Father And Son Bonding

After going on a one-on-one overseas bonding trip with Steffi previously, I knew that I would have to do it with the rest of her siblings when their time comes. Although fairness would have been one of the reasons I needed to do the trips, it does actually give me a legitimate reason to explore a new place with my child. But most importantly, it gave me ample opportunities to be learn more about him or her as we travel together. The second such trip, happened to be Gold Coast, Australia with Leroy, just before he entered primary school. 

Wasn’t planned but I sure hope to be a Superdad!

To Explore Together 

Being the very prudent traveler, I googled for the most economical mode of transport to our AirBnB apartment once I managed to connect to the free Wi-Fi connection at the airport. And viola, the cheapest was TransLink’s “go explore” card which offered unlimited travel between any TransLink bus or tram services on Gold Coast for only AUD$10 a day per adult and $5 for kids! Get yours at the airport booth and while you are there, go grab an Optus data SIM card for your mobile at the 7-Eleven just across the booth and save on roaming data charges as well. 

We hopped off the bus whenever we saw something interesting, like this graffiti wall.

With the card and data plan, we basically roamed the entire Gold Coast without a care in the world (except the fear of battery juice running dry), hopping on and off buses whenever we find any interesting stuff along the streets. Like any Singaporeans, we also got to try out any food that the locals eat as well whenever we see any crowd. Having a stroll along the beach whenever we felt like it or just resting our feet over a cup of coffee at the café without a care. All these sure beats us going on a group tour only to be herded to places that the agency wanted us to go. We had all the time in the world, and we had each other. 

We were free to roam around, wondering into the fishermen’s wharf and chatting up with the friendly folks.

While walking back to the bus stop, we chanced upon an established eatery selling Fish N Chips with quite a lot of locals patronizing.

And we ended up having some pretty awesome food!

To have Fun (for less) Together 

To many people Gold Coast simply meant Amusement Parks (and Fish and Chips as well), and we sure made time to visit quite a few over the one whole week we were there. If I were to add up the cost of the individual park tickets, it would have cost about the same as my budget air ticket! So while I was queuing up at the ticketing booth at Movie World, I googled and found a Groupon deal for a 6-months pass to the multiple parks for only just slightly over the cost of a single park day ticket! I tell you, it sure pays to do an online search before every (big) purchase! 

We made it to Movie World with tickets bought off Groupon.

Playing games to his heart’s content without having to give in to his siblings.

Visited the farm animals at Paradise Country as well.

Petting of domesticated animals is educational fun for kiddos!

To Be There For Him 

Back home there were always the elder sister, or the younger sister AND brother but over in Australia, he had all of me to himself. We played the fools, laughed, learnt, talked for the longest time in a foreign land, and these are the memories I want him to have of me, and of us. And I sure hope that this would pave the way to an even better relationship with him as he grows up. I am hoping that he view me as a bother and only have time for his own friends, like what so many parents experienced when their children reached their teenage years. I simply do not want to be like the REST. 

(One for the memory, and may he always have fond memories of the time spent with yours truly)

Note: This blog post is in collaboration with Friso. Kids learn from experiences whether big or small, good or bad. That’s why Friso provides the right nutrition for your child to be strong inside to take on challenges. For more information on Friso, follow them on their Website, Facebook or Instagram.