Traveling & Backpacking with a Baby or Infant: Opening New Doors – The Mong New Year!

Recently I posted about how backpacking or traveling with a baby or infant can open new doors for you as you travel.  Last week we discovered that firsthand!

We went to the famous Chiang Mai Sunday Market and decided to buy Akiva a special outfit for us to dress him up in on Purim.  We hunted around and eventually chose one, a traditional outfit worn by the Hmong (or Mong) hill tribe of Northern Thailand.

Ben with Akiva and his Mong Hat. If we hadn't stopped to buy Akiva a Mong outfit, we would never have learned about the Mong New Year. Traveling with a baby is a great conversation starter!

While I was busy with Akiva, Rabbi Ben got to chatting with the seller and her friends, all from a nearby Mong village in the hills.  They told him that Tuesday was the Mong New Year and there would be a big celebration.  Rabbi Ben spent the next few days finding out more and on Tuesday morning at 5 AM we left for the Mong village to celebrate the Mong New Year!

It was a fantastic experience and I plan to post more about it this week, but the most amazing thing was that we would not even have been there if it weren’t for Akiva. We would never even have heard about it!  The only other foreigners there were members of a tiny private tour group whose guide was a Mong villager.  Otherwise, there were NO tourists at all! Amazing!

By traveling and backpacking around with a baby, we had an opening for conversation and an opportunity to learn about this once-in-a-lifetime travel experience. So, if there are any parents out there wondering if backpacking with a baby will slow you down, think again! Backpacking with a baby may actually open more doors for you… Enjoy!

Traveling and Backpacking with a Baby or Infant: Mom Makes Local Friends, Too!

When traveling with a baby, it makes sense that baby makes friends everywhere he goes.  But here is a nice bonus: Mom makes friends, too!

You know how it is when you go to the park, the mall, or even the grocery store: You see another mom with a little one the same age as yours engaging in some charmingly silly antics.  Of course you walk over and say hi, and start chatting about your babies!  It’s something you instantly have in common, an instant way to bond with any other mom.

And you know what? This doesn’t just work in your hometown. It works anywhere in the world!

I have walked up to women on the street selling things and started a conversation with them about our babies.  True, sometimes there is a significant language barrier, but some thing surpass language boundaries.  Once you establish that your babies are of similar ages and stages, you can become friends easily.  You can compare your babies or simply let them play together. And, of course, if you do speak the same language, you can learn more about your new friend and her culture.

And guess what! This works well for dads, too!  Men also like babies (how can they resist that cute smile?!) so mommies, get the daddies involved, too!

Enjoy your new friends, and happy travels!

Traveling Solo on an Overnight Bus with a Baby

Last night I went solo on the bus overnight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  It was a long night with not much sleep, so traveling this way is not what I would recommend. Because tonight is New Year’s, the guesthouses in Chiang Mai are all full, so finding a room took many hours, which didn’t help after the journey!

The journey started out with me bringing Akiva (and all our stuff) to the travel agent’s near Khao San Road in Bangkok.  The agent told me the bus would pick up from there, so I dismantled Akiva’s stroller and took the bags from under it for ease of loading. Of course, it being Thailand, the bus actually picked up from a location quite far away, so I had to put everything back together again to transport it.  The bus was an hour and a half late, too.

Fortunately, a few kind people helped me.  If not, I am not sure where I would have found a seat on the bus because it was overbooked. It was difficult to juggle the various bags, stroller, and baby, since I had to be capable of handling it all at once.  This slowed me down considerably and I was one of the last people on the bus. Fortunately, an Israeli couple I met at the Chabad House in Bangkok was also on the same bus, so they took a bag of mine and claimed a seat for me.

I like to be next to a window and toward the front of the bus. The window is good because A) it means I only have to keep Akiva from going in one direction (to my side), rather than two (to both sides) and B) it gives a few extra inches of space between the seat and the window, and when there are two people in a seat instead of one, space is at a premium!  I like to be near the front because A) it’s less bumpy, which is better for keeping baby asleep and B) I have a tendency to get motion sickness, which is less when I’m in the front (motion sickness is bad enough, but motion sickness with a baby is even worse).  Thanks to my Israeli friends reserving a seat with one of my bags, I was able to get a pretty good seat.

