2020-04-01_Travel___Leisure_Southeast_Asia

54 TRAVEL+LEISURE | APRIL / MAY 2020

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CINDY SIRINYA

BISHOP

Actress, model, host, women’s

rights activist; two kids

Seek balance.

Traveling with kids is always an

adventure. You want to make sure

everything is planned well ahead so as

to avoid any unpleasant surprises, but

at the same time, leave room for

spontaneity and exploration. Since we

usually create travel vlogs for our

YouTube channel (Cindy Sirinya Bishop),

we always make sure there is a good

mix of fun and interesting activities for

the whole family. And we always bring

our favorite board game to unwind

together at the end of a long day.

TR AVEL HACKS

Take a tip from the pros with family-travel advice from the field.

DUNCAN FORGAN

Travel writer; one son

Fly smart.

Not all airlines are created equal when it

comes to cute—occasionally psychotic—

miniature people. I’ve experienced both

ends of the spectrum: one nightmare

long haul involved a tiny screen with the

dimensions of an Apple Watch and a

stewardess traumatized by the sight of

child puke. Forget about nabbing a

cheap deal—your priority as a parent

should be on choosing an airline known

to be liberal with its free crayons.

KATRINA HOLDEN

Travel editor; three kids

Make mini-shutterbugs, and take

foreign language 101.

I like to arm my kids with something so

they can capture their own photos—

either an old camera or old iPhone,

without Internet access. It brings out

their creative streak, helps them stay

interested and teaches them to take

responsibility for the item while on

holiday. I’m always amazed at the

images they capture and it’s so

interesting to see a journey through

their own lens, so to speak. I also

encourage them to learn a couple of

basic expressions such as hello and

thank you in the local language.

GR ACE MA

Travel writer; two kids

Empower the kids.

I have older children and I like to give

them responsibilities, such as looking

up transport options, entrance fees and

interesting neighborhoods. Designate a

day or two of doing what they like, even

if it means a whole afternoon of jostling

with crowds in Akihabara’s anime stores,

which was what we did on a recent

holiday with our 13- and 15-year-olds.

Our wallets were (nearly) empty, but

hearts were full (hubby and I also got

addicted to the claw machines, but

don’t tell the kids). It made compliance

to rules like no-devices-unless-we-

allow-it less of a battle, too.