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May 4, 2023May 4, 2023

HOTEL

Traveling With Kids? This Caribbean Resort Is Just What You’re Looking for

It can be hard to snag one-on-one time to head off on vacation with your spouse, so bring the kids along for the ride.

<p>Courtesy of Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort</p> — Courtesy of Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort

The stress of finding the right destination for a family trip can be enough to put any plans on indefinite hold.

From hunting down affordable flights to ensuring that your intended destination has something for everyone is no small feat. And if you’re looking for some alone time with your spouse, there’s a whole other layer of complications as not everywhere offers kids camps or in-house babysitters. But for those determined to get some quality time, there are simple solutions, we promise. All you need to do is look to spots like sugar-beach” data-ylk=”slk:Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort;elm:context_link;itc:0″ class=”link “Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort.

My wife and I were planning our first family vacation, and we had some strict parameters. We were traveling with our three daughters, all under the age of six, and for our three-year-old twins, it was their first flight. We wanted a direct flight from New York so we didn’t have to navigate between gates with three kids in tow, and we wanted a property with plenty of activities for everyone in our family — an obvious request but hard to come by. And since we were traveling in the middle of winter, we were looking for something warm with a beach but not overloaded with tourists. After narrowing down the list, Sugar Beach came out on top.

The hotel has 130 rooms spread across 100 acres, allowing for a less crowded scene. Guests can book individual villas, which all offer stellar views of the surrounding mountains and ocean and a bit more privacy —

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Read Time: 6 Min

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

ADVENTURE

10 Ways To Live A Lagom Lifestyle

By Colleen Stinchcombe

It’s fair to say we’re a little invested in Scandinavian culture, and it goes way beyond lining our walls with IKEA furniture.

We’re hygge-ing out our homes or at the very least trying to add some gezellig to them, while also suggesting more people take time out for fika, a coffee and pastry break, instead of (or in addition to!) happy hour.

But just in case you thought you’d brought all the Nordic trends home, there’s another you should know about: lagom.

What is lagom?

Pronounced LAW-gum, it is kind of like Sweden’s version of mindfulness but rooted in a collective spirit and moderation. Lagom roughly translates to “not too little, not too much” or “just enough,” though its full essence goes further than that.

It comes from the old Norse language “lagom” which means “to place limits.”

According to Dictionary.com, the term is defined as “the principle of living a balanced, moderately paced, low-fuss life.”

The concept is often used when foraging in the forest. It is meant to keep a balance in life. You take what is needed while ensuring enough is left for the forest creatures.

An example of using the term would be, “I have foraged a lagom amount for my family,” or “Janette is a model of lagom — I’ve never seen her the slightest bit perturbed.”

Benefits of Lagom

The most profound benefit of practicing lagom is having balance in all aspects of your life. From work to your love life, lagom helps you balance it all out so that one aspect of your life doesn’t override another.

This concept is especially beneficial during trying or stressful times as routine can help one

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Read Time: 11 Min

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

TRAVELLING

Auto advice: Travelling with kids? Top tips to keep them happy and safe

My kids are not great travellers how do I make the journey more pleasant for them?

e honest about how long you are going to be on the road and let them know you will be taking regular stops and when these are likely to be. Once on the road, ensure there is no sun or glare in your children’s eyes as this can cause them to be irritable; a glare-reducing window screen is a good solution. Children need to have access to drinks or snacks so make sure these are easy to reach and hard to spill. Bite-sized snacks packaged in individual containers are the easiest and safest to deal with while on
the road.

When is the best time to get on the road?

Pick the right time to travel. Sometimes a very early start is the best idea as younger kids might sleep for some of the way or, for others, leaving late morning when kids are well fed and feeling fresh is the best time, so think about what works for your family. Whatever you do, try to pack as much into the car the night before as you can as this will make things easier the next day.

Any tips for traveling with teens?

It’s always a good idea to involve teens in the planning stages, so maybe get them to research some place of interest worth visiting on the way or maybe just somewhere to eat. Also, consider listening to a playlist created by your teens or an audiobook.

My eldest child suffers from car sickness, is there anything I can do to prevent it?

Make sure the car is properly ventilated and get fresh air regularly. Fresh air calms the tummy. Anti-sickness travel bands may bring some relief but also where

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Read Time: 4 Min

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023

VACATION

Maximising your leave days in 2023: How to plan the perfect vacation, Lifestyle News

Let’s face it, leave days are the ultimate treasure and we want to make the most of’ them. But with only 11 days of public holidays, Singapore isn’t exactly the best country to easily achieve work-life balance (Myanmar has a whopping 32 days!).

