Thailand with 1,5 Year Old Mia

This is a post that I was supposed to post a few months ago. I suppose it had to wait for it’s right moment. The moment came, because soon I’ll be ready for a new adventure with Mia – me and her in a van in New Zealand for a few weeks, so I’ll be writing about traveling with 2 years old (yes, this tiny girl turns 2 soon), this time totally by myself.

At the beginning of this year I took Mia for her first long far away trip and I wrote a few words about it. Well, I did it again and I’ll write about it again. What has changed? She’s not that small and way smarter than before. Does it change anything? I have no idea, but I can tell you how we did it. Yes, we did it! This time I did it with Tomasz tra la la.

There are a few differences when you travel with your 1,5 year old kid with another parent:

– you don’t carry that much

– you have way more space, you can always choose “it’s your turn” phrase

– you can even go toilet without asking a stranger if heshe can look at your sleeping kid, have a drink and watch a movie. I’d write that you can even read a book, but I was so tired that it wasn’t a case. You definitely can!

Me and Tomasz’re these kind of people who always choose the cheapest option. We didn’t mind waiting at the airport for a few hours (like 9) or to stay over in a new city (because we can see it and enjoy it). When Mia is with us this is the past. We chose a comfortable connection.

Here comes my tips for traveling with 1,5 year old kid:

– choose an evening or a night flight, so your kid will sleep,

– it’s worth paying a bit more (if it’s an option for you) and booking the fastest flight,

– take a bottle and something she likes to drink for taking off and landing,

– take food she/he likes, it may be jars or homemade food. You can take as much as necessary, take it from a a parent who takes a lot,

– take her favourite toy, she likes to sleep with or hug. Mia has one and it makes her calmer,

– take very comfortable clothes for your kid, also take a change of clothes, in case of an accident :D,

– iPad with cartoons helps a lot. I’ve been trying to show Mia that she can watch a plane tv, but she’s decided not to,

– ask if there’s a nanny on a plane, some airlines have them and they will play with your kid while you eat (very helpful),

– also ask if they have something for kids. They usually have something prepared, like colours, small toys or something. It’s new and interesting for a kid,

– carrier helped us a lot. We had a stop over and Mia was sleeping. It was so easy just to place her in a carrier, she could keep sleeping and we were doing what we wanted to,

Flying with a kid is easy. Maybe it’s just Mia, maybe it’s more difficult with other kids. If so, I’m lucky.

And here’s something I should start with, traveling with a small kid is not a piece of cake. For sure it’s totally different than traveling without kids. But it is fun for sure. Our holiday were not really a holiday. Mr T. was working and I was taking care of Mia all the time. The difference was that I didn’t have to work (almost) and that it wasn’t as comfy as at home with all my routine and knowing what works and so on. But watching your kid experiencing new things for the first time, lack of tv, internet and so on, so you can concentrate on life around you – priceless.

I am so happy that we’ve decided to go to Thailand in their wet season. It was so green and juicy. I walk up each morning very early and enjoyed my walk alone. Everything was so magical. But as always there are disadvantages – mosquitos. So remember to take a spray. I got many questions about the weather, so to answer them – it wasn’t raining that much. To be honest, we had two rains during a day, for an hour or two and that’s it. I got sunburned. The great thing is that you have a chance to get a great discount for a hotel, we found one discounted by 75% and we had a beautiful cottage almost on a beach.

What Mia’s learned – she likes swimming pools. But she does not like to swim, she prefers to walk. When she starts, she does not stop. Which means that I don’t stop. She also likes walking and talking to strangers. Thais are super friendly when it comes to children. It was so beautiful to observe Mia making friends wherever she goes. She knows that she loves thai food, rice and noodles are her definite favourite. Egg helps as well.