have some wonderful memories. It has led to many more visits to Disney World. I can honestly say that I do not think my kids remember that first trip to Disney. I am not sure if they even remember their sixth or seventh trip, but my husband and I do. It has been twelve years since that first trip, my husband and I still talk about memories we have of our kids there. I hope you take the Disney plunge with your kids sooner than later. It really was worth it.

And I can assure that the last thing is painful and dirty as it implies some bleeding and the crew won't be able to assist you as we are not supposed to walk along the cabin while the plane is taxiing. If despite what I told you before, you still stand up, you should know that you might loose your balance in one of the turns, or any sudden move and hit yourself against another seat, another passenger or against the floor, And if the crew's shouts are not enough and you still decide to open the luggage compartment to take your bag and that mobile phone that can't be used inside the plane, be aware that during the flight it could have been dislodged and might fall on someone's head, injuring yourself or one of your fellow travellers, who by the way will be very happy to have such a companion.

Apart from the physical injuries you might have to face some economical ones in the form of a fine, have the great experience of getting escorted by the police to leave the plane and even could be taken to court if you decide to discuss with us elevating your tone too much. And without any intention to offend anybody, statistically you have more chances for any of this to happen to you if come from places like Italy, Poland or Morocco, and even better chances if you are of the type who is always right, has a too big mouth and drank a bit too much during the flight.

Sta Travel

On STA Travel you can select the continents your interested in traveling to and create a RSS feed of cheap flights that fly to those continents. This site is geared towards student travelers who don't have rigid schedules to adhere too and is a great opportunity to find good deals. You may not know you wanted to visited Paris, but for $490 round trip, how could you not?

Art of Travel

"How To See The World... On $25 A Day On Less!" This website, written by a veteran traveler, is a great resource for how to save money, how to pack, what not to take, where not to go and how to get by on the cheap, you must see this website.

AirNinja.com

Air Ninja is a great flight finder, the way the engine works is you can input your city, and destination and Air Ninja shows you only discount Airline Carriers who fly to and from these locations. Air Ninja only shows discount carriers, so if you can't find a discount carrier going to where you want, you may be forced to book through Travelocity or other brokers.

OneBag

To quote the website "The art and science of traveling light" This website is a great resource for anyone traveling, no matter where your going or for how long. And not just tips on packing but what to bring, what to wear and how to get around. Even the veteran traveler can learn why not to bring cotton towels and the many uses of a clothesline.

Hostels.com

The ultimate database of hostels worldwide. You can book through their website and read reviews. Nothing beats staying in Tokyo for $13 a night.

Couch Surfing Project

Listings of free places to stay all over the world. FREE. Yes FREE. This is great for travelers looking to cut cost. Don't worry about ending up in a undesirable situation, you can do your research of the places you'll be staying. This is also a great way to see the real hot spots of a country and not just the touristy locales.

Fare Compare

Fare Compare allows you to search numerous air ticket sales websites at once and compare them easier than going to each site and imputing your search in over and over.

We were not allowed around the embassies for the rest of the trip. After that exciting journey we arrived at Finfine Restaurant Fluha at 5:30p.m., and we had a great dinner. After dinner we went to Addis Ababa National Museum. The museum told stories from pre-historic times to modern times. My favorite part in the museum was the Lucy skeleton which was found in 1974 and is also said to be 3.2 million years old. Once we went to our hotel it was 8:30p.m. so we went down to the pool at our hotel. While we were at the pool an Ethiopian couple was there. We started talking with them about Ethiopia and its history. They told us how the population has been growing a lot so there are housing shortages. Also poverty is spreading all over now, and how Islam is trying to take over the government. Once we finished our great conversation it was 10p.m. so we headed up to our room to go to bed.

We woke up this morning at 7a.m. Colton felt a lot better after that long rest. We went down to Gazebo Restaurant which is inside our hotel. About 7:50a.m. we rented a car at the Bole Airport Car Rental.

