heraclitus

My wife and I were thinking of a trip to HKG and either SIN or TPE for a two week period next year. Our son would be around the 2 year mark, give or take a few months depending on when we travel. We would probably be trying for another child around that time too.

Our experience in Europe last month was a bit of an eye opener, though... air pollution in Paris was pretty noticeable and the little guy was audibly wheezing at certain times... nothing strained or obviously painful, but it was clear that the air was having some sort of effect on him. Once we left the city the problem disappeared.

Now I'm having second thoughts about the air pollution in Asia and the desirability of a vacation there with a small child and a possibly pregnant wife. SIN is not a huge issue but TPE looks pretty bad (according to http://aqicn.org/map/ ) My wife asked our ped. and he said he wouldn't worry about it for such a short stay. But does anyone else have any experiences or advice that we should consider before going ahead to book?

Right now I am considering leaving TPE out and just doing SIN and HKG... which is too bad because TPE looks very interesting and would be much easier logistically... SIN is just such a loooong flight with a baby.

Thanks for any advice!

erik123

I wouldn't worry about it. I'd opt for Singapore - good for toddlers and easy to navigate. It is also fairly easy to get to beaches (though none are that good near Singapore). Why not combine HKG with a beach destination instead?

heraclitus

Thanks for the advice! If we do SIN and HKG, we will probably day-trip to beaches in the area. I know they aren't considered world class, but with a toddler we think it might be a better bet than spending the better part of a day to get somewhere else.

As for SIN, is a week there reasonable, or is it too long? I've been to HKG and loved it... between the city, the beach and day trips to Macau and SZ I know a week will fly by there, but I have never been to SIN before and I was wondering how much time to set aside.

azepine00

I hardly see a reason to spend more that 2-4 days in a city with a toddler. Things normally enjoyed during city travel (restaurants, markets, nightlife, museums, temples, sightseeing etc) will be either off limits or very hard to manage with a small kid.

Head to some nice resort for a week and have a couple short stopovers in HKG, SIN or better yet BKK. We went to all at 2-3 yo stage and ended up spending lots of time in malls - BKK was actually the most practical with boats, cheap taxis, better value for hotel options and amenities etc.

tubulus

Clearly, people who live in cities with children just sit home all day and stare at the walls.

If anything, most people I've seen recommend spending MORE time in each city with a toddler, since you won't be able to squeeze quite as much into each day.

GUWonder

When it comes to my relatives and young children traveling with parents or older relatives, cities tend to have way more things to entertain/distract young children. It's the elements of the cities or of the countryside that they seem to prefer over suburban elements. Singapore is a good choice and I consider it probably the easiest large Asian city to visit with young children (toddlers and infants included). And with SIN, JB and the rest of Malaysia is close by for some time outside a city.

heraclitus

We've done a few city trips in North America and Europe with our now 10-month old, and so far it has worked out pretty well. Obviously there have been compromises along the lines of what azpine has described... nightlife is gone, dinners tend to be take-out, visits to museums tend to be cut short (Louvre visit = all of 3 hours!) but we tend to do other things that we didn't necessarily do before, like visit parks and take guided tours (makes getting around easy).

As appealing as the idea of going to a resort in Asia is, I'd feel like a bit of a dope if I went there and did the exact same thing I could do by taking a 4 hour flight to Cuba or the DR instead. I'm content with moving around the cities at a slower pace if it means I get to spend time in SIN/HK... we might just spend a day on the beach in each destination, but that's about it.

Based on the comments so far though, it sounds like SIN is a winner for a trip with a toddler... in spite of the extended travel time.

(Incidentally, is JB worth a day trip on a visit to SIN? Maybe just a self-directed day trip, or is a bus tour worth it?)

jadecocoa

I'm not sure when you plan to visit Singapore, but there is an annual haze problem: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking...-haze-20140320

AsiaTraveler

I lived in TPE for 2 years, and yes, the pollution is bad. When you open the windows, you can literally see the swath of dirt on the floor that the wind blows in. I had dirt underneath my fingernails constantly the entire time I lived there.

I never had any respiratory issues because of it, but my internship supervisor, who came once a year, reported getting pneumonia or bronchitis the first few times he came (I was the third or fourth intern in a row to be placed there). After that, he proactively got antibiotics before the trip and was fine.

I wouldn't personally worry about visiting TPE while pregnant unless I had pre-existing respiratory issues. However, your report about your son audibly wheezing in Paris concerns me enough that I might bypass TPE, unfortunately (I've also been to Paris, and never noticed the air pollution like I did in TPE so that makes me think it is worse in TPE).

I don't think you'll have an issue in HKG or SIN; I don't recall there being obvious pollution, although I apparently was not there during the annual haze problem.

azepine00

I agree that cities have more things to distract young children but so does my neighborhood park. If i travel 7000 miles (with kids or not) i hope to get smth beyond just a distraction for the kids and i found it hard to enjoy cities with kids in tow.
Resort travel on the other hand was more balanced - still not as "productive" as travel without kids but at least with reasonable balance - we lounge by the pool/seaside, take turns getting spa treatments do some local sightseeings (perhaps just drive around), have a dinner in a very casual kid-tolerant setting etc...
YMMV obviously.

swise

Another vote for cities being great destinations when traveling with toddlers. For one thing, at that age, they're still containable in strollers or carriers, so you don't have to be paranoid about losing them. My son and I spent two weeks in Manhattan when he was about 20 months old and I was about 7 months pregnant. We had a blast! I ended up walking about 5 miles each day as we explored the city.

We were in Baltimore for a week, followed by Charleston recently, with both boys, 3.5 and 18 months at the time. It was also a wonderful experience for them.

Some of the types of things we like to do:

- Aquariums
- Children's Museums (our membership to our local museum offers reciprocal membership to over 250 other children's museums around the country and beyond and another 150 or so science museums)
- Science/Natural History Museums
- Military Vessels that can be toured
- Coasts/the beach
- Urban parks/playgrounds
- Zoos
- Urban transit: underground, light rail, busses, commuter trains, ferries, water taxis, etc are all a big hit!
- Street performers
- Children's theater/music performances
- Storytimes
- Simply going on a walk, with all the interesting sounds and things to see
- Eating interesting food: food trucks, local street food, local treats, etc.
- Even just hanging out in the hotel room/suite can be fun, with the possibility of watching a movie, swimming in the hotel pool, riding the elevator, etc. We usually have one down day where we stay in and use the laundromat in the hotel and chill.