Squeaky Shoes & Rice Soup:
Our experiences traveling to Thailand
with a fifteen-month old

When we were preparing for the trip our state of mind ran the gamut. One day we were sure we'd made the right decision and the next we would think of some issue that would send us into near panic. Our families were divided. My family continually warned us about dire fates & bird flu if we went to Thailand. My husband's family had been there a few years before and was very supportive. In the end taking our infant daughter with us was definitely a good decision and has created beloved memories that we will always cherish. But there are a few things that we learned that I would like to share with other parents who are considering doing the same.

I looked online for any tiny bit of information and tips on traveling overseas with an infant, but there really wasn't much to be found. We had all kinds of questions and fears that we conjured up ways to cope with before we left. Some things worked and some could have been better. Keep in mind that while your baby will probably enjoy and get a lot out of the trip, the only lasting memories will be your own. She or He will have forgotten all about it by the time they are 4, but you will never forget any moment of the trip!

A few of our reasons for taking our daughter along:

  1. I couldn't bear to leave her behind! She still, at 16 months, has never once had a babysitter.
  2. The airplane seat was cheaper if we flew before she was 2 years old. (This is actually not the case for international flights. More on this topic below...)
  3. We thought it would be better to take our trip before we got into potty-training and all the uncertainties that went with it.
  4. Being still at the discovery stage, she wouldn't be bored by the sight-seeing and want only to be at an amusement park or in front of a TV.
  5. It was better to travel before she got into the picky-eater stage where foreign food might send her into a sulk or even worse a tantrum!
  6. Overall our outstanding reason was because I wanted to go and I wanted her with me.

What we took with us

Essentially we took a mountain of stuff with us. When piled onto a cart at the airport it was taller than my husband. Airport security staff swooned as they saw us coming. [editor's note: And on arriving in Thailand, a customs agent initially waved us over for a thorough check... until their partner gave them a look like "You've got to be kidding!". He then quickly waved us through without looking through our bags]

Our packing list (just for the baby) included:

1 box of number 3 diapers
4 boxes of Liquilytes ORS packets
1 box of sugar-free cherry kool-aid packets
6 packages of Gerber plastic baby foods (there are 2 in each pack)
1/2 box of Cheerios
1 box Veggie Crackers
1 box Graham cracker stix
1 box Graduates fruit bars
2 boxes Enfamil formula packets
3 packages of diaper wipes
3 boxes of Wet Wipes anti-bacterial individual packets
3 bags of Dora table-covers
Ziploc bags (for snack baggies & for stinky diaper disposal)
1 Pack n play
Clothes, toys, etc.

When packing our main goal was to have enough stuff that we needed to last for about a week, then start buying the rest over there. This worked out very well! We didn't want to get into a rushed situation where we were searching for formula as soon as we got there, but didn't want to take a full 2 weeks worth of everything either. We estimated our daughter's diaper and snack consumption for a week and that's what we took with us.

Instead of packing the diapers in our luggage, we checked the unopened box. My husband wrote our name on all sides in bright red marker and the airline taped the necessary information to it. This worked out great, better than we thought, because as we depleted our diaper stores, we put our purchases in the box, re-taped it and were ready for the next leg of the trip! That diaper box made it all the way back home with us, holding lots of purchases including cookies that we threw in at the last minute. By the end of the trip it was practically covered in bright red duct tape, but very recognizable. When in Thailand the box was treated just like any other luggage, but in Atlanta it came off the plane into the "Oversized Luggage" area - a different conveyor belt. Just be aware that anything not recognizably luggage will probably end up there.

All of the snack foods got packed into a large plastic container that I normally would use for taking brownies to parties. (except what we would need on the plane, of course!) That way no matter how rough the plane ride, nothing would get crushed and be oozing all over. As we depleted our stores of snacks anything breakable or small that we bought on the trip got packed into the container instead.

