Hi everyone,
In these dark times, and after two months of lockdown, I thought now would be a good moment to write up the travel journal of our last trip to Thailand, to (maybe) help some of you escape a little.
The idea is also, and above all, to give back to this forum, and I hope my tips or ideas will help future travelers.
Don’t hesitate to contact me via private message or in the comments if you have any questions.
Before I start this story, I must warmly thank the people who patiently informed, advised, and guided us.
Jojoone, Jodelavega, Jungletrool, DearPatsy, Tarajellow, and the others—thank you so much.
This trip wouldn’t have been as wonderful without your help.
We’re a couple in our thirties who love traveling (we did a round-the-world trip several years ago now), and we’re big fans of Thailand, where we’ve been multiple times. We’re used to backpacking and even have a bit of wanderlust!
But this year, everything was different since we were traveling for the first time with our baby, who was just under 2 years old (22 months). This raised HUGE questions for us, as we usually travel pretty casually and intuitively.
While I found some answers on this forum, there was still a lot of information I couldn’t find, so I apologize in advance to those who travel without young kids—I plan to address that with a dedicated section.
Generally, I think preparation is the key to a successful trip with a little one.
For us, lots of questions beforehand meant no stress during the trip—everything was simple, and there were no bad surprises.
For those in a hurry, here’s a summary:
3-week stay (09/30/19 to 10/18/2019)
Flight tickets (2 adults, 1 baby without a seat): 1052 €
Itinerary: Bangkok 5 days, Chiang Mai 5 days, Lampang 3 days, Kanchanaburi 3 days, Bangkok 2 days.
General info about traveling with babies:
Here are the topics that caused us the most concern, our choices, and our observations after the trip.
1- Choosing the itinerary / road safety
This was THE biggest concern for us.
Living in France with a top-rated rear-facing car seat, we were terrified at the idea of putting our baby in a car, bus, or any vehicle without protection (not to mention Thailand’s terrible reputation for road safety).
We ended up making a radical decision that removed all our stress and let us enjoy a fantastic trip: no road travel (though you’ll see later that we had to bend this rule once, and everything went fine).
We decided to follow the railway route heading north (for safety reasons, we didn’t consider the south and its islands with a baby) and chose our stops based on that. The train is a super comfortable way to travel with a young child.
Sure, it’s slow—we were warned—but the best advice I can give is to take your time with a little one.
Thailand is hot, noisy, and crowded—everything is tiring.
Taking it slow is the best way to enjoy your trip. And I think (this is just my opinion) trying to keep an adult’s pace would only lead to frustration and exhaustion for everyone.
The only car trips we took were short transfers in the city, and for those, we brought a sling (like a pre-tied baby carrier) so the baby was strapped to one of us, and we were both buckled up with the seatbelt passing between the baby and the parent carrying them. In case of a crash, there was no risk of crushing the baby (though obviously, it wasn’t completely safe, but we figured at city speeds, it was manageable).
2- Gear / what to pack?
In everyday life, we already keep things simple, so for travel, it was obvious we wouldn’t overpack.
Crib, stroller, car seat, etc.—we decided to bring almost nothing and didn’t regret it.
In my opinion, a stroller isn’t useful in Thailand.
The sidewalks are unusable, packed with people and stalls.
In busy places like night markets, you’ll prefer having your child close to you, at adult height, rather than in the crowd.
Of course, it depends on where you go, but generally, a stroller will be more of a hassle than a help.
We opted for a small, non-bulky hiking backpack and a sling (which fit in the backpack’s pocket) made of thin fabric for car trips. In hindsight, I think this was the perfect choice.
For cribs, high chairs, etc., there’s no need to bring your own—every place finds solutions for babies, and you can even contact them beforehand to put your mind at ease.
During our stay, we were offered a baby crib, a futon on the floor, a single bed (not suitable for a baby, though), and always a solution for seating at meals.
Only one hotel in Chiang Mai refused to help and asked for an outrageous extra fee, but I think that’s unusual, and we generally have mixed memories of that place. We brought a small fabric seat that attaches to any chair—it takes up the space of a folded raincoat and was very useful (though you can manage just fine by having the baby eat on your lap).
For baby food, diapers, etc., we didn’t bring anything.
Just enough to last two days while we got settled, and that was plenty—no need to overpack.
You can easily find diapers at Tesco, Lotus, or even 7/11. For food, we’d gotten our daughter used to eating pieces a few months before the trip, and we ordered broths to “dilute” the dishes. She loved it, tried everything with pleasure, and never had any issues.
That said, I don’t know about milk—my daughter doesn’t drink it.
Here’s our “packing list” for 3 weeks with a 22-month-old:
My partner: 1 travel backpack and a small empty (cabin-sized) rolling suitcase for shopping on the way back.
For me: baby in a hiking backpack (with a sling and the small folded seat in the backpack’s pocket).
