7 Must-Visit Playgrounds in Southeast Asia

A rare sight sometimes in SEA

Aside from the typical list of things to see in Asia, if you are traveling (or thinking about traveling) with children under 10 years of age, chances are at some point you’ll be desperate for a great outdoor playground.  This was a major theme during our travels with our 2 pre-schoolers in tow as we travelled through 9 countries in SEA last year.   Visits to ancient temples, breath-taking beaches, bustling markets, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, not to mention the countless hours spent on buses, trains, and planes were no match for the pleasure that swings and monkey bars could offer our kids!   But sadly the notion of play is not as readily indulged in developing countries where poverty and survival are the over-riding themes for children and their families.  While fun, well-maintained purpose-built outdoor play spaces were rare luxuries, we did come across a few gems that we’d highly recommend for a visit if you happen to find yourselves in the area—the kiddies would be happy!

Have We Been Home Over Two Months Already??!!

Finally!  We’ve been home just over 2 months now and we are happy to report that things have settled down to a more manageable pace.  It’s been a busy and stressful few months—so what have we been up to?

But How Did We Actually Pay For Our Year Away?

Ok, so we told you how much our year away backpacking with 2 kids in SEA cost us.  But how did we actually pay for it all??  We certainly didn’t win any lottery, nor did we actually save that amount of money. There were multiple factors that worked together which resulted in the actual net cost of the trip being only a fraction of that total expenditure figure. 

So How Much Did Our Trip Cost?

So the post that many of you have been waiting for:  How much did our year of traveling with 2 kids really cost?  Well the dust has finally settled enough for us to do the final number crunch (being the daughter of a Chartered Accountant, I can be a bit obsessive about number crunching).  The results surprised us.

Three Week Post-Travel Musings

Unbelievably it’s now been 3 weeks since we returned to Australia.  Since you are reading this, presumably you are curious about how our ‘re-entry’ experience is going.  The news may or may not surprise you.

One Week Post-Travel

We returned home one week ago. There were 3 main things about going home that we were looking forward to.

Did they live up to our expectations?

3 Best Things About Going Home

Appropriately, today marks the start of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.  Some of the predictions for this lunar year are 'for great deeds, innovative ideas and big projects...that it will bring excitment...and give happiness and success to good honest people'.

Sounds like the perfect start for us when we get back!


So in the spirit of looking forward, here is our list of our '3 Best Things About Going Home':