Don’t fret, though. With a little bit of creativity and smart planning, we’ll help you make the most of your leave days. These are our secrets and loopholes on how to plan the vacay of your dreams.

Take leave in blocks (and plan ahead too!)

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This may sound easy but is, in fact, quite hard to execute. For parents, leave plans essentially revolve around the school holidays while having to juggle work considerations.

There’s a trick to making it all work — the key to optimising your leave is to plan ahead. Ideally, at least six months in advance.

This offers you ample time to give your boss and colleagues a heads-up, and so that the work schedule can be adjusted to accommodate your time off work.

Another pro tip to make the most of your leave days is to look for ways to combine them with public holidays. This is a common move by Singaporeans to extend their vacay, but it can also lead to higher airfare prices.

The solution? Plan ahead and book your tickets as early as possible — like, a full year in advance. Trust us, this one step will save you from getting hit with surge pricing.

Craft a productive itinerary

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Having pulled off the perfect leave plan, crafting the ultimate itinerary is the secret to making the most of your time off. Think about all the amazing things you wanna do — like checking out new spots, trying new food, or just chilling out.

Give each activity and the place

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Read Time: 8 Min

February 4, 2023February 4, 2023

TRAVELLING

Jetlag hits differently depending on your travel direction. Here are 6 tips to help you get over it

After a few difficult years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, people are finally winging their way across the globe again; families are being reunited and sights are being seen.

Yet the joys of international travel often come with a side of jetlag, which can make it hard to initially enjoy a holiday, and to settle in once you return home.

Why do people experience jetlag? And is there anything you can do to lessen its effects?

What causes jetlag?

The term “jetlag” describes the physical and cognitive symptoms people experience when travelling quickly across several timezones.

Before you leave for a trip, you’re synchronised to your local time. Once you enter a new timezone, your body’s rhythms are no longer lined up with the clock on the wall.

That’s when jetlag symptoms hit. You’re sleepy when you want to be awake, and wide awake when you want to be asleep. You’re hungry in the middle of the night, and might feel bloated or nauseous if you eat during the day.

Until your body clock and all the rhythms it controls line up with the new local time, you are physiologically and mentally discombobulated. Not a happy holiday vibe!

Jetlag isn’t the same for everyone

Interestingly, the experience of jetlag varies between people. That’s because we all tick along to our own internal rhythm.

Most of us have a natural daily cycle of about 24.2 hours. So if we lived in a cave and didn’t see any light, our sleep/wake cycle and other daily rhythms would tick along at about 24.2 hours. Researchers think this is an evolutionary adaptation that allows us to adjust to different day lengths across the year.

Read more:
Morning lark or night owl? How our body clocks affect our mental and physical performance

But some

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Read Time: 9 Min

January 15, 2023January 15, 2023

TRAVELLING

When it comes to travelling, planning ahead is always a wise decision

It’s strange to be providing an advisory to travellers when we’re only in the second week of the New Year, especially since many have likely just returned from a year-end holiday, but being prepared saves a variety of things.

Planning for travel seems to be a hit-and-miss concept with us Malaysians, but as a rule of thumb, it should be consolidated at least three months ahead.

For the more seasoned travellers, that duration could even stretch up to six months in advance.

There are many sound reasons for making prior arrangements, not the least the cost of flying, which while in 2022 was expensive, is only looking costlier this year.

Booking flights early amounts to getting better airfare. Don’t blame the airlines if you only buy your ticket a month before your trip, and the airfare costs double. Remember, unless you’re on a sponsored work trip, you must pay for your own ticket.

A direct route is always preferred to avoid the hassle of connecting flights and running from one end to another in a big airport. But if there’s lots of time to spare (like for this semi-retired traveller), one should thoroughly research for the best affordable options, especially if it’s a long-haul flight. This could easily be cheaper. It might involve two airlines, but why miss out on flying business class at a reasonable price? Three hours transit time is nothing really.

Regular travelling need not be an expensive affair if one has good information and a detailed itinerary.

Buying plane tickets during the annual travel fair is also wise, but just make sure you read the fine print.

Have a contingency plan for making changes to the travel date in case you have an emergency, or your boss decides to cancel your leave application!

But also remember

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Read Time: 10 Min

December 6, 2022December 6, 2022