Thailand forum

Thailand in January with baby

Architeuthis

backpacker
Posts: 11

Hello fellow fishies...

Me and my girlfriend will spend the whole January 2012 in Thailand. We will be travelling with our 7 month old son. It will be our 4th time in Thailand, but the first with the little bugger. As fixed point during our travels will be Bangkok, (for arrival and adjusting to the climate, 3-4 days perhaps) Ayutthaya (for some temple visits) and then south to Khao lak for some divetrips and beautiful sunsets. We are planning to take the plane home from Phuket.
There is still some space to fill up during our trip, although I am yet unsure about how many stops at different places we will manage with our son. So, if any of you had a similar trip with a child, feel free to post your tips and ideas.

Thanks in advance.
Andreas

#1 Posted: 12/10/2011 - 21:18
MADMAC

mahout
Posts: 3999

It's probably too late to change your plans, but if it were me, I would not be doing this for several reasons:

Young infants do not have well developed immune systems, and the tropics are loaded with viral and bacteriological stuff that the kid will have little or no immunity to. I would consult with your pediatrician before you board an aircraft and head out here just to be on the safe side. I found when my daughter was born I was extremely protective of her...

Secondly, I would make my trips from Bangkok short or fly. Those long bus trips are demanding on you when it's just you - when you have to change diapers while on the bus, and the little guy wakes up and wakes up the rest of the bus on a sleeper - it's just no fun. Looks like you only have one possible one when heading south. So for that leg, I'd fly.

Bring something in which you can carry the infant strapped to your body, because as you know from experience, sidewalks here are not stroller friendly.

Buy some diapers before you go that are made for swimming. I have never seen them in Thailand so you'll want to get them prior to leaving. They will allow you to enjoy a hotel pool with the little one.

For me the key restriction is that a lot of things are hard to enjoy at that stage, because caring for an infant consumes so much time and energy, there's not a lot left over. When you and yours want to check out the temple, your son wants to eat or sleep and is grumpy your humping him around. Tough to enjoy any nightlife when you one of you has to stay at the hotel to take of your son... you get the idea.

Your son should be about five months old now, so you should have a pretty good idea as to how much energy caring for him will consume, and how much flexibility you will or won't have. And since you have been here before, you are familiar with the hazards of the environment.

Good luck. Hope it all works out for you.

#2 Posted: 13/10/2011 - 01:20

------------------------------
Victory in Pattani
Architeuthis

backpacker
Posts: 11

Hello Madmac
First of all thanks for your concerns. We really had a tough time deciding travelling or not but we are certain to do this. I agree with you, that travelling should be as short as possible and as relaxed as possible. So for us, train and plane will be the thing.

The tip with the swimming diapers is new for us, so thanks again.

And again, if any of you people out there did a similar trip, feel free to post your experience.

thx.

#3 Posted: 13/10/2011 - 21:02
MADMAC

mahout
Posts: 3999

I did make this trip. My daughter was nine months old at the time. We were moving here, so it wasn't a vacation, but those were some of the observations I had from my time coming here. If i think of others, I'll let you know.

#4 Posted: 13/10/2011 - 21:25

------------------------------
Victory in Pattani
cocopops

longtail driver
Posts: 5

Hi.. first of all can i just say DO IT with baby and have a ball... baby will be fine, babies adapt so mush better than grown ups. the swim nappy thing, you can get neoprene ones, ie dont get disposables, they are just a pain. i wihs more people would travel when babies are young and so easy.. jsut wait till your little bugger is 4, then travelling will be tough!

#5 Posted: 17/10/2011 - 03:41
altmtl

adventurer
Posts: 460
Located in:

Private message

http://www.travelfish.org/feature/145 -

#6 Posted: 17/10/2011 - 03:47

------------------------------
Facebook Group: South East Asia 2012 - Travel buddies and more...
Architeuthis

backpacker
Posts: 11

Hello again.
I just wanted to post again, because we are back home by now in the amazingly cold Germany.
We had a great time in Thailand and I´m happy that we did this trip as planned. We had a hard time deciding to pro´s and contra´s about travelling with a child but now I can say: It was the right decision! Sure, taking care uses up a lot of your time but its so rewarding to see the behaviour of the locals when your travelling with a child. The will love it, and they try to take care of it, so that you can enjoy your meal or take a swim or whatever.

If anyone of you is thinking about going to Thailand with a kid, I´m happy to share my experience if it helps.

This wasn´t our last trip for sure!

Cheers
Andreas

#7 Posted: 8/2/2012 - 08:39
MADMAC

mahout
Posts: 3999

Great getting the feed back Andreas. Glad the trip went well.

#8 Posted: 9/2/2012 - 09:05

------------------------------
Victory in Pattani