(Editor’s note: This is Pt. 1 of a two-part post about backpacking with small children. You can jump to Pt. 2 here.)
When I first announced to friends and family that my partner and I were planning on taking our 18-month old backpacking through Southeast Asia for four months, the responses ranged from “Amazing! But how!?’” to “Are you crazy?” It’s definitely not the most common thing to do with a child at such an age, but as a veteran backpacker (in my younger, more care-free years) I was desperate to use my paternity leave from work for something other than sitting at home and visiting friends during the cold, gray months of a Vienna winter.
My partner and I travelled through Thailand a year before our son was born, and found it to be incredibly safe, easy and friendly. We felt confident that it was a manageable idea, and so the planning began. Now we are two months into our time in Asia, and about to leave Thailand for Cambodia and Vietnam.
What I don’t want to write is a ‘To-Do’ article for you, especially for a country such as Thailand which must be one of the most instagrammed and blogged-about places on the planet. What I would like to offer is something a little more practical for others planning on backpacking with a young child. It is a unique experience to move around with a quickly growing toddler, and hopefully this article can give some ideas and support when planning a similar trip.
Packing with purpose
Our goal was to travel with one large backpack for clothes, a hiking carrier to carry our son, and a small backpack for games, books and documents. It was stressful planning to pack in such a frugal way, but my partner found a perfect solution. We bought a set of double-zipping packing cubes, which not only allowed us to squeeze more clothes in, but also made it incredibly easy when unpacking and re-packing every few days to keep things organized (one for my clothes, one for my son’s, one for dirty, etc).
It’s also important to make space for a basic first aid kit (focusing on things that would be useful in the tropics such as mosquito-spray, sun-screen and bite-cream). Of course, basics like plasters, disinfection spray, anti-septic creams and wipes are also a necessity. Something that we have found to be very useful everywhere we go are long pants and long sleeves to protect from both insect bites and sun burns. Of course, in this heat the lighter the material the better!
Lastly, we also needed books for our son for bedtimes or to keep him busy on transport. We took a few copies of our son’s favourite small, thin unkapputbar (unbreakable) books for reading, but discovered quickly that our phones could also help a lot. Although our son does not watch anything on the computer normally, we found that non-animated “Read-aloud book” videos on Youtube were great ways to expand our library, so that he could simply watch the pages of a picture book as the story is read aloud.
Hiking carrier vs. stroller
Before leaving Austria, we were constantly alternating between whether it would be better to bring a backpack-style child-carrier or a fold-up stroller. They both have their advantages, but we are happy that we chose to bring the backpack. We have a Deuter brand child-carrier that is good for children up to 22 kilograms, and our son loves being inside and having a high view of the passing world. It makes it simple for one of us to carry him and the other to have our backpack with clothes, etc.
The major bonus that we have seen with the carrier compared to strollers is the ease of having your child on comfortably on your back. As many of the pavements in other countries are extremely uneven (or non-existent), using a stroller means navigating a lot of obstacles. It is also way easier to board trains (right), buses and boats when you can just walk on with your child attached.
On the other hand, a stroller can be incredibly easy for moving cargo (beach toys, snack bags, bottles of water, extra bags) from place to place when not occupied by the child, and we have seen many families using it more as a cart than anything else.
It is also easier for many children to nap in the stroller than in the backpack, and as a result we find that we spend more time getting him settled in our hotel room at nap-time than if we could just walk around with him in the stroller.
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Read more about expat travel here in Dispatches’ archives.
Thom Harding was born and raised in the UK and USA, sharing his time between Bath and Boston. Upon completing his studies in Art History and Painting in Florence, Thom travelled around Mexico and India before moving to New Mexico to start his career as a Primary school teacher.
After completing his MA in Education, he now lives and works in Vienna, Austria and enjoys spending his free time hiking, reading, travelling and exploring around Europe.
See more of Thom’s work here in the Dispatches archive.
You can read more about Vienna here in the Dispatches archives.
