[Little Traveler]: Travelogue of A Little Girl

Traveling with infants has been an inseparable part of our little family affairs. Similar to her brother, Sophie had her first travel experience at a very young age, at one month old. When she was 1 month and 1 week old, we traveled to Khao Yai National Park. It was a smooth two and a half hour drive thanks to my mom who looked after David and Sophie while we were in the car.

One day after she turned two months, we flew to Chiang Mai, spent few days there and were back to Bangkok from Chiang Rai. Our first flight/road trip with her was nearly perfect as she mostly slept on the plane and all the way during the road trip from Chiang Mai to Mae Rim, Doi Tung, and continued to Chiang Rai.

As part of the administrative procedures in issuing her resident permit in Thailand, we had to fly to Laos to collect her visa at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane. Then, she went on her first flight when she was 3 months 4 days to Vientiane. So, Laos becomes the first country she visited :). The flight was short, approximately 1 hour and she behaved quite well on the plane. The challenge came on the way back when she cried non-stop for about 15 to 20 minutes before she finally fell asleep prior to landing in Bangkok. Unlike her brother, Sophie wouldn't stop crying instantly even though breastmilk is offered, which is normally my savior to survive any trip. I felt bad for other passengers who sat near us and apologized for the inconvenience. Instead, they sincerely smiled and said that they had no problem with it as they have kids, too.

Enjoying sunset by the Mekong River in Vientiane

At the end of March, we escaped Bangkok's heat to chilly Hong Kong. The 2,5-hour flight was bearable for our five-month old, although she cried for sometime, but since we were in big aircraft, taking her for a stroll back and forth along the aisle could calm her down. The nice flight attendants also tried to entertain her whenever they passed by. As we learnt our lessons from this particular flight, we bought pacifier which was intended to ease her during the upcoming return flight. Then, four days later, it happened again. She cried so much in a way that I didn't understand. We tried everything we could from nursing her, checking her diaper, rocking her, changing her position, taking a walk, but nothing worked, until....two Chinese ladies at the seats behind us entertained her in Chinese. Together with us on the flight was a big group of elderly, most probably tourists who were on a holiday trip to Thailand. She suddenly stopped crying and looked at those two ladies, and smiled. The Chinese magic seemed to work :). They kept entertaining Sophie until the plane safely landed in Suvarnabhumi and the little girl was quite happy.

The previous flying experience to Hong Kong had made me a bit nervous as we had to go to France via Doha in May. Surprisingly, Sophie, and all of us survived the 16-hour flight. Our 7-month old princess survived the long flight, the transit, and the train ride, Alhamdulillah. She slept well in her bassinet, and she seemed comfortable during her waking time. On the way back, she even slept for five hours  straight, allowing me to watch Cinderella the Movie, the first time for me to watch an in-flight movie without any interruptions since we have David. Luckily, the flight was smooth without any turbulences involved, otherwise I was pretty sure she wouldn't back to sleep again if I woke her up. Our fabulous three-week vacation, which included road trip to Northern France and Germany, was close to perfect. Traveling with a three-year old like David is awesome as children that age already know how fun it is being on a long trip, no crying, no fuss, it's just perfect. Besides, David also acts as Sophie's babysitter, he would entertain her (if he is awake, of course) and let us know when his little sister asleep. All in all, our first Europe trip with Sophie was a success!

Two months later, we went again, this time to Indonesia, yeaayy!! Sophie officially visited her other homeland for the first time when she was 10 months old. One month later, I traveled with her again to Indonesia, just the two of us, while the boys were in Bangkok and everything went well, thankfully.

Admiring the rice terrace along the way

So far, she has tried numerous car rides, train rides from Argo Parahyangan to TGV, various public transport rides in all places we have visited, and of course, various type of airplanes. We hope, as she grows up, she would grow her love of traveling, appreciate whatever coming her way, and be able to see this beautiful world as her playground.

~Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience~ Francis Bacon