We drove down to the Awash National park and Game Reserve. It took us about 2 and half hours to get there. Once we got there we reserved a camping ground, and set up camp. At 10:20a.m. when we finished unpacking we started hiking. Our first hike we took was to Filwoha which has hot springs oasis in its groves of palm trees. While on the trail we past so much wildlife. We saw some gazelles, wild pig, and even a cheetah out in the distance. On the second trail we past the Awash River gorge in the south of the park which had some amazing waterfalls near the park headquarters.

Once we finished with the hikes we went to a museum to look around, and then to a small bar to have some lunch which were both by the campsites. Once we finished there we went to some hot springs we heard about from these other tourist group. Once we finished up with that long hard day we learned that Awash National Park is the oldest and most developed wildlife reserve in Ethiopia. We got back to our campsite around 8:30p.m., and went to bed. Tomorrow morning we will have to get up pretty early to catch our flight to South Africa.

The transport office was the usual bureaucratic challenge I've come to expect and enjoy, and which I always mistakenly think I've learned how to handle until I open my mouth. Why an office for one small bus was necessary remains a bit of a mystery, but at least it offered a blank wall to pee against which is what people seem to do in India as departure times arrive and pass. Inside the gloomy office I noticed first the mandatory, garlanded portrait of JFK with smoldering sticks of incense held in place among the faded marigolds. Underneath the hanging portrait a large, black-haired lady in a purple sari was installed on a wobbly seat behind an enormous, empty, dusty desk.

There seemed to be sari everywhere, acres of it, as if the lady had taken it all off to track down a flea that had been bothering her all morning, but had been taken unawares by the appearance of an unexpected and unwelcome customer, and she'd had to wrap up quickly without paying due attention to proper anchoring. Now the sari was coming undone, and purple, silky cloth and lighter-coloured lacy stuff was gradually colonizing the desk and cascading onto the floor around her feet.

I couldn't tell if the lady was embarrassed, but she was certainly uncomfortable, so I stated my business:

“At what time does it leave for the airport, the next bus?”

Hearing the question asked out loud made me aware of how awkwardly I had phrased it, but it didn't matter because when I looked directly into her face to pose the question I realized that the lady was drunk, and judging by the furtiveness of her expression and the furtiveness of the man who I soon noticed lurking in the darkness of a doorway behind her, I guessed that it was certainly not for the purposes of tracking down a flea that her sari had been misarranged.

The lady kept her composure and applied herself to the task I had set her. She took a deep breath and filled her chest, pushing it further over the desk towards the front door, and with it a few more strands of errant sari. Then she unlocked and pulled open a very stiff drawer and heaved out an enormous book which she slapped down onto the desk in front of her, sending clouds of dust and weevil-like creatures in my direction. She seemed to take some perverse pleasure in my spluttering and for a while it looked like she was going to lift the volume and slap it down even harder until she thought again and continued with what she was paid to do. The drawer was then banged shut with similar vigor, and locked, and the keys were returned to a pouch somewhere within the folds of the ever unraveling sari.

She cleared her throat and began to consult the book, a timetable I supposed. It took her some time to make up her mind about which page of the book would be relevant to the business in hand, but after a while she settled on the page that the book seemed to fall open at of its own will, as if it was offering a bit of help without the lady having to compromise herself by admitting that she was hopelessly lost. Her stained finger ran up and down the lines of Devangiri script which seemed to make as much sense to her as it did to her fingers or to me. At last a decision seemed to have been arrived at and the book was slammed shut in triumph scattering more dust and insects in my direction.

The keys were retrieved from the folds of the still-loosening sari, but not from quite the same place they had originally been put, and the drawer was opened, the book returned, the drawer relocked and the keys shoved underneath her not-so-small rear after an aborted attempt to find another safe fold in the sari. Throughout the key-locating exercise the lady engaged my eyes with her stare to keep them distracted from the muddle that was taking place around her midriff, cleavage and behind, and she obviously thought I had noticed nothing amiss. She even included a few muttered asides to whoever was lurking in the next room, while keeping an imbecilic smile fixed around her podgy face.