On the Airplane

The Tickets

I definitely recommend getting a seat for the baby on international flights. If you are traveling economy (as we did) it is nearly impossible to eat with 21 pounds of squirming energetic baby on your lap.

Be advised that on International flights the infant fare is not always available. We thought that her seat would only cost 50% of the adult fare since she was under 2 years old. However on international flights all children's seats are 75% of full fare.

Also, if you are planning to have a lap ticket instead of a seat for the baby, you have to actually be at the airport to purchase that ticket. If you are going to do that on the day of your flight you should get there extra early as there is a lot of rigmarole to get this ticket sometimes. This stipulation includes domestic carriers as well; it took us about 45 minutes to get a lap ticket for the baby with Thai Air at Bangkok's domestic terminal.

Don't forget to order them a meal with their seat. Even if they aren't going to eat it, you're paying for it anyway. And you get extra food!

The Stroller

It's an essential item for getting through the airports. We took an umbrella stroller instead of a full-size one. Because we had a baby in a stroller we were able to cut through lines at airport security and customs. I would advise having a stroller bag that is easy to get the stroller into and out of at the gate. I made ours from some extra fabric I had sitting around. (Brown plaid is great because it doesn't show dirt!) It was fairly simple and basic, a long bag with a drawstring closure at the top. The stroller bag was also handy for stuffing sweaters, mittens, etc. into at the last minute.

The Car Seat

We decided to purchase a seat for the baby given that the flight duration was 24 hours (including a 3 hour layover in Korea) and having her on our laps was not going to work. So our car seat had to come along on the plane. This made for extra headaches because we had to carry it from the car through the terminal, etc. We purchased a car seat cover with a carry strap which was a big help. There was a bit of hassle by airline employees when we tried to board the plane with this humungous looking thing that my husband balanced on his head through the aisle. The car seat cover made the actual seat look half again bigger than it was.

Bring something to pad the back of it as the plane's seat belt may create a large and uncomfortable lump right in the center of the back. The stuffed pillow-cat that we had with us luckily worked to make our daughter comfy.

Although the car seat cover may look like it's a great place to carry souvenirs onto the plane, my husband strongly recommends that you don't do this. That's mainly because he had to drag ours through the Bangkok, Seoul & Atlanta airports with about 35 pounds of textiles inside. He wasn't very happy with me afterwards. Take his advice and buy another bag to put under the belly of the plane.

Ear Adjustments

Our daughter seemed to figure out what to do about pressure changes during takeoff and landing on her own. If she didn't have her pacifier in, she would grab it and stuff it in her mouth. Alternatively she would ask for her sippy-cup and take small sips from it all the way down.

Eating

Most of the meals that we ate on the plane were accomplished by keeping the baby's tray underneath my husbands, or vice versa. He would finish his meal, send back his tray and then feed the baby from her tray. One of our daughter's most favorite toys on the plane was the coffee cup that came with her meals. While she entertained herself with it, he could slip vegetables in under her radar.

By having my husband eat his meal first it allowed her food to cool to a good temperature and gave us a chance to see if anything was too spicy for her to eat. We asked for milk and a straw which were always happily provided.

We took tons of snacks with us on the plane, but still ran out. We were very lucky that they had a lot of bananas which are our daughter's favorite fruit. There would also usually be yogurt available if we asked for it.

Diapers on board

Our flight itinerary went like this:

16 hours on a plane
3 hour layover
6 hours on a plane
6 hour layover
1 hour on a plane

We took 13 diapers on the plane with us and left 4 more with our stroller in its handy bag. By the time we reached our first layover we were desperately looking for any place that sold diapers. We still had 13 hours to go and only 5 diapers left. If you are in a foreign airport and don't speak the language, don't despair. Even if your airline's staff can't help you, just pointing and gesturing do a world of good. Everybody understands the need for diapers. A tiny pharmacy near Gate 27 in Incheon airport, Seoul sold Huggies diapers in 3-packs. They were expensive at about $1 per diaper, but we would have paid a whole lot more at that point!

