Being a parent is definitely the most rewarding aspect of life but sometimes (or most of the times) it comes with its share of worries. And being a mom of 2 girls in which the elder one is at a vulnerable age of 9, gave me an endless number of sleepless nights; before I installed Happinetz in our home.

Technology is a boon and bane both. Had it not been the internet, we couldn't have survived the stay-at-home pandemic phase, carve out my blogging career or even meet my husband! The internet has been incredibly kind to us, but that does not negate the fact that we are walking on eggshells everyday. My retired father lost thousands of his hard earned money in a cyber scam, we receive multiple suspicious links everyday and of course cyber bullying cannot be overlooked. So while I am making money on the internet (through blogging) like millions of people in this world, I might lose everything with just one wrong click. While sensible adults like us are wary of everything on the web, there isn't a dearth of stories about families who became bankrupt because of wrong choices and the endless number of erroneous activities done.

My point is, if we, sensible, mature adults can land in a soup anytime on the internet, how safe are our naive, curious kids? My elder daughter may be 9 years old, but she is already in Class 5. Those two years of online schooling have made her really tech savvy+dependent. When she started online school, she was just 6, slowly catching up with how to operate Microsoft teams. Over the months, she began learning new features everyday, like creating new teams with her friends, chatting with them after hiding from their teacher and numerous other activities, which I myself did not know how to do.

In those days of online classes, she used my laptop. Often I would find new games on the desktop, tabs open with absolute random things. That got me worried as all my passwords are saved on my laptop; what if it gets infected with a deadly virus or someone hacks it? I would be doomed, literally. 

That's when we got her a new laptop. A new email on her name, which had very limited functions which she needed everyday, both for entertainment and education. She used my YouTube account to watch her favourite videos. But again, I had to check her history frantically and I just could not control her screen time. The need for a parental control internet system multiplied manifolds.

Fast forward two years, the world started getting back to normal. Schools opened and my kids would not be home for 7 hours. Almost every part of their routine changed barring one: their addiction to screens. Staying home 24*7 for two years made my kids dependent on the internet. 

No matter how much I tried, I could not manage it all. My elder one got really smart while the younger one was learning from her sister. No matter how many outdoor activities they indulged in, screen time was an integral part of their lives. Rain or shine, exams or holidays, videos had to be watched. So much staring at the blue screens was detrimental for their developing brains and eyes and unlimited access to information kept me awake at night. I started searching for a parental control internet system but there wasn't any in the market at that time.

I gradually realised that a tech savvy girl, as smart as Mohi, would not leave stuff lurking in history if she browsed something objectionable. I mean in my school days, I did not have internet in my computer but given the bibliophile I was, I used to be rooted to my Oxford dictionary. One thing led to another and I practically gained all my sex education from Oxford, at the age of 10. I was in shock when I learnt everything, because it was not the right path and there was no one to guide me or explain. Did my mother know about this? No! I don't want this to happen to my daughter. I don't want her to gather half baked information from the web regarding topics that she is curious about. Everything has a timeline and should happen accordingly.

While these activities were absolutely harmless and showcased the mischief of childhood, it also got me pondering what all she can hide from me. What if she lands on an adult site? What if she downloads a violent game and gets scarred for life? The unfortunate possibilities were endless. That's when I wished for a parental control internet system. What if I could manage everything she did, without curbing her curiosity?

The best part about technology is that it is evolving every single day and someone, at some part of the world, is working hard to solve the challenges that technology throws at us. The parental control internet system that I had been long wishing for, was finally available, made in our very own country by Happy Parents Lab. I wanted to get my hands on it immediately, and when I finally connected it to our home router, it was like a dream come true!

So what is this parental control internet system? Happinetz, as it's aptly named, is a children's internet filtering system. It blocks out age inappropriate content for kids and gives us the control to limit their screen time too. It's just like we install an air filter or a water filter to keep out impurities, Happinetz keeps away adult sites and blocks and filters age inappropriate content. Ever since I connected my kids' laptop to Happinetz, I have been sleeping peacefully.

So how to connect Happinetz to the existing internet connection?

