How to occupy a 2 year old: long haul travel

I want to start this by saying that we have an excellent 2 year for long haul travel. I think 2 year olds can be grouped into the “movers” and the “talkers” and although Bea likes to move, she doesn’t fall into that category of being unstoppable.  What can I say, we are lucky.

I remember at some point googling “how to travel with a 2 year old”. Let me tell you, there is lots of information out there. Some really good tips.  And I know some of you reading this have probably done more long haul plane trips than I have.

However, everyone has different ideas, and some ideas will work for some little ones and others it won’t. Here are some of the ones that work for us.

1. Always bring food. Bea seems to eat twice as much on a plane as what she normally would eat. Maybe because she has nothing better to do. I try to pack quite a few of her favourites, as well as a few bonus treats that she wouldn’t normally get. A Vegemite sandwich, cream cheese and crackers, a muesli bar, banana, and some dried or fresh fruit.
2. For take off and landing I always have 2 drink options on standby. This is something I have always done since we first flew with Bea when she was 4 months. I always have some water and some milk. When things are going bad in the ear situation I like to be able to mix it up in the drink department and offer her a few different things. So far (fingers crossed) it has worked.
3. Entertainment. Be prepared. I always try to make a trip to a 2 dollar shop of equivalent to buy something new for each big trip. Something that you can bring out just when your food arrives and you want to occupy them. It doesn’t have to be big, a new book, a small figurine, a new set of crayons. Someone else I know makes play dough. I have even read about some people wrapping old and new toys for the plane just to buy an extra few minutes of time occupied. A good idea. Here is a previous plane present that was a lot of fun, and here is one that we got given. 
4. Books. Bea loves to read so we also pack about 5 small, paperback books. We have recently come across the mini Dora books which have been fantastic for travel purposes.
5. Extra clothing. I have never thought of Bea as being a good enough sleeper that I could get her changed into PJ's on a flight, give her nighttime ritual and she would fall asleep. This is the reason why I have never bothered with pajamas. However, I do always make sure I have a spare set of clothes, warm socks, and I bring a pashmina. If you haven't discovered Lamington socks before, given them a go, they are fantastic. Pashminas or scarves are great for all manners of things, a pillow, warmth, something to pad out the hard bits on a seat. The last flight we did I strung it up over the top of the seats to block out the cabin lights.
6. Headphones. A few plane trips ago, maybe when Bea was about 18 months, we purchased a pair of kids headphones for the flight. The plane ones never work, and we figured we had enough travel ahead of us to justify the purchase. The first few times she hated it, but now she loves them. She even wears them at home now with her music.
7. Extra wipes. Planes involve more mess, more spills, more crumbs than usual. Or maybe it is just that the mess is concentrated in one spot. Regardless I always seem to use a lot more wipes on a flight than usual.
8. A flexible attitude. Go with the flow, take a deep breath and try to relax. I try to think of the flight from Bea’s perspective. She sees it as an opportunity to have one on one time with her parent without them running off to do something and with lots of exciting games and TV shows in front of her. It’s exciting, far too exciting to sleep. Try to let them enjoy it.

                  Planes are too exciting for sleep- so i'll sleep when i get off! (At Vientiane airport)

      What are your favourite travel ideas? Please share if you have some other good ideas or tips, we have a few long flights and minivan trips ahead of us!

       Melinda xx

Its getting hot here

We researched a lot of things about Laos before we accepted the position for the year.  It’s always good to do your research. And we knew it would be hot. What we didn’t realise was just how hot.

I had always thought of Laos as being up in the highlands, up in the area of northern Thailand, and hence, a bit cooler than other parts of South East Asia. Oh, how ignorant I was!

When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised by how “cool” it was. However over the last 2 weeks or so it is really starting to heat up. I’ve noticed each day the aircon is getting turned on a fraction earlier, and we are craving fresh fruit shakes.  

It’s relentless. 38 degrees, or so every day. And humid. Locals keep telling us it is hot, which at least makes us feel that it isn’t just a “falang” thing. I am seriously considering the use of an umbrella to provide some shade while I walk.

The other thing that has surprised us is the haze. I never really out the concept of smog and Vientiane together. There aren’t that many cars. It’s not that big of a city. But it is hazy. You can look straight at the sun at any time of day. The sky is never blue. It’s strange. People have told us it is the rice field burning that occurs at this time of year, and the dust.

