Anyone here feeling slightly anxious after an announcement has been made that your flight will be delayed and you have hours ahead with an active kid? Ever wonder how time could pass by unnoticed by your toddler?

Good news, for those traveling from Manila. NAIA Terminal 3 Departure Area just launched and opened yesterday a Children's Play and Activity center at the Boarding Gate.

 Rental car? Check. Full tank gas? Check.  Baby seat? Check.  

Driving on the road for five to six hours with a toddler, I admit, daunted my husband and I.  Hence, this inspired me to write a post to share our experience and how mishaps turned to our advantage and future learnings. 

The ultimate creed we had during the entire road trip was, "Chill.."  

Though as we all know, there's enough bickering between the wife and husband over which road to take, when to overtake and whose fault it was for not having room reservations when  all hotels are fully booked. Relax...we will all manage and the worst thing that could happen was having our toddler cry a bit louder and longer inside the car while we figure things out. 

What we realised is, your inner Mac Gyver will shine through in unforeseen situations. 

Wow, it's December! The chilly breeze outdoors beckon al fresco dinners, barbecue parties and relaxing evenings with a hookah pipe.  Speaking of which, the last bit of November was spent doing exactly that.

A Post- Thanksgiving dinner last weekend to thank everyone for everything. I love the fact that it started turning emotional when each one started sharing what they're thankful for this year.  Sadly, it would also be our last Thanksgiving together in the UAE.

How have you been lately?  

The daily routine kicks in and before we know it, another weekend comes, another month passes, and in a few weeks, Halloween costume clad kids will be knocking on our doors (not that we have a lot of them) and our news feed will be filled with adult friends playing dress up. This means another thing, Christmas is not far away.

Where did the rest of your year go? Did you make a goals list last year?  How's it going? Did you manage to tick some of the items off?

"Sometimes, despite all the careful planning we have prepared well ahead, life will throw a curve ball." 

Remember in my previous post, I sent a box of baby items several weeks in advance before our trip? Well, that box never made it.


A package of this size usually arrives within a month or 45 days at the most.  Unfortunately, while we were in Manila, the shipping company informed us that this box of milk, diapers, crib, clothes and presents for the family were stuck somewhere in a ship in Singapore.  The failed idea of a declared truck ban in Manila that was recently lifted caused shipping congestion that didn't help either.  Large containers queued for days in the narrow streets of Manila port. It was a huge logistics mess.

On our second day in Manila, after the first phone call of tracking the box, I had a gut feeling, we will leave the Philippines and we will never set sight on this package.

I've learned that no matter how much planning or managing we do, we simply can't control everything in life.

Philippine-bound.  One of my dreaded challenges is to travel inside an airplane with a baby. I think the most cringe-worthy scenario is a non-stop cry fest with poor passengers darting dagger-like stares at us.

I also wondered how I will manage all of our activities throughout our trip with an infant. All these years, my husband and I have been traveling light. Carefree. Spontaneous.This time around, I should plan everything in advance.

There are 3 government hospitals that process health cards:

What do I need to bring?

Please prepare a photocopy of each document to be presented along with the original :

1. Baby's birth certificate
2. Tenancy Contract
3. Father and Mother's Passport and Visa Page
4. Baby's Passport and Visa Page
5. Baby's Passport Photograph

An expat mother is going through postpartum recovery and the ridiculous 10-day paternity leave is almost over.  The paper work in registering the birth certificate, issuing a passport and residence visa of your baby can add much burden on the already stressful sleep deprived days following the arrival of your little one.

Fortunately, my husband was able to take extra days off so he managed to take care of the documents on his own. However, if you have limited time and would like to focus on your little one instead of running around to get this done, good news is, there is a company in Dubai that can process this for you, hassle-free. A friend of ours who used their services recommended it to us.