Internal Domestic Flights

When going on internal flights, go with a smaller carrier for best value. We took Thai Air from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (a 1 hour flight) and got Executive class seats. The seat upgrade cost a bit more (only $50 extra per person), but was less than it would have been with a larger airline and extremely well worth the money. That got us extra baggage allowance to check the car seat, access to the VIP lounge with free food and drinks and a quiet place to relax until the flight, extra room for the baby to sit on my lap for that 1 hour and much faster service. Because we were Executive class passengers not only were lines incredibly short, often with only one person in front of us at terminal check-ins, etc, but we were also given priority status.

We highly recommend checking out domestic airlines for great deals, seat upgrades, etc. Always check out the benefits from signing up for their "Preferred Customer Clubs" too! You never know when it will come in handy!

Buying Baby Supplies There

While we were in Thailand we went to 3 grocery stores and innumerable 7-11s. The convenience stores seemed to be like most of their counterparts here in the US. Soft drinks, potato chips, candy & ice-cream were sold along with more interesting offerings like octopus jerky. At 7-11s we got our snack food fixes and found delectable yogurt for the baby. This stuff was awesome! Plain yogurt with strawberry jam mixed in, Yum! Beware the sugar content, though.

JJ's grocery store in Chiang Mai

This was a good mix of local flavor with western backpacker items as well. We were able to purchase Huggies diapers (there were lots of local brands, but the Huggies were cheaper) and diaper wipes. There was Enfamil formula (both ready made & powdered), boxes of UHT soy milk and juice drinks, tons of snack foods but no ready made baby food like Gerber. One of our favorite purchases at this store was Goldhill Instant Mashed Potatoes which came in individual sized packets with a water measuring cup provided. In hotel rooms where a coffee maker was provided we boiled water (always bottled) and made a huge batch in a plastic bowl we also bought at the grocery store. Another staple was Jif peanut butter, bread and individual packets of jelly. (there were jars of jelly, but the packets packed better!) They had awesome bakery made breads and granola cereal.

Big C grocery store in Khorat

Huge! It was more like a walmart attached to a shopping mall than a grocery store. Since this was a less-touristy area there were also less foods aimed at tourists in the store. There was a large selection, but it was all pretty much local flavor. You could still get diapers, wipes, formula, etc. We found the yummy yogurt in large quantity and some really delicious Thai snack foods. Never found raisins or instant mashed potatoes, but got some canned peas and instant noodles packets. Cereal was a constant. Corn flakes were ubiquitous. Other cereals were thai flavor, like the honey coated stars cereal, but were recognizable enough to suit the baby.

Village Supermarket in Bangkok

This was a much smaller store in the Embassy area of Bangkok. It stocked some Thai groceries, but mainly aimed at the foreign people who lived/worked in the area. Much more western brands were available, including Gerber baby foods. We found Kraft cheese slices, Campbell's soups and a lot of other stuff. It was here where we stocked up on a lot of different types of cookies to try. This grocery store came in especially handy since at this time we were staying in a hotel with a full kitchen in the suite. I made food for us like grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. We didn't just stick with western foods, either! It was lots of fun to experiment with Thai supermarket foods. But it was nice to have old favorites at hand when Troll-baby syndrome struck.

UHT vs Pasteurized

UHT products are pasteurized, but at a higher temperature. They don't need refrigeration and can be stored on shelves or in suitcases! This is a really nice advantage if you are heading into the countryside away from the big city. Grab an 8-pack of UHT milk and go.
[editor's note: you may want to think twice about taking them onto the plane unless it is one which is already opened, lest you have pressure-related leakage]

Traveling in the Car

Luckily we were warned in advance by our travel agency about the possibility of there being problems using our car seat in Thailand. This is because most vehicles in Thailand have no seatbelts in the back seat. This held true for both regular vehicles and for larger travel agency vans. My husband was prepared with both Bungee cords and Titanic sized zip-ties. It took him only about 5 minutes to set up the car seat using 2 bungee cords and it was pretty secure but not perfectly so. He suggests that you investigate how to do this in advance if you deem it necessary & to try it because finding out how after 24 hours of travel time is not a good scenario.