Eventually the lady spoke to me, wearing a look on her face that told me she had forgotten what she had just read in the timetable, and she said nothing for a while, looking quite vacant. I wondered about the need for the timetable, given that the only route the office was responsible for was the route that a single bus worked to and from the airport ten times every day. I wondered about a lot of things, but especially about the information I needed to help me get to the Syrian Arab check-in desk at the airport before anyone else. At last the answer to my original and almost forgotten question arrived, though only after a lot of throat-clearing and chest-filling:

“The next bus to the airport has just left.”

1. Eat breakfast before you go into the park. We found having a good, hearty breakfast before going into the park gave us energy to last until the afternoon, so while most people were in having their lunch, we were enjoying the rides!
2. Take bottles of water in with you. It is so important for adults and kids to keep hydrated in the heat but it can be expensive buying water in the parks. We bought a small cool bag from Wal-Mart, popped in an ice pack and we had cool water all day long, and we did not have to pay park prices.
3. You are not going to see everything in one visit, so don't even try. The Disney parks are massive, usually busy and usually hot so you will not make it round the whole park, seeing everything you want to see in one day. Make a list of what you want to see and find it on the map. Then you won't waste time wondering where things are.
4. Hire a stroller for the kids. Not just for the babies or toddlers either. This year, we had a 9 year old and a six year old in the double stroller (just don't tell their friends!). It was blisteringly hot and they were tired and grumpy. So we hired the stroller, gave them an ice-cream and they got to cool down and watch the park go by for while. It saved a whole lot of tension and stress and we were all happier for it.
5. Get the kids involved before you visit the parks. There is lots of information about the parks and the kids can plan what rides they want to go on, what characters they want to meet and what shows they want to see. That way, they can see in advance what rides are not appropriate for their age/height and no tantrums in the line for the ride itself. It's also great for a long plane ride to get the older kids to sit with their Disney maps and plan it all out. Keeps them busy and passes the time.

1. Make up a small backpack with some new toys. They don't have to cost the earth, a new toy car or books, some crayons and colouring books, some snacks, drinks and baby wipes for sticky hands and a change of clothes in case of spills.
2. Make sure your little one is dressed comfortably. Sure, they make look cute in a frilly dress with lace knickers but they are going to be uncomfortable and miserable sitting for hours on a place. Dress them in soft clothing with a layer to put on/take off in case they get too cold/warm.
3. If your child still has a bottle, ask the flight attendant to warm it for your well in advance. In my experience, it can take quite a while for them to come back with it so ask before your little one is screaming for milk.
4. 4. Don't worry about other passengers. If your child gets upset and screams very loudly, or throws a major, roll-on-the-floor tantrum, don't worry what anyone else thinks. I've found most people are quite understanding and will give you that "been there, done that" sympathetic look but if others are less tolerant - just ignore them. If they don't like it, tough. Even they were kids once!
5. 5. Relax. Best thing you can do is just take it as it comes. You may leave the plane with juice-soaked legs, crackers down your top, cream cheese in your hair and an exhausted, rosy cheeked, sleeping baby on your shoulder, but you all got there in one piece. Now that's an achievement!

I have searched and surveyed about moving to Sweden so far.I've asked Swedish people about Sweden,life in Sweden and life conditions in Sweden.These are the results of my quick survey:

1. There is no war or possibility of war in Sweden.All Swedish people live in peace in their land.
2. There is a big opportunity for taking good education especially in engineering and natural sciences. Uppsala University,Lund University and Chalmers University of Technology are popular universities in Sweden and Europe.They all give good education.
   
   
   
   
3. There is a big opportunity for finding good job.Technology and Science is developed in Sweden.Sweden needs youth population.Rate of youth population in Sweden is very low.
   
   
   
4. There are very beautiful places to see in Sweden like Stan Island,famous war ship Vasa,Royal Palace,Theatre Building,Kunqsrad Park,Fjallgatan Hill,Residance Museum,Masthugget Church,Amelienborg Palace,Statue of Little Mermaid,Statue of Poseidon,Karl Johans Street and National Theatre Building.
   
   
   
5. Beautiful blonde girls of Sweden with blue eyes.