Before The Architect and I had kids we loved to travel! Once they arrived we were keen to keep it up but didn’t know how it would go. We’ve now down two overseas trips with the kids – the first was a 3 week trip around Vietnam when Bliss was 18months old and the second just recently taking Bliss, almost 4 and Bear, 16 months to Malaysia and Bali. We’ve loved our experiences thus far but often get met with strong apprehension when we talk about it so today I want to dispel the top 6 myths I hear about travel with toddlers…

1. Travelling with kids is really hard work.
It doesn’t have to be promise. But, it’s really a mindset issue. If you go into the holiday thinking you’re going to do and see amazing things and the kids will figure themselves out then, depending on the ages of your children, it’s going to be frustrating and seem like very hard work. If you go into it thinking that it will be a totally different type of holiday, willing to see things a little more like my husband did when we went to Vietnam declaring “parenting is not for holidays” and bribing Bliss with M&Ms, then you’ll be fine! ;)

Oh, and if they are tired enough kids will really sleep anywhere…

2. You won’t get to see everything you want to see.
In some ways this is true, travel with toddlers won’t be the same as without. But, traveling with a partner is different to traveling by yourself, traveling with friends is different to traveling with family and each scenario requires a different level and type of compromise. The expectations you have of a trip differ according to the purpose of it and who you are going with – it’s no different with toddlers. As you’ve seen from the pic above, kids can sleep pretty much anywhere – having them with you doesn’t mean you have to go back to the hotel whenever they need a sleep. You need to do it sometimes but not all the time.

When we traveled through Vietnam we met a lovely Irish couple during our first week and had a great time hanging out with them. We re-met up with them by chance at the end of our trip in a totally different city and they told us that along the way they had met people who had seen us and would say “He we saw this Aussie couple with a kid – the dad’s carrying her around on his back!” and they would say “Oh yeah, we met them!!”

It cuts both ways as much as we would have done other things had we not had Bliss with us we also met people and saw things we never would have seen had we gone without her!

3. It’ll cost a fortune.
It doesn’t have to. For us Aussies, travelling to Asia is pretty comparable to travelling around Australia. On our Vietnam trip we stayed in $10/night hotel rooms and $100/night resorts. What sparked the trip in the first place was that we were planning to put in heating that year as our house was just so ridiculously cold. Then we realised that for only a little bit more, we could go to Vietnam! We spent that winter sleeping on a mattress in the living room with Bliss beside us and spent the money on the holiday. Such a great decision!

4. There’s no point if they won’t remember it.
There are a couple of things I’d like to say about this. Firstly, since when did everything become about the kids? So they won’t remember it. So what?! If travel is something you want to have as part of your family life then they may not remember each trip but they will have an evolving member of doing cool stuff with their parents (not to mention some great photos to look back on!) Secondly, they may not have a true memory of it but you can bet that their other senses will be in overdrive and that being exposed to new sounds, smells, tastes, people will be great for them. If you don’t believe me, have a read of what an expert told us.

5. Travel is something you get out of the way before you have kids.
We’re big believers that life doesn’t have to stop when kids arrive. We’ve taken our kids to cafes and restaurants since they were born. We’ve slogged out months and months of teaching them how to behave in those environments, ready to give up but holding on knowing that if we don’t go, they won’t learn and then we won’t be able to go. Same with travelling. After leaving uni I went overseas every year until we had Bliss. It was amazing. The Architect also did a lot of travel and we both knew it was something we wanted to keep up. Going overseas doesn’t have to be about what the kids will enjoy or remember, but about the kind of life you want to live and the kind of family you want to have.

6. Home is where the heart is.
It’s true that as long as you are with the people you love, you can be anywhere. It’s also true that it’s really very nice to come home. We’ve found that 3 weeks is about the time our kids start to get a bit ratty and a bit more sensitive. Our kids are little and they miss their toys, and friends and the familiar. And that’s more than OK with us. We love our trips with the kids, but we really love coming home too.

 Do you travel with your kids? Would you?

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• travelling with children in asia
• travelling to vietnam with a toddler
• travelling with toddler or not

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It was 10am and I was hot. The markets were just beginning to open as we wandered through Chinatown, darting here and there…as much as one can dart with a 3 year old in tow. We were headed to Peter Hoe, a homewares store and I admit the heat, the walking and the 3 year old let me to almost dip out on the trip…more than once. Was I really all that interested in homewares?

The first thing that struck me when we entered the store was the cool. Whereas I’d been expecting a department store style shop, I found myself in an oasis… Tucked away amisdt the hustle of the streets, Peter Hoe is a little haven of calm and beauty.

Peter Hoe designs are based on traditional batik, and he’s taken everyday items and recreated them in an assortment of gorgeous colours and fabrics. The only thing missing in the store is bed linen, I would have loved to see something I could have taken home for our bed. As it was, we I left with a dressing gown (that I’m living in!), a hat, a sarong, a table cloth and two gorgeous cushions.

Peter Hoe is a must for anyone wanting to find some locally designed wares that you won’t regret buying!

You can find Peter Hoe hidden away here, a short stroll away from Central Market and Jalan Petaling:
145 Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, Second Floor, Lee Rubber building

and a smaller store, his first, here:
2 Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Open daily 10am – 7pm

Have you got a shopping secret to share?

