Solo Parent Travel & Sensory Issues Part 2
Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan, Chiang Mai.
I’m following up with a second blog about my trip to Thailand. There was just so much to say - I didn't want to try to fit it into one blog.
For this blog, I want to share some things I did that helped our trip go smoothly. I’m aware that sometimes doing something one way, won’t necessarily work every time or for every child! There are so many variables to consider, and I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, especially for kids with varying levels of needs.
My goal in sharing is to show that solo parent travel with a child with sensory issues is possible and doable. Although it can be very challenging and stressful, I’ve been learning that focusing on strengths and interests can go a long way!
Our itinerary was pretty packed, but my purpose in writing this blog isn’t to list everything we did (there are so many parent travel bloggers offering