The trip where he shall not do things!

My parents on the ferry to Bintan.

This is a late post - we visited Bintan on the first Sunday of the March school holidays, came back and school has reopened. Yet I am only writing the post today! It has been a tiring March holidays for me.

As you know, my son was hospitalised for the most part of the last week of Term 1. We had booked a holiday to Bintan way in advance and we held our breaths as we waited for the antibiotics to take effect. Fortunately, the antibiotics won and he was discharged on Friday. He had one day of additional rest and off it was to Bintan.

There was only one problem. He enjoys swimming... but can he swim? I specifically asked the doctor what sort of water stuff he could do. I was told specifically that there was to be no swimming, but wading around was fine. Actually my mother was even not keen for him to go into water, but relented when I told her about the doctor's instructions. Actually, based on my own research, there is a lot of evidence that as long as the child is active and running, he can go swimming. So we decided to just take the doctor's advice and just allow him to wade.

Relaxing and chilling...

I tell you, it was quite stressful at the pool. It was a scorching afternoon when he entered the pool - I was thinking to myself that there was no way he can get the chills. (Anyway, did you know that you cannot really catch a cold just because it is cold? It is much more complex than just cold weather.) Yet I was not 100 percent certain. I kept reminding him that he was not allowed to swim. My wife kept reminding him. His cousins who were in the pool with him kept reminding him of that as well. It was a chorus of 'Remember, no swimming!'

His cousins when they don't need to tell him not to swim.

He was so keen on swimming, he waded around the pool and moved his arms just like he was swimming, and told us joyfully that he was doing a 'fake swim'. I could see my mum frowning when his hair got wet. But I just told myself that as long as he does not exert himself and put pressure on his lungs, he will be fine.

Well. We survived the trip. He was fine throughout the trip except for the no swimming saga. I am just glad it was over. 

A journey to the Bintan Mangrove Swamp.



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