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• peter hoe kuala lumpur
• peter hoe
• peter hoe kl
• peter hoe homewares kl
• peter hoe batik

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On the flight home the HH and I made a list of “bests and worsts” of the trip. I had planned to share with you the first on the list tonight, but instead I’d like to share the biggest lesson we learnt. I’ve been spurred onto this because I just received an email from a friend that went like this…

“I would love to travel with bub but it seems like such a daunting experience. Is it something you would recommend doing?”

As I am writing this post another email has come through from another girlfriend with a small child also asking about our trip.

I am SO excited about this because the biggest lesson we learnt was DO travel with children**. In fact, I feel so strongly about this I am considering changing the name of my blog to reflect my passion and commitment to living with children.

As we travelled we met a lovely Irish couple along that way, people whom we really hope to keep in touch with. One of the first things Colin said to the HH was “You give me hope for travel after children.”

We reconnected with Colin and Mary later on and they told us they’d met some other Australians who had seen us!! As they talked about this couple with the red headed child being carried around on her dad’s back, Colin & Mary said “we know them!!” It was funny to think that people were noticing us because we had our kid with us, but then I suppose it’s not the most common site and while I am sure some witnessed us in the more stressful moments (no more stressful that life with a toddler at home however!) we really do hope that there were those who saw us during the many, many wonderful moments and thought “hey, that’s really cool! Maybe we could do that one day…” because really, it was a wonderful and FUN way to travel.

Sure, we had our moments. No more than we have at home however and they were all the easier to deal with when there were two relaxed and available parents on hand. The little one had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the attention of the two aforementioned parents!!

I hope to share some more highlights of the trip in future posts as well as what we learnt about travelling with a toddler. In the lead up to our trip I tried to find stories and info from those who had gone before us and I couldn’t come up with much! We were only gone for 3 weeks but I hope that some of what we learnt might be helpful for others who are thinking of adventure for their own families!

*So much happened while writing this post. The third, and most exciting, was I called up the talk back radio program I was listening to and asked a question we’d pondered a lot while away What impact is this having on the girl and her brain development. The answer: ALL GOOD! It’s a great age to expose your child to new places, sounds and people. They CAN tell the difference between Vietnam and being 2 suburbs away and so long as they are immunised and in a loving and safe environment then travel is a great thing to do! Quote “Get your kid away from the TV and take them to Vietnam instead !” VERY reassuring…esp. as we asked the question AFTER the fact!

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We’re here and reminded of how much we love Asia! I’m as excited as a kid in a candy store…or an adult in a candy store who can eat whatever they want and not gain a single gram. Bliss!

The first time I came to Malaysia, in 2006, The Architect’s family took us straight from the plane at the crack of dawn to a local joint for brekkie. Curry, to be precise. I wasn’t really convinced but today when we arrived at KLIA the first thing I said to the The Architect was “Mmmm. Roti Cennai and Teh Tarek; that’d be good right now”. It was 6am (local time)!

Tonight we went for a big walk around the Old Quarter. Hanoi is a MAD city! It’s exactly the way we picture an Asian city – pedestrians, motorcyclists, scooter riders, cars and cyclists all share roads made only for 1.5lanes and somehow navigate one another like a well oiled machine…which is probably more than can be said for many of the vehicles!

When it comes to eating hawker food, The Architect is much braver than I. It takes me a couple of days to warm up to eating food that’s been cooked on the side of the road. The Architect took great delight in tormenting me on this front when we went to China. Today he just accepted it; he knows I’ll get there!

The little one traveled well. It’s definitely true that planes are not made for small children but despite this, she only screamed for about 20minutes once we got into our seats (a bit more in the terminal) but given the our flight left at 1.15AM and that we woke her up at 9.50pm, this was kind of OK. She was awake for a couple of hours in the flight, but very quiet so only the HH and I were disturbed by this but in the end she slept for about half the flight and then for 2.5hrs of the 3.5hr flight b/w KL and Hanoi.

I realise this post is all over the place but I hope you’ll expect this random selection of thoughts as my offering to you on my first night in Hanoi!

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As I’ve mentioned, we are about to head on our first real holiday with LP…to Vietnam! We’re going for 3 weeks, flying into Hanoi and our of Ho Chi Minh City and visiting a variety of cities in between…fun, fun, fun!

As well as the usual, clothes, swimmers etc these are the other fun things we need to take..
- Baby life jacket for the boat trips
- Toy backpack (as in backpack with toys)
- Backpack Carrier (as in the backpack the HH will carry her around in each day)
- Travel Port a cot
- Baby Panadol etc.
- Nappies, wipes, barrier creams
- RID and lots of it!
- Some food
- About a hundred dummies!
- Laundry soap bar
…and goodness knows what else we’ll add to this!

Our “cheap” holiday to Vietnam has incurred the following incidentals
- Port a cot ($150 – ebay!)
- Backpack Carrier ($170 – half price sale!)
- Passport for LP and renewal for me ($300)
- Visas for all of us ($200)
- Hep A and Typhoid boosters for HH and me ($230)
- New swimmers for me (it’s been 7 years! $185)
- Sandals for me ($75)
- Travel bag/Suitcase ($150 – half price sale!)

TOTAL: $1460 OUCH!!! That’s almost as much as the flights cost!!

(I am sure there’s more…and I haven’t yet counted all the nappies etc I still have to get…I don’t really want to think about it!!)

I am glad we are going for 3 weeks now!

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