Description
This handbook is for parents who have to plan their children’s activities. It is divided into the states of Malaysia, with Kuala Lumpur and Selangor combined as one. In each state, the fun activities and places to visit are further categorised generally into the following, with some categories being omitted in smaller states:
* Fast facts – state’s tourism office.
* Getting there – how to go there by plane, car, bus and train.
* Getting around – information on buses and taxis in the main towns.
* Back to nature – forest reserves, parks, islands, beaches, waterfalls, animal farms.
* Adventure (name of state)! – caving, fishing, flying fox, paragliding, paint ball, rock climbing, white water rafting, etc
* Sports – archery, badminton, bowling, cycling, fencing, football, etc
* The performing arts – dance, drama, music
* Arts, craft and cooking – includes art galleries as well
* Where to go – places of interest that do not fall into the ‘Back to nature’ section, such as mosques, temples, museums, tourist spot like Chinatown, etc
* Festivals – major festivals unique to each state
* Shopping – shopping malls
* Reading – list of bookstores and public libraries
Detailed information are provided, which usually includes address, telephone number, email address, website address, opening and closing times, entrance fee, and price guide for activities. For major tourists’ attraction, road directions are given.
Our review
If you are always cracking your head as to how to keep your children occupied during the weekends or more crucially, during the school holidays, then this is a must-have.
Not only does it give you a rather comprehensive list of activities for kids, but should you decide to go on a holiday, it also includes the places of interest in each state.
The list for Kuala Lumpur/Selangor is the most complete. In here, you would be exposed to activities you might not have think of. Hence, you could use the key words here to find out more in the Internet.
They are all ‘under one roof’, unlike what you will see in the Internet. Searching for information in the Internet is not as easy as you would like it to be. Say, if you search for ‘archery’, you may get one or two archery centres on the first page of the result, another one on the 5th page and a few more buried in later pages that you would have no desire to venture to.
The author has injected several personal observations in the description of places. This gives you useful insights. For example, on page 29 she wrote, “...the roads in Penang can be quite narrow and the one-way streets can lead you round in circles.” Then, on page 257, “Your children will beg you to come to this mall for its proliferation PC games, CDs, DVDs, PlayStation and software programmes which are mostly pirated.”
However, it would be nice if it has an ‘Index’ section – say if you are interested in white water rafting, you would probably like to know where it is available. So, an ‘Index’ would help a lot, compared to having to browse through each state to look for it.
The ‘Where to go’ section could be placed together with ‘Back to nature’. After all, they are all ‘places to go’. Splitting them gives you a sense of ‘why-are-we-back-to-tourists-spots-again’. Apart from that, a few states like Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, lack information on weekend activities (sports, arts, crafts and cooking).
Although this is not an exhaustive list of fun f or kids, nevertheless it has something for everyone.
The author’s website is www.lydiateh.com. To order this title, please visit MPH Bookstore (online or otherwise).
Source : 1childrenbooks.com
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