It was simple for getting around, and I think if we’d packed more, we would’ve struggled without gaining any extra comfort.
3- Mosquitoes / Malaria / Dengue / Vaccines
As if on purpose, just months before our trip, a flood of articles on the forum and online warned us that Thailand was in the middle of a dengue epidemic, and locals advised us to be careful.
Not exactly reassuring when traveling with a baby…🤪
After much hesitation, we decided to bring a small mosquito net (recommended by a mom on the forum—shoutout to Popinette) that opens like a pop-up tent (and folds just as easily). For how little space it took up, we didn’t regret it. It was attached to the back of the travel backpack and let us sleep soundly :p
If it helps anyone, here’s the one we had: Deryan Peuter model.
We also brought a mosquito net for ourselves but didn’t end up using it—with precautions, we didn’t have any mosquitoes at night.
For protection, we chose Insect Ecran (tropical version, the red one) because it doesn’t contain DEET but uses Icaridin, which is less toxic for little ones. We also pre-treated our clothes with Insect Ecran textile spray.
We also decided to dress our daughter in light, long-sleeved outfits (covering arms and legs), and she wasn’t any hotter but was protected. It was a great choice, and we ended up dressing like her.
Contrary to what I’d read, I didn’t find the smell strong—I actually thought it was quite discreet. My daughter and my partner didn’t get a single bite. As for me, I still got bites on exposed areas (I’m *very* prone to mosquito bites), so I switched to a local product—less well-formulated but apparently more effective for me.
We had our daughter vaccinated against Hepatitis A.
We got conflicting advice on this: the pediatrician said it was unnecessary if she didn’t eat from street stalls (where dishes are washed in questionable water), but my GP said the opposite. We decided to book an appointment at a travel vaccination center, and the doctor was clear—she needed the vaccine.
4- Book in advance?
Finally, a question that had never crossed our minds before: should we book in advance?
Again, this is just my opinion, but I think yes.
It makes things much easier.
Since we wanted to minimize road travel, it was much simpler to find well-located accommodations that let us do everything on foot (and with a baby, reducing travel and lightening the schedule is really helpful).
Booking ahead meant no bad surprises, no fully booked places, and no hassle walking around with luggage and a baby.
We booked everything in advance via Booking and Agoda, and by comparing with on-site prices, we didn’t pay more (we were traveling in the low season).
Here’s our feedback and observations.
If they can help other parents prepare for their trip, I’d be thrilled.
With all that said, time for vacation!
© 2008 AFP (Jean-Gabriel Chelala) Jean-Gabriel Chelala, à bord de son baterau à pédales près de Miami, le 12 août 2008
"En raison de ce retard et de l'arrivée rapide de l'hiver dans les hautes latitudes, je ne peux plus envisager d'enchaîner, avant la fin de l'année, ces étapes longues, difficiles et impraticables dans les grands froids", a-t-il raisonnablement estimé.
Le "globe-pédaleur" va donc marquer une pose jusqu'en mai 2009, non sans avoir décidé d'ajouter une épreuve de taille à son défi: il va continuer sa route pendant encore un mois jusqu'à la ville canadienne de WhiteHorse, dans la province septentrionale du Yukon (2.500 km devant ses roues), au bord de la rivière du même nom.
Mais en mai 2009, au lieu de rejoindre directement le littoral de l'Alaska, distant de quelque 300 km, il a décidé de reprendre son "pédaleau" à WhiteHorse pour une descente en forme de boucle de plus de 3.000 km sur la "Grande Rivière" (traduction de Yukon en langage des indiens Kutchin), à travers les espaces sauvages du Grand Nord canadien et de l'Alaska.
"Ce fleuve fut, à la fin du 19e siècle la principale voie de la légendaire +Ruée vers l'or+. Il n'y a que quatre ponts carrossables qui l'enjambent sur l'ensemble de son cours, c'est dire si la présence humaine sur ses rives y est rare. Cela sera une aventure dans l'aventure, un détour qui passera par le cercle polaire arctique...", s'enthousiasme par avance Philéas Fogg junior.
Et de l'embouchure de la Yukon river, dans la baie de Norton, il traversera sur son frêle esquif la mer de Béring au sud du détroit éponyme pour rejoindre la côte de la Sibérie orientale à la fonte des glaces. Lui restera alors une douzaine de milliers de kilomètres plein ouest sur la selle de sa petite reine, pour voir enfin la tour Eiffel.
Mais en attendant, Jean-Gabriel et son bateau seront présents au salon nautique à Paris en décembre prochain. Recherche de nouveaux sponsors (l'aventure ça coûte cher) oblige....
Comme convenu avec l'agence, 2 à 3h de marche entre villages et rizières seront chaque jour au programme : nous découvriront des villages, rencontreront des habitants de plusieurs ethnies au hasard des chemins, et marcherons tout simplement dans de magnifiques paysages de rizières.
Hmong à fleurs(dessus et dessous)