Hotel Choices

We changed hotels 6 times during our two week stay in Thailand. The constant moving was a pain, but it worked okay. The most important thing we learned about Hotels was to stay in one with an in-house restaurant or preferably room service. Originally we were staying in smaller Guest houses which backfired on us when our little angel was tired and fussy and didn't want to walk half an hour to the nearest restaurant. (Note that taking a taxi is about as time-consuming once you account for finding one that knows where you're trying to go and have negotiated a price)

When staying in large cities, like Bangkok, give Executive Apartment Hotels a chance. Our stay at the Marriott Mayfair Executive Apartments in Bangkok was extraordinary. For much cheaper than the Marriot Resort and Spa (which we stayed at for a night before moving to the Mayfair) we got much nicer rooms, a kitchen, washer/dryer with detergentIt was fantastic! Especially since the one bedroom suite we had reserved was unavailable and we were moved to a 3 bedroom suite for the same price. The greatest thing for us was being able to do laundry without paying an arm and leg for it. Being able to pick up some inexpensive cans of soup, making grilled cheese sandwiches, etc was also a nice respite from two weeks of restaurants 3 times a day. The baby enjoyed having all the extra room to run around in. There was a DVD/CD player in addition to the television and cable, the rooms all had individual climate control, the kitchen had a sliding door so we could lock the munchkin out, the bath towels were all arranged like cute bunnies, the Kleenex was arranged as roses...

Bedtime

Four of the hotels had baby-cots available, but the two guest houses did not.

We took our daughter's Pack 'N Play with us. It fit neatly into our largest duffel bag and gave us extreme peace of mind during the trip which was worth the extra bulk of carrying it along. We had gotten advice from friends who had taken their baby girl to Scotland that even though nice baby beds were provided, she wouldn't sleep in them since they weren't HER bed. And I must admit that our daughter seemed extremely relieved to have something recognizably hers along with us. Every time we got settled in and had her bed set up she got very happy. When we packed it away to change hotels she would immediately notice its absence, pointing vehemently at the empty space where it had stoodso it seemed a very important item to her.

The Pack-n-Play was also wonderful for use as a child-gate. In a couple of hotels we placed her bed across the entrance to the bathroom area or the foyer area during the day. This prevented her from playing with the closet door where we had hidden dirty shoes, and from trying to open the bathroom door.

Her normal bedtime routine (dinner, playtime, pajamas then storybook) was difficult to keep up while we were traveling and we didn't always manage it, but we did try. Normally we would get into the room, eat, collapse into bed and not stir until the alarm went off in the morning. Having her own bed was invaluable to us. I don't think it would have been nearly as nice a trip if she had slept in the bed with us.

Eating at Restaurants

Most places that we went had a child high chair available, but it was usually just that. A chair higher than adult ones with no belt or tray. We took along a portable high chair, called the Me Too chair. It folds flat (1 inch high), is extremely sturdy and has a lovely safety belt. We have made it fit onto tables just about everywhereincluding the low-to-the-floor ones at the Khantoke dinner, hotel desks in the room, picnic tables. On the rare occasion that we didn't have it with us, we used the resident high chair just fine, but we used a belt to strap her in place when she tried to jump out.

Another recommendation for eating is to take disposable place mats with you. We took the Dora ones. They stick on and are great for the baby to make a mess while eating that is easy to clean up. It's also nice not to have her touching the tables in some places.

Several restaurants brought special food for the baby, sometimes before we even requested it! Mostly this was Rice Soup basically double boiled rice. Almost like Cream of Rice, but with full size rice instead of crushed bits. She loved it! Just seeing the bowl (normally at breakfast, but also sometimes at dinner) would bring a huge grin.

