The stroller has no place in these family holidays off the beaten track. Three adventurous mums share their travel stories.
The stroller has no place in these family holidays off the beaten track. Three adventurous mums share their travel stories.
TREKKING UP A MOUNTAIN IN BHUTAN with a 1-year-old
Talk about scaling greater travel heights as a family. Elizabeth Chan and her husband, Denny Kwong, trekked with then 18-month-old Otto to Tiger’s Nest, or Paro Taktsang, in Bhutan on a 10-day trip in November three years ago.
“To get to the Tiger’s Nest before noon, our driver had to pick us up before sunrise. At this hour, Bhutan in November is in sub-zero temperatures, but by 11am, it gets up to 20 to 25 deg C,” the 38-year-old management consultant says.
“My husband carried our son on his back all through the trek. Of course, when you are carrying a toddler, the whole trek becomes slower because you need diaper changes, snack breaks, taking our son down from the baby carrier and then convincing him to get back in it.”
Apart from the scenic splendour and colourful prayer flags, the humility of the Bhutanese and generosity of the children as they offered Otto snacks were experiences to cherish.
“We encountered a big trafic jam en route to Punakha, so our guide stopped at a local village to let Otto stretch his legs and relax a bit. The local children playing nearby soon gathered around, fascinated, since they hadn’t seen toddler travellers too often on this route.
“Otto offered them some grapes and one of the kids came back and gave him some fruit, including a big orange, and local bread.”
By the last day, during a visit to a private temple, Otto was sick of his rice crackers and sandwiches, so he was crying and refusing to eat.
“The family who were keepers of the temple offered him one of his favourite foods – chicken rice porridge, interestingly with some added cheese.”
While Elizabeth and her son were fine, it was her husband who had a bit of altitude sickness, not uncommon for a trek to Tiger’s Nest, where the highest elevation is more than 3,000m.
Apart from Paro, the base for their trek, the family cherished their time in Thimphu, the only capital in the world with no trafic lights, and Punakha, known for its Temple of Fertility.
Elizabeth hopes to return to Bhutan soon, this time with her 11-month-old baby girl Robyn, and Otto, now 4½, to break more Bhutanese bread with the semi-nomadic yak herders of Merak and Sakteng.
She is also looking forward to taking them to Myanmar next year.
ELIZABETH’S TRAVEL TIP
“Preparation is the key to success.Check basic necessities, simplify thetravel route and explore activitiesthat you will enjoy as a family. Plan ahead and you’ll have a higherchance of a smooth and once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
FROM AUSTRIA TO ITALY IN A CAMPERVAN with 1-year-old twins
Journeying from Althofen in Austria to Chioggia and Arezzo in Italy sounds like an inspiring European travel plan – until you add a campervan and 1-year-old twins Alexis and Sienna.
Nicole Huang Huiling and her husband had enough incidents to restore their faith in Murphy’s Law during their Austria-to-Italy jaunt in June last year. “There was a break-in on Day 1 when we drove into Italy and stopped at a supermarket to load up on supplies,’’ the 34-year-old digital media specialist recounts.
“Next, the campervan’s air-con was faulty and did not work for the entire trip. This meant sweltering summer heat and limited air circulation towards the back of the van, where the babies were seated.”
With sweaty and uncomfortable babies and long drives with broken windows, they were relieved to arrive at their first campsite in Chioggia, a lovely seaside town in Veneto.
Unfortunately, over the next two days, one twin fell ill, followed by the other. “We got worried and ended up going to the hospital in the nearest town – Siena, in Tuscany – to get them assessed by the doctors.”
On the flipside, however, they experienced the joy of slow travel and not just ticking-the-box touring.
Today, both parents smile when they recall the moment they watched their babies, 26 months old now, having the most amazing time in a makeshift pail that doubled as a bathtub, and frolicking amid nature.
Travelling in summer also meant that once the twins had been tucked into bed in the campervan, the couple could relax, savouring the sights and sounds of their ephemeral home while it was still day.
Also, what they might have lost in not doing touristy things, they gained in local experiences such as shopping for fresh fruit, bread and cheese at neighbourhood markets.
NICOLE’S TRAVEL TIP
“Camping might not be everyone’s cup of tea – the idea sounds very idyllic, but the reality can be a little less so. “Once you decide to embark on a ‘less regular’ trip, be realistic about what you can achieve with babies or toddlers, and slow things down a little. “Remember that when things go wrong, Plan B might not be so bad after all. Let go of any expectations of a perfectly planned trip and leave some room for the unexpected.”
VISITING TAIWAN ON A MOTORBIKE with a three-month-old
On her blog Days of a Singaporean Mummy, Yvonne Ong Yiwen documents her travels with her son Joash. She flew to Kaohsiung in Taiwan when her son was just 12 weeks old in March last year.
She and her husband, Joel Ong, rode with their infant in a sling on a motorcycle to nearby islands.
“A day trip to Xiao Liu Qiu island in the winter, together with my extended family in Taiwan, was fun. There was no other transport option other than the motorbike or the bicycle, and we didn’t really think twice about putting Joash on the bike,’’ she says.
Stopping at many points of interest meant that the longest stretch on the bike was about 30 minutes.
As Joash was only three months old, he needed only milk and that was easy as Yvonne was breastfeeding. He could drink well in a carrier, but diaper-changing was a challenge as there were no changing rooms. “We change d him on a bench every three hours.”
New-mum anxiety notwithstanding, she thinks the first few months are probably an easier time to travel with a baby.
On a trip to New Zealand, when Joash was almost a year old, the key difference was that he was aware of everything around him. Adventure capital Queenstown, scenic Wanaka and the very Scottish Dunedin appealed to the adults and the soon-to-be toddler.
The time he spent with all the animals at farm stays in Timaru and Te Anau has clearly added to his vocabulary. At 14 months, the little explorer could say the names of animals from his flash cards. She believes that her son, now 20 months old, adapts and absorbs local culture easily and attributes this to him being a frequent flier before starting playschool.
She gives full credit to her husband. “We were relaxed. It is very important to be on same page as a couple.”
YVONNE’S TRAVEL TIP
“Sometimes, parents focus too much on the destination instead of the process. While we head to the airport, we speak to Joash about the place we are going to, the people, sights. On the plane, we allow him to explore the seats, seat belts and signage.”
TEXT VIDHU AUL/THE STRAITS TIMES PHOTOS FAMILIES’ OWN (BHUTAN) WWW.ELIZABETHCHAN.PHOTOS