Installing Happinetz is a breeze. You just have to connect the parental control internet box to your existing router using the ethernet cable (which comes in the box). Then you have to install the Happinetz app on your phone and connect your kids' devices. You can connect up to 10 devices which include smartphones (Android and iOS), laptops, smart TVs and tablets.

Happinetz creates its own WiFi network and does not affect the parent network or the devices connected to it.

So what all features does Happinetz offer?

Happinetz monitors and tracks more than 110 million website and apps and blocks 22 million adult and unsecured ones.

There are 3 modes: Kids Mode (under 13), Teen Mode (from 13 to 17) and Parent Mode (over 18, in which all the filters and schedules are switched off by default)

• You can fix time slots for your kids through the personalised screen time manager.

• Insights: You can access the history of your kid’s device on your app. The sites she visited when and for how long can also be seen. 

 

What features did I find really impressive about Happinetz?

The custom blacklist and whitelist. I mean how cool is it? I can specifically block a site if I don’t want my kid to access it. Similarly, I can whitelist one if I feel that it’s not threatening to my child’s safety.

It's browser agnostic, which means that the filtering system works across all browsers, even on incognito mode.

There is zero kid involvement. My child does not even get to know that the device is protecting her. No need to install an app on the kid’s device. My child is also happy playing with the Reward Cardz!

It’s a dynamic filtering system, which means that it is actively recognising and blocking new objectionable sites that are cropping up everyday.

Parents, now that I have introduced the one stop solution for your child’s internet safety, I have one more good news for you! You can use the code MANDA01 for additional discount! This parental control internet system is priced at 7999 INR which is currently available at 4499 INR and my code gives you an additional discount over that. Also, you get the first 6 months of subscription free with the purchase! Yay! So what are you waiting for? Make your kids’ internet playground safe with Happinetz.

While in Venice we had one more thing to look forward too. We had plans of meeting our Italian friends Mauro and Diane whom we had befriended in Istanbul last year. We had plans of having dinner together. Now we had come back from Lido island. Only two things were left..The famous Rialto Bridge and of course reunion with our Italian friends. We had decided to meet at the Rialto Bridge at eight in the evening. So finally we climbed the famous Ponte di Rialto.

Rialto Bridge is crazily crowded throughout the day. I did not know why till I myself went up there. It had recently undergone restoration. Built in the 16 th century, it had been subjected to too much tourist load and adverse weather conditions.

We always prefer to stay in the city centre wherever we travel too. I know, far flung places feel and sound idyllic and relaxing but there are disadvantages too. We are social animals who have a family and has to be constantly in contact with our family. As much as we would like to cut off from the world for a few days, it won't be practically possible. We need public transport, markets and other amenities within an arm's reach. The last time we took a resort away from the madness was in Mauritius. It was in Belle Mare, South Mauritius, away from the hustle bustle of the city. That was our honeymoon and it was the only trip when we cut off from the entire world.

When we were hunting for hotels in Dalhousie, we found many which were gorgeous but bit farther than the centre. We ultimately took one in the heart of Dalhousie, Subhash Chowk and every thing was a stone's throw away.

To start with all the good restaurants were in the vicinity. Then there was this gorgeous cathedral which caught my fancy right from the beginning. There are many stone churches in Dalhousie since it was a British colony. I always have had fascination for stone architectures.

Cruising on the Ha long Bay or the Lan Ha Bay is one of the biggest highlights of any Vietnam trip. I mean you may or may not explore the other quaint parts like Hoi An or Sa Pa, but this cruise is something that no one wants to miss. Having said that, the cruises are really expensive. I mean the barest minimum of one night on the Ha Long Bay is 170 USD onwards per person, which of course you wouldn't like. We were a 6 family members travelling so it would have cost a bomb, just paying 1200 USD for a single night on the water. So we started looking for more feasible options.

That's our sweet guide in the backdrop

After a ton of research, we decided to not to do Ha Long Bay and go to Lan Ha Bay instead. Now Lan ha Bay is in Hai phong district, and the journey is through the Cat Ba island, which is impossible to cover in a single day (to and fro). So we based our trip in Cat Ba island and did our cruise from there.

Can you spot the little one nesting beneath her Granny's dupatta?