We would often have to ask for milk (taking your own straws are advisable since the ones there weren't in wrappers) and bananas. No matter the time of day that we asked for them, they were happily provided. Sometimes an extra plastic soup bowl and spoon were brought out for her to play with.

Health Matters

For our trip to Thailand one of the things we were most concerned over was keeping the baby healthy while we were there. Since she wasn't old enough to get any immunizations for the trip we ended up being extremely over protective. Here are a few measures that we used to try and reduce the likelihood of her getting ill...
As with any health matter, you should always check with your pediatrician before doing anything! We consulted with our daughter's docter several times before our trip.

Water-borne diseases, etc

Bottled water was available everywhere. Hotels normally provided one free bottle per person per day. In 7-11s it was 7 baht, in the hotels it was 20 baht. Many times drinks were served with straws, but the straws were never in a wrapper and thus considered contaminated. It is a good idea to bring your own pack of straws if your baby will use them. We used bottled water to mix up formula, kool-aid, make instant mashed potatoes, etc. Never did we take the chance on using tap water even if we were boiling it!

For bathtime we decided it was too dangerous to use faucet water in case any got splashed into her mouth, etc, since there was a risk of Typhoid as well as Cryptosporidium in the areas we were going. We used bottled water: simply warm up one bottle's worth of water in the coffee maker, and mix it with water from a room temp bottle, and then double-check the temperature as you normally would. A gallon-sized zip-loc bag is a great way to mix & pour the water that takes up almost no space in your luggage.

We bathed our daughter in the shower, my husband holding her upright while I did the scrubbing. It wasn't optimal, but it worked. We took along some bathtub foot-purchase thingies to help her keep her footing and used Johnson & Johnson instant washcloths instead of taking soap & shampoo for her.

If ever a drop of potentially contaminated water got anywhere on one of us, the anti-bacterial wipes were deployed as fast as we could get to them. There were water hazards in some areas, like the woman spraying the street with a hose to clean it where we were splashed a little. Also, at the Mah Fah Luang Botanical Gardens there were fountains and a mist garden where splashing occurred. While probably not that big a concern, we were taking no chances!

General Sanitation & Safety

Whenever we returned to the hotel room from our adventures of the day our shoes were taken off at the door and immediately shoved into the closet. The stroller was immediately shoved into the bathroom, the door to which always remained closed. This was to prevent any icky substance from getting onto the floor where our daughter spent a lot of time playing and crawling. It also prevented her from touching the dirty wheels of the stroller, etc, when we weren't watching her every move.

Anytime we would return to the car/hotel room or enter a restaurant we wiped all of our hands with anti-bacterial wipes. Wet Ones wipes are great and come in individual packs that are very easy to take with you. (I did have an allergic reaction to them after a week of constant use in the form of little red bumps on the back of my hands and forearms that itched. It went away when washed with bottled water, only to return at the next use of a wipe. But no one else had a problem with them.) Make sure to wipe your own hands before the baby's! They were also great for wiping off dropped toys.

Toys for Sanity

We took along a half and half mix of favorite toys and brand new toys. About 3 months before our trip we began to collect small $1 toys from Target and secret them away into our bags. About every day during the trip I would put a new one into our day-bag in case of need. But by far the most used toys we took were a magnetic drawing board and a toddler cell-phone toy. Small stuffed animals were great they didn't take up much space and were easy for the baby to hold onto. A few small toys were bought in Thailand when we found them. Toys were mainly needed during the long drives from one town to another. In the hotel room she was fascinated by Thai television shows as well.

The Best, the Worst & the Forgotten

The best thing about taking the baby was watching her enjoy unusual situations. Little surprises like how much she loved Rice soup, and seeing her clap for the elephants at the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp. (This was particularly cute because elephants were the second animal that she learned to recognizethe first was cats, but she sees plenty of those at home.) She got very spoiled by the adoring people around her every day!