Fortunately, Akiva slept really well on the bus.  He went right to sleep when I nursed him and whenever he woke up, I was able to nurse him back to sleep again easily.  Of course, when he woke, he screamed his head off until I was able to get in a position to nurse him, which I am certain my fellow bus-riders did not appreciate.  But he was quite good on the whole.

Of course, this does not necessarily mean I was able to sleep! Even though the seats do recline, I was afraid of dropping Akiva if I fell asleep, so I kept a firm grip on him.  I also tried sleeping on my side a bit, so he could lay directly on the seat, but there really was not enough room.

If possible, I would recommend doing such a journey with a partner.  That way you can sleep in shifts.  It might also be possible to lay down with the baby in between you in a secure enough position that he/she will not slide off the seat.

If traveling solo on the bus again, I would probably consider buying myself a second ticket and taking up two seats, especially in a place where bus tickets are so inexpensive and the bus ride is so long.  More space = more comfort and more comfort = more sleep.  If you can afford it, it is totally worth it!

Flying With Uzbekistan Airways From Bangkok Thailand via Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Tel Aviv, Israel.

Flying with Uzbekistan Airways

This past week I flew from Bangkok to Tel Aviv with Uzbekistan Airways. I must admit, when I purchased the plane ticket I was a bit hesitant, though the only available dates and at a reasonable price for the flights I needed was with Uzbekistan airways.

I was surprised to find the planes perfectly modern and more comfortable than some low cost carriers I have flown around Australia and the United States. They had my kosher meals; from Bangkok to Tashkent the meal was from a caterer in Europe, and from Tashkent to Tel Aviv, the meal was from Israel. The meal from Israel was perhaps one of the best kosher airline meals I’ve ever had. A nicely cooked chicken breast on well-seasoned rice that did not even taste like an airline meal. It tasted like something from a restaurant.

Every seat on my Uzbekistan Airways flights had its own video screen with options to choose movies, music, and games. I’m not much of a movie watcher but sometimes on a long flight I like to watch something. The movies offered were all Uzbekistan and Russian produced with not a single English film. Having no clue about Uzbekistan movies, I asked one of the flight attendants to recommend a couple of the films, which she did. I enjoyed watching them as they were an insight into the Uzbek culture, though the films were difficult to follow at times. There were no English subtitles available, and the only option was to listen to it poorly dubbed where in both movies there was one poorly spoken English male voice used for all the male actors, and one equally poorly spoken English female voice for all the female actors. When two male actors had their backs to the viewer while they had a conversation, it was hard to tell who was saying what with the same dubbed voice speaking the parts for both of them.

Something else Uzbekistan Airways may have over looked was the games that can only be played using the screen as a touch screen. There was no game console. There was a very enthusiastic teenage girl siting behind me who at times got carried away in her game playing and began tapping the screen behind my head enthusiastically, waking me up twice.

One thing that got my attention was the crates of tropical fruit passengers brought with them onto the plane from Bangkok. One guy had a bag with at least twelve pineapples, another had a container with over twenty mangoes. I questioned one of the fruit carriers who explained to me that in Uzbekistan they never get this fruit. They were bringing home as much as they could to share with friends and family.  Hearing this brought me to the quick conclusion that I could never live in Uzbekistan, because I live mostly on fruit.

Tashkent airport is rather Soviet drab. No much happening there. A concrete building with a couple of drinking bars and some poorly stocked duty-free shops.

All up, it was an enjoyable experience, and I’m looking forward to my flight back from Tel Aviv to Bangkok with Uzbekistan Airways.

Traveling with a Baby or Infant: Going Through Local Markets with your Baby or Infant in a Pram/Stroller/Pusher

Pushing a pram or stroller through a busy, crowded local market can be a challenge, as the pathways are narrow and people have to move to allow you to pass. With a smaller stroller, this would not be a problem.

I love going to local markets. It’s one of my favorite parts of traveling in third world countries (although I quite like it even in first world countries, it’s just not usually as colorful).  So this morning the first thing I did was head for the local morning market.  It opens early, around 4 or 5 AM, and closes fairly early, generally by around 8:30 or 9 AM.  You don’t spot many tourists there because by the time they venture out to explore the city, it’s already closed up.  For me, that’s part of the charm, although I love the all-day markets, too, especially since I’m not a morning person!

