I guess with my work to occupy my 'spare' time, I'm getting lazy with typing. Still, I wanna share my holiday experiences with all the mummies out there, especially those who're taking your kid out on a plane for that long-awaited holiday. Maybe you can plan your trip better after hearing my experiences. ;)
This post is dedicated to the plane trips we took for our holiday to Hong Kong. We had taken a package with Cathay Pacific, so on 29th April 2010, we took the 0830hrs flight CX710 from Changi Airport. It's a non-stop flight to HK, about 3.5 hrs long. Hubby's idea has always been to minimise the travel time required, so as to minimise the period of suffering. ;)
Still, I wasn't so apprehensive this time, as we had booked for a kid's meal on board, and hubby had confirmed every seat would have its own mini tv screen with multiple channels of entertainment. So I only packed a minimum of toys & activities for Sam in case he got bored of watching tv.
I had prepared nimm2 sweets for Sam to suck on, in case his ears got blocked during takeoff & landing. The hard candy with juicy fruit centres make me feel slightly less guilty when giving him sweets, since it's supposed to contain Vit C and other kinds of minerals & vitamins. It certainly worked, as sucking on the candy prevented the pressure from building up in Sam's ears during the takeoff.
In-flight entertainment started soon after takeoff. The headset was way too big for Sam - it kept slipping off his head, and I had to replace it every 10min or so. The tv screen couldn't be tilted downwards, only upwards, so Sam watched tv the whole trip with head angled up. Not very good, I know, but then I don't have much of a choice. I was rather surprised the flight was considered long-haul........but then, since that provided Dumbo instead of Kim Possible, I'm not really complaining. ;)As usual, the kid's meal was served 1st, before the adults'. Sam's breakfast was very similar to the adults': hashbrown, omelet, yogurt, fruits, bread, and the additional cereal bar. For drinks I got him apple juice. His meal was served on a placemat of ocean creatures, and the cutlery continued the theme - curly straw with fish, coloured plastic fork, spoon & knife with seashells on the handles.
Sam took a whole hour to finish the egg & hashbrown, so engrossed was he in watching Dumbo on the kids' channel. He refused most of the fruits, the yogurt & tomato, and I ended up finishing the bread since he didn't want that either. The cereal bar I packed for later consumption.
For some reason the 2nd cartoon didn't come on after the movie Dumbo finished, so when Sam got bored with the blank screen (the other programs weren't suitable for him), I tried to put him down for nap. We raised up the arm rest so that he could lie down horizontally - head on me & legs on daddy - but kept his seatbelt on. The in-flight blanket covered him up warmly, and the little pillow provided some kind of cushion between his head & my thigh. And surprisingly, Sam did fall asleep! He must have been tired out from waking up so early to catch the morning flight. Anyway, he only woke up after the plane had landed, so the flight wasn't too bad (for both him & me) after all.
The return flight on CX711 left HK at 1615hrs. Since it was 3 May, the entertainment channels had changed. Sam didn't enjoy the Sleeping Beauty offering, but the 2nd cartoon, The Fox and The Hound, was much more to his liking.
The lunch/dinner for this leg was served with the same ocean theme cutlery. Sam's kid's meal was so much richer than the adults' version we got slightly envious, actually. In addition to the main course of fish fingers & mashed potatoes with vegetables, there was macaroni salad, some kind of coconut chocolate cake pudding, the inevitable bread, apple juice and Tim Tam chocolate biscuits.
After Sam finished every mouthful of his fish & potatoes, I allowed him the chocolate biscuits, since hubby was already eating his. The apple juice I packed for later consumption, Sam was drinking plain water with his meal, and I polished off the delicious cake pudding & bread roll. The macaroni, unfortunately, had to be wasted.All in all, eating in the air wasn't so bad after all, since Sam quite liked the in-flight meals. I had to do all the feeding, since he was engrossed with watching tv, but as Sam was still a trifle short for the shaky foldable table, I didn't mind doing so, rather than risk overturning the whole meal.
Oh, Cathay Pacific usually have very interesting kids' packs to keep the children occupied during the journey. I forgot to take a photo of Sam's: this time round the theme is Lilo & Stitch, with all the various colouring stuff, stickers & puzzles packed neatly into a woven sling bag. The activities are actually a bit too difficult for Sam (sudoku included!), especially since he doesn't even enjoy colouring, but I guess the older kids (7 yrs onwards) would love the set. I certainly saw several kids carrying the bag when we were walking around in Hong Kong city.
Think would try flying Cathay again for our next holiday, if the budget permits!
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