On her first birthday our girl got some really neat shoes that squeaked when she walked. (Yes, we really did buy these for her ourselves) They were great at giving her incentive to learn to walk which she didn't seem interested in by herself. She loved them. But she grew out of them before our trip and we didn't think about getting more. We visited a Hmong village way up in the mountains near Chiang Mai on our first day in Thailand and we were surprised to hear a very familiar sound - squeaky shoes! Our daughter's reaction to the shoes was a surprise, too, as she suddenly started running toward the child who wore them and just continued to follow wherever the squeaks went. Anytime we would hear the squeaky shoe sound while we were in Thailand she perked up and wanted to find it. One of our favorite purchases while in Mae Sae were some Squeaky shoes for her. They were sold in several shoe stores there and the prices were incredible! We really wish that we had bought many many more in larger sizes for when she grew.

The most frustrating thing for us was finding vegetarian food. (Of course for most people this wouldn't be an issue!) This was not because it wasn't there to be found, but because our guide wasn't very helpful in this matter. In the first few days of the trip we were too timid to insist on meeting our needs food-wise and settled for whatever we could get. We were very lucky that I had packed lots of ORS packets for the baby because she did end up getting pretty dehydrated on the second and third days of the trip. I wish very much that we had been more demanding of our right to suitable food.

The one thing we took that never got used was all my craft projects. I had envisioned lovely evenings in hotel gardens spent knitting or embroidering, but not once did I even get the chance. When we had down time it was mainly spent playing with the baby or redoing the packing as we depleted our stores of diapers and snacks and replaced them with things we bought at the night bazaar.

The one thing we didn't take that I regretted not having was my travel steamer. It just took up a little too much space and I assumed that at least some of the hotels would have an iron. I was very wrong and we spent a lot of time looking like wrinkled vagabonds while everyone around us was perfectly starched and wrinkle-free.

The most used toy that we took with us (a brand new purchase right before we left) was a portable Hello Kitty magnetic drawing board bought from Target.

The most neglected toys that we took along were two puzzles that never even came out of the bag.

I really wished that we had built in more "free time" during our trip instead of having every day very busy. We could very much have used some time to relax after about a week.

Why take the baby?

Traveling with the baby was extraordinary! Seeing her make friends all over the place was so much fun. There were fantastic experiences that we will never forget, even if she was too young to remember them. One of these was the girl in Mae Salong who ran up to give the baby one of her bracelets and spent an hour making animal noises for her to giggle at. Another was her grabbing a stuffed elephant off the shelf at the Shinawatra silk factory as we walked her stroller past and hugging it tight with a blissful smile. (Needless to say the elephant came home with us.) And of a tiny baby finger pointing to dog after dog inside the grounds of a Wat in Chiang Mai, happy as she could be

Thais love children. It's amazing. Colossally astounding. When we walked down the street Tuk-tuk drivers would stop, not to offer a ride, but to make funny faces at the baby. Women would hug her, many many people had pictures taken with her. They were extremely protective, always making sure her food was not too hot, keeping her from falling... even one lovely Thai lady who helped me wrestle the stroller and baby away from a huge german man who was trying to rip them from my grasp at a parade. She was played with and admired all the time.

Our Packing List

Stroller

Jeep Wrangler All-Weather Umbrella Sport Stroller

Car Seat Cover

4 in 1 Car Seat System by JL Childress

Pack N Play

Pack 'n Play classic playard by Graco
(we didn't take the mobile, changing table or Organizer)

Booster Seat / Highchair

The "Me Too Chair" (www.metooproducts.com)

Instant washcloths

Johnson's Buddies Easy-Foaming Face & Body Washcloths by Johnson & Johnson

Disposable Placemats

Dora the Explorer Table Toppers by Neat Solutions Inc

Oral Rehydration Solution ("ORS")

Liquilytes Instant Mix Packets by Gerber