Archive for November, 2008

Travel Writing by Wendy VanHatten- A Book Review

Looking at this picture of  prestine white sand along the coastline is really relaxing. How I wish I could be one of the holiday makers lying under the big umbrellas sipping on a cocktail and enjoy hearing the sound of waves lapping against the beach.

Such a dream can become a reality. Yes, it is possible if you are aiming to be a freelance travel writer.

Wendy VanHatten  has just released a book entittled  Travel Writing as a Freelancer and  my site is fortunate to be one of the  be part of her virtual (blog) book tour.

In her 64 page e-book she gives really handy tips on how to get started as a freelance travel writer.

She describes in detail the steps in how to write your articles. There are many easy to relate to examples and even milestone checkers in the mini assignments that she gives at the end of each topic.

Topics covered in her book include, specializing and specifics,story structure & headlines and  using photography to sell your story.

The tips and tricks shared by Wendy are very useful for me as it taught me more about how to market travel destinations.

For those who do not know besides focusing my energies on this parenting blog I have two travel websites- Best Budget Travel Cebu & Best Budget Travel Cagayan. With the added knowledge gained from Wendy’s book I will be able to come up with some articles to promote these two websites during the current festive season.

Do hop over to Wendy’s site to check out her book if your interested to be a freelance travel writer.

Yesterday the blog tour was at Virtual Blog Tours
and tomorrow it will continue with Casey Wohl at Girls Getaway Guide.

Understanding other Cultures

Photo by Flickr

Living in a multiracial country the boys are lucky to be exposed to many different cultures. For those who do not know much about Singapore let me give you a brief introduction to our demographics.

Our small island has a population of 4.8Million(based on Yr 2008 statistics) The main 3 races are Chinese, Malay and Indians. Every day we interact with many different people of different races and religion.

I feel that it is very important that my boys get an introduction to the various different races/ cultures.  It is important to know the differences and sensitivities of the different cultures so one does not unintentionally offend someone from a different culture. By knowing more about others culture one will be more tolerant and understanding of others and grasp a deeper understanding of ones own culture.

To expose the boys to the various cultures we send them to an ” international” pre-school. The students in their pre-school are a mixture of  Chinese, Malay, Indian, Russian, French, Japanese, African and German. It is a real melting pot of different cultures. Ryan’s best friend is a  South African french speaking boy.

How are you exposing your children to other cultures?

[Twittermoms, in collaboration  with Global Wonders are conducting a Cultural Kaleidoscope Blogging Contest. Do head over to the site to find out more information.]

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas is coming around again. In fact it is only 3 weeks away. Time really flies when one is busy.

When I think about this festival that we celebrate the 1st thing that

comes to mind are the  Christmas Party Games that we had when we were much younger.

We used to gather at grandma’s house and everyone would fly in to meet up and catch up with the rest of the family.  Food was a big draw and it still is at all our family functions. Christmas Party Games were the highlight for all the youngsters. We use to play Monopoly and card games. Now since most of us have our own kids we need to incorporate them into the family traditions.

For the younger kids/toddlers  I feel that we could try out pictionary this year. It is a game that I feel does help them build up their speech and vocabulary.  I certainly do not want them to indulge in hand held electronic games like gameboys or PSPs. Even though these devices are highly entertaining they are firstly not educational, 2nd bad for their vision and 3rd rather antisocial.  I for one am a parent which will not allow my child to own/have access to a PSP. I rather him be playing traditional games with us as a family.

Another game which I would like to  play this Christmas is Mahjong. It has really been a while since I last played this traditional chinese game.  This game is certainly suitable for us and the older relatives.

What christmas party games will you be having at your christmas gathering this year?

Dealing with holiday stress

It has been 3 days since we returned from our trip to HK and I am still feeling a bit zonked out.

I’m not suffering from timelag due to change in timezone and not really jetlag but really of being overwhelmed that Nov is nearly over and that that is still so many things to be done to get ready for Christmas.

While being on holiday I was stressed out by the boys eating habits, all the walking and carrying that had to be done. Every single day was exhausting for me. Now that we are back home I have to read just Roy back to sitting in his carseat and get the boys back to their normal routine.

To cope with the stress on being on holiday these are some tips that I apply

1. Set aside a quiet time each day ( normally before the kids are awake) to do some reading. For me it is normally browsing through my google reader feeds.
2. Getting meals/snacks as and when throughout the day as it is impossible to sit down and have a full meal out with the boys.
3. playing at the playground with the boys.
4. drinking lots of water to stay hydrated and prevent myself from falling ill