Of course, in the past I was not traveling with a baby, so now that I have an infant in tow, it’s a totally different experience.  This is especially true since I am now pushing a pram (stroller).  I guess maybe I am a bit crazy to bring a pram/ stroller to a local market, but I just can’t imagine carrying the weight of my Akiva (he’s an exceptionally good eater) and groceries to boot!  So pram/ stroller it was.

This sweet old man was one of dozens of locals happy to stop and play with Akiva - and Akiva loved the attention! Just make sure to pay attention to your baby's signs and cover him/her up when he/she wants a nap.

The first thing I noticed was that because I am using a full-size pram/stroller, it was a bit too wide to get through the aisles comfortably. Most of the time there was just enough space, but it did mean other people had to move out of the way for me to pass. In some places I just could not get through and I had to go around via the street.  With a small “umbrella” stroller it would have been quite easy to navigate.

The second thing I noticed was how everyone responded to Akiva.  Everyone wanted to play with him and everyone wanted to touch him. Mostly they just tickled his toes.  I am a pretty relaxed mom (you have to be to travel with an infant like this) so as long as they aren’t really in his face and he’s not sleeping, I don’t mind them tickling Akiva’s toes. He loves all the attention. Spoiled kid!

When the chaos of the market got to be too much for Akiva, he simply started to play with his toy. Babies older than 3 months know how to focus on one familiar object as a way of "switching off" and blocking out too much stimulation that would have made them cry when they were new-born.

Of course, the chaos of the market might be a bit too much for your baby to handle, so make sure they have a way to “switch off.”  This generally means bringing along a favorite toy.  Then when the surroundings are too much for your baby, he/she can focus on the toy, which is simple and familiar.  This helps avoid overstimulation.  You can also cover the baby’s pram with a muslin cloth or sun shade that stops bubba from seeing too much and stops people from touching and playing with him.

Overall, though, the market is still a fantastic experience!  Some vendors even gave me free tidbits of fruit to give Akiva, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

So if you are traveling, definitely take your baby to the market with you! It will be a great experience for you both!

Traveling with a Baby/Infant: Going Through Customs and Immigration

If you are traveling internationally with your baby/infant/newborn, as we have been recently, you will find yourself having to go through Customs and Immigration.  You will certainly have to go through Customs and Immigration when you enter a new country; you may also have to go through Customs and Immigration when you leave a country. It depends on where you are traveling to and from.

I’ve gone through Customs and Immigration a few times now with Adventuring Akiva and overall it has been a good experience.  As I mentioned yesterday, you generally get to skip the security line when traveling with a baby or infant; it is just the same with immigration.  Entering a new country today, we saw the security line was so long it almost overflowed out of the Immigration area and back into the regular part of the terminal!  It was a huge relief when a security guard spotted us and directed us to a short line specifically for the disabled, pregnant women, or families with infants or many small children.  This probably saved us waiting a couple of hours!

Going through Immigration with a baby is easy because they usually have a "priority" line and other people waiting in line are generally very happy to play with and help entertain your bub!

Of course, waiting in line with a baby is extremely unpleasant if your baby is crying, both for you and for others around you.  Fortunately, Akiva is a real adventurer and has never cried at Immigration (and only once at Security, for that matter!).  This is great because then the other people in line are happy to help entertain your bored baby and everyone around you is full of smiles.

It’s also nice going through Immigration with a baby because it tends to cheer up the immigration officer; well, at least if you have a cute, happy baby!  I like to make jokes with the Immigration officer and make Akiva “say hi” or smile at him/her.  It’s nice when you see a stony guard crack a reluctant but unsuppressible  grin.  Going through Immigration with a baby has been very easy for me!

I actually do not know much about going through Customs with a baby because, although I have gone through Customs a couple of times with Akiva, I have never had anything to declare and they have never randomly stopped me.  Maybe they think randomly stopping a tired and harassed mom dragging luggage and pushing a pram is not worth the hassle!

Anyway, at least you do not need to worry about going through Immigration with a baby.  As long as your visas and documents are in order, it’s a breeze!