Surviving Family Vacations

How do you survive holidays Together?

Pack plenty of distractions for the kids-crayons,games, an iPod-to avoid the "Are we there yet?" syndrome.

Don't be a slave to a schedule, sucking the spontaneity out of your holiday.

While some parts of the trip will interest the whole family, it's only fair to indulge every one's taste.Building in downtime is important when travelling with smaller kids.

Don't view your day as a marathon but a series of shorter events with resets in between.Vacations are an ideal time for the family to bond. So leave the family squabbles behind.

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Healthy Way to Fly

Stay-healthy tips (John Balmes, professor of environmental health sciences~University of California, Berkeley) :

Keep Clean

University of California, San Franciso, study reports we're at increased risk of catching cold and flu viruses during flights, due to the close quarters. Wash hands often, and if you're worried, wear a protective mask that's labelled N95. It screens out 95 per cent of airborne particles.

Bring Water

Researchers found bacteria such as E. Coli, know to cause duarhoea and nausea, in the water from galleys and skin in one of every seven planes.

Clear your Earrs

Changes in air pressure can suck the eardrum inward, and that hurts. A decongestant clears nasal passagesso pressure dosen't build up.

Get Up

When you sit for too long, blood pools in the legs and may lead to potentially deadly clots. Wear loose-fitting clothes and walk around the cabin an hour.

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Jet Set Savvy

First-class comfort on a shoestring.

LOWEST PRICE needn't mean worst quality, and not all economy seats are the same.
Here's how you can make budget travel more comfortable:

Babies on board
You get more leg room in the bulkhead rows because they make room for carry cost. The catch; you're unlikely to get a seat here unless you fly with an infant.

On the map
Most airlines have seat maps that show the bad seats (as in the ones that don't recline because they're in front of an exit row). Use a travel agent who can confirm your seat when you book.

Fly blind
Want a window seat?
Avoid the row forward of a wing.

By numbers
Be wary of following the advice of other travellers on the best seat numbers. Airlines can shift things around.

Plug in
Emirates has large economy screens with a choice of 500 movies and games. Some Airlines have seats with power sockets for laptops in economy, but you'll need to book ahead.

Ben Sandilands in The Australian Financial Review

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Making Long Haul Fun

Flying with whole family, including young children?
Try This:

Choose your in-flight entertainment

Check website and consult a travel agent for airlines with diversionary activities such as video games. Even better, seek out those with individual in-seat audio and video systems with dedicated children's channels, such as Singapore Airlines. Or take a portable DVD player or CD player with your own movies and music.

Choose flight times carefully

If you're spending most of the time airborne at night, that's a good thing. There's more chance your kids will sleep and less need to entertain them. If bedtime is usually 8 p.m choose a flight that leaves in the late afternoon. Lots of time for a meal and a movie, then slumber.

food and drink

Don't rely on airline food and schedules. Pack sandwiches, water and plenty of snacks.

Give a helping hand

Jet lag affects everyone, including toddlers. Encourage your kids to drink more water than usual. Take a stopover if you can. Your kids will get a chance to slowly adjust to changing time zones.

Into The Jungle

To contack jungle Environment Survival Training, phone +(63-47)353-9072.More information about the jungle tours in Subic Bay can be found at
www.sbma.com
klik on Natural Subic.

More details about Singapore,s Night Safari can be found at
www.nightsafari.com.sg

For the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia jungle tours, visit
www.frim.gov.my
and go to the Facilities link.