Apparently we have another month of this. Relentless heat and humidity. However the last few days the sky has been slightly less hazy, the humidity in the morning slightly greater, and a few locals have commented on the possibility of rain. I’m not sure if it will actually happen, but I have never been so hopeful for a thunderstorm before. Here’s hoping it brings a slightly cooler temperature, and a little slice of clear sky.

Elephant Festival

Imagine this. You have been in a new country for 3 weeks and get asked if you would be interested in going to an Elephant Festival.

You ask, "Whats an elephant festival?"  A 3 day festival celebrating the contribution of these beautiful animals to Laos. A festival involving 65-70 elephants from around the country all displayed in the same place.

Then you ask "Where is it?"  Well, its a 7-8 hour mini van ride away.

Gulp. That's a looong time in a van with a 2 year old. But this 2 year old loooves elephants.

We ummed and argued but in the end decided we are only here once and we should go for it. And I'm so glad we did!

To summarise the few days there were 2 long mini van rides, both surprisingly easy because Bea has the knack now for long distance travel. (with a little help our travel friend Mr iPad) There were only 2 mini melt downs, one involving a squat toilet, the other that the only food on the menu was noodle soup.

The festival was held in the town of Sayaboury. It's not a tourist town. You can't get fresh milk, there are no western conveniences. And we only found one western toilet. We were staying in the house owned by a colleague because all the guest houses were full. So it was hot, and not at all like a hotel, but it was fun. Her family were wonderful to us, and loved Bea. In fact everyone in the town loved Bea and everywhere we went we were followed by a chorus of "Falang Noi" (little foreigner).

As for the festival, it was pretty spectacular. There were 65 elephants and they were all dressed up in hats and had decorated tails and trunks. There were elephants rides and Mahout demonstrations and then on the second day there was a big parade. The elephant parade was amazing, but there was also people from all the provinces dressed in traditional clothing. At the end of the parade there was a Baci ceremony, blessing the elephants.

Bea loved it. we loved it. And despite the creature comforts, long bus ride, and the fact that we had only been here in Laos for 3 weeks, we were so pleased that we had had the adventure.

Here are some of the highlights:

                               The house                                 First look at the elephants

                  Fascinated by the poo                           And No. 65 elephant- the baby!

                                   Falang Noi - and her teenage fan club!

                                          Balloons everywhere!

                                           

The beautiful elephants

The music and costumes

Getting around town

 I spent a lot of time thinking about transport in Laos. In particular, how we would transport Bea around town.

Without a car the options included: bicycle, walking, motorbike, or tuk tuk. We crossed motorbikes off the list pretty quickly because although it is the norm here to have 2 year olds holding onto their parent’s backs on bikes, it seemed a little daunting.

                                                              Tuk tuk ride

Bicycle was definitely something that we were keen on but couldn’t decide if we should take a bike seat to Laos with us, or just risk that we could get one here. Luckily that risk paid off

And then there is always walking. But how to get a toddler around? For anyone who knows Bea they will know that she loved her buggy.  Most people would have enjoyed the company of Joff and I at a lunch, dinner or BBQ with Bea asleep in her buggy. Even at 2 years of age. So the thought of giving up on it was a bit scary. No buggy, no sleep? Time would tell.

In the end after much deliberation (probably more than I would care to admit), we decided to come without a stroller of any size and just bring a “carrier”. So far so good. Bea likes the carrier (most of the time) has managed to sleep in it, and although it is hot and heavy, it is definitely well supported and works for us.

                                                                 Carrier in action 

                                                 Yes it is hot here in Laos

Could a stroller have been useful here? Sure. For some parts of the city where the footpaths are of good quality. But on the whole there would have been a whole lot of lifting it up and down curbs and over rubble.

Trip review: Vang Vieng

The end of last week brought 2 unexpected developments:

1.     The Laos celebrate International Women’s Day and have made it a public holiday

2.     Apparently the public holiday was supposed to be on Monday 10^th, but the government changed it to Friday instead. Go figure!

Anyway, it seemed like too good of an opportunity to get out of town and explore Vang Vieng.

Many people have heard about Vang Vieng- the backpacker parties, the tubing and tubing “accidents and injuries”. That obviously wasn’t what we were going for with a 2 year old in tow. It was the other things that attracted us- limestone cliffs, kayaking, cave exploring, and some general relaxation. The added bonus was that by Laos standards it was close and the road was good. Only 160km away. 