Now I wanted the big boat with the traditional Vietnamese sails, so we went for Serenity Cruises, which were the only ones to have those sails. However since the boat bigger, we had to take a smaller boat from the dock to reach the main cruise ship. And my my, it was so beautiful!

A typical day cruise involves a pick and drop from the resort, welcome drinks, lunch and evening snacks. The boat keeps sailing throughout the day, passing around 300 limestone karsts; the main attraction of this region. The Lan Ha Bay also has a historical fishing village, which is 7000 years old. The village is still very much thriving, with a ship assigned to pick and drop the kids for school on the Cat Ba island. Those who opt for Ha Long Bay cruise, they sail upto here to see this fishing village.

Overlooking the fishing village

7000 years old fishing village

Then they take us to the Gulf of Tonkin, where we are given kayaks, and we row through the Dark caves and light caves and swim in the middle of the South China Sea. In short, it's an adrenaline packed day.

Since this is a day cruise, the ship is small. The top deck has loungers to relax and plants for decoration. The lower cabin has couches, television and a book shelf. And the lowest level is the dining hall with a big bar (useless for us) and washrooms.

Thankfully it did not rain that day and was neither too sunny. So we spent our whole time on the top deck. The limestone karsts are something that one can never bored of; they are so freaking mesmerising! My mom stayed back with the little one whenever we jumped in to the sea or disappeared for hours kayaking through the limestone caves.

We love connecting with fellow travellers while on trips

The cruise culminated with a sunset party. We were served fresh fruits and lemonade, while we all witnessed the sun dip behind those limestone karsts. It was one hell of an unforgettable day! So while we did not spend the night on the cruise, it surely was the biggest highlight of our trip!

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023 

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

I believe that any place completely changes its face as soon as the sun goes down. If it's a big city. then twinkling lights take over. And if it's a small town, then it becomes sleepy as the people scurry to wrap up their work and go to sleep. I always make an effort to explore the place after evening so as to absorb this 180 degree shift from the hustle bustle of the day to winding down.

Cat Ba may be a big, rocky island area wise, but is a very small town with just 16,000 population. However it receives around 2,5 million tourists every year, which means that the outsiders outweigh the locals by leaps and bounds! During our 4 days on this island, we hardly came across any Indian travellers. The thing is that majority of Indians prefer going to more known places like the Ha Long Bay. We, on the other hand, always try taking the lesser known path.

There was no scope for any decent vegetarian food (barring steamed bok choi and fries) for my culinary challenged family. So I had planned to have a solo dinner myself, that involved fresh sea food. After swimming in the sea at the Cat Co beach and witnessing the sun go down, we decided to take a ride around the island. Very soon we realised that it had gotten quite dark and was getting eerie. So we decided to stick to the town centre only. There was a small lake and there were numerous eateries dotting along its border.

The exciting part about this island was that peppy Vietnamese music was blasting from everywhere. I mean the government had installed speakers everywhere on the sidewalks, in the parks and gardens and restaurants of course were playing from their own sound systems. The local music had really good beats and we were jiving all the time. 

I ordered a shrimp and squid noodles for myself. While we waited for our order, I strolled around the restaurant to inspect the variety of sea animals that were swimming in the tanks, ready to get butchered. There many species that I had never seen before. Like the Mantis Shrimp (a famous Vietnamese delicacy), Chesapeake Blue crab and many other crustaceans, whom I was photographing and researching about them.

As I slurped my noodles, my elder one and husband kept staring at me; how I could devour those tiny shrimps and squids. After that we again took a ride around the lake and headed back to our resort. It was now my parents' turn to explore the night. Our little one was sick, so we had to take turns to babysit her at the resort.

My parents went to the pier and the ferry terminal. That was the most bustling part of the town; unlike the lakeside where I had dinner. The place was beautifully lit up, too sad I couldn't be there to watch it myself.

The shops shut down pretty early as per Delhi standards. I mean we people expect food at any time of the day. But what else can you expect on an island, they wake up early and sleep early. 

That day had gone haywire because of the little one's fever. But still somehow we managed to utilize the day. We had booked the Lan Hay Bay cruise for the next day, the most exciting part of this trip. So we too retired early and called it a day.