SCHOOL HOLIDAYS ... NAK KE MANA?

School holidays are right around the corner but we haven’t made any plans. In fact, we’re not going anywhere this mid-year school holidays (or else, we would have made bookings for transport, accommodation and whatever else that needed to be done to ensure a vacation to be enjoyed by all especially my 75-year old mother).

My niece, Mysara, who will be sitting for the STPM at the end of the year while her brother, Danial, will do the PT3, will have extra classes during the two-week break. I would have signed him up for a PT3 workshop if he hasn’t any extra classes.  
"Duduk rumah, baca buku, kan nak periksa ni ..." would be my mother's reply if the grandchildren asked her where they can take her for a short break outside Kuala Lumpur.
So, we're not going anywhere. Furthermore, I’m saving up for our winter holiday in Korea at the end of the year.

They were pretty disappointed when we were in London and Paris during the Christmas/New Year break last year. They wanted a winter holiday. By that, they meant snow. They didn’t get to see any. The weather was frosty, though.

But they enjoyed themselves nevertheless. We did the normal touristy stuff; taking the hop-on, hop-off buses in both cities, walked (the farthest we did was from Hard Rock Café Park Lane to the far end of Oxford Street), shopped (Boxing Day sale was outrageous!) and eat (I found out the kids like duck meat; we had lunch at Oodle Noodle in Bayswater for two consecutive days while we were there!). We went to Madame Tussaud, Emirates Stadium and Harry Potter’s Studio.

We stayed the entire duration in London (at a hotel which was walking distance to the London Eye and Big Ben). We made a day trip into Paris on the Eurostar across the English Channel. They went crazy taking photographs of the Eiffel Tower.

So this year, instead of flying for 15-plus hours (plus transit) into Europe, they want to go somewhere nearer like Korea. A flight there takes about six hours.

“Dah tu, kat mana lagi Sara nak pakai winter jacket tu?” she asked. True. We bought winter jackets, sweaters, thermal wear and boots for the London and Paris trip. It would go to waste if not used again.

The children had never experienced snow. That’s why they request we go on another winter holiday at the end of the year.

My first experience with snow was in New York during winter of 1993. I was there for the three-month United Nations Fellowship. It snowed in the city a week before coming home. We were actually preparing to go to Washington DC for a few days.  It was in the early afternoon that I saw something white fluttering in the air.

It became heavy and at the end of the day, snow was piling on top of parked vehicles and on the ground.  I had to go out to the supermarket that afternoon. It had stopped snowing but the winds were gushing that it blew off the baseball cap that I was wearing. Children were at the park next to the hotel I stayed, throwing snow balls at each other.

It’s no fun really travelling during winter. You have to wear layers of clothing when you go out and it can weigh you down. Going to the washroom can be burdensome as you would have to peel all the bottom layers before you can do your business.

But the children want the experience; even if it’s just once in a lifetime.

Frosty morning at the Warner Bros Studios in Watford

Big Ben, London

Eiffel Tower, Paris