It was a great trip; close, easy, varied. We came up with a new car game: spot the monk. I think Laos is one of the few countries where this game works!

We decided to give kayaking a go. We figured that Joff had enough experience that if I had to hold Bea onto the kayak while he paddled we would manage. We chose a company that had very small life jackets (that actually fit Bea) and set off for the 8km journey. Bea probably slept for half of it. The other half she spent trying to paddle, looking at the people swimming and diving for fish, and singing along. It was great.

The other activity was visiting 2 of the more popular caves. They were really incredible and Bea LOVED it. She loved that it was dark and slightly scary and spent some of her time in the second cave reciting “We’re going on a bear hunt.” Very cute.

I think we will be back. 

8 reasons to travel with a 2 year old

When we told our family and friends about our plans to move to Laos, there were mixed reactions.

I would say people fell into three main categories:
A. Absolute encouragement
B. Concern about what could or would happen
C. Bring thrilled but also wishing they were doing something similar

I want to focus on group C.

It seems there are a lot of people who would like to pack up their house and their kids and travel to exotic locations and experience the world. But most people are just not quite sure how to do it. In the final weeks before we left the number one thing people would ask was "are you going to write a blog?" This was usually followed by a statement that they were really interested to hear about the adventures and the challenges to work out if they could do a similar thing.

I plan to post more on the subject over the next few weeks but before i do i wanted to start with 8 reasons why i thought now was the perfect time to travel. And why travel with a 2 year old is brilliant.

1. They are portable. They can sleep in your arms, a stroller, a child carrier, a plane, a van, in your bed, in their own bed.

2. They are toilet trained (well some are). Having a child in nappies definitely adds an extra dimension to travel and luggage.

3. They still think their parents are the coolest people in the world. Bea would like nothing more than to hang out with Joff and I all day and play. And she is getting to do that a lot more here than she was back at home. She also didn't have to say goodbye to her best friends.  WE are her best friends.

4. Toddlers pick up every little detail. For anyone who has a toddler you will understand this. A walk up the driveway can take 10 minutes because they stop to notice a rough piece of ground, a leaf, an insect, and unusual sign on the side of the road. Try moving to another country. They are taking in so much of the small stuff that it is brilliant to be there and appreciate it as well

5. They like simple foods. Most places in the world you can get all of the toddler essentials. We came with a stock of familiar foods to help us get through the first few days but Bea has taken to noodles and sticky rice like a pro!

6. They can pick up new languages quickly. Within 24 hours of us arriving Bea had grasped hello and thank you. Within the first few weeks she was counting to 10 in Laotian. They are sponges!

7. They may not remember the experience but it will shape who they become. Exposure to different sights, cultures, languages and experience will only encourage their development into well adjusted, intelligent, global citizens.

8. They are the ultimate ice breaker. Trying to meet locals? Take a toddler. They are intriguing to everyone, they want to play with the local kids as they see no barriers to culture or language, and they give you a great talking point.

There you have it! My 8 reasons why now is a great time to move overseas. I would be interested to hear what other people think on the topic.

Melinda xx

First Tuk Tuk ride!

Adjusting to new things

Bea never fails to amaze me.
She may be just over 2 years of age but she is wise. And she takes everything in.

There have been a few things this week that have shown me that she is getting used to the idea of living in Laos.

1. I was playing pretend shop with her and her currency has changed. In Auckland i would buy an "ice-cream" (usually a piece of tanbark at the playground) and it would cost me "4 dollars" Yesterday, i got a strawberry ice-cream (a rock) and it cost me "um, 20 thousand". Here's hoping it was kip and not dollars.

And this coming from someone who doesn't even handle money!

2. Today she asked me what her name was in Laos. "Mummy, what is Bea in Laos" I responded that it was bea. She then asked what bird was… The first few words she wanted me to look up in the Laos dictionary FYI….      Bird,   Dinosaur,   Curtain,   Hand,   Balloon. A prize for anyone who can goes how they are related.

3. She has started saying "mum look there's a mozzie" and "the power has come back on"

4. She now grasps the concept of drinking water Vs tap water

Anyway, she amazes me with how quickly she is picking up everything even when i knew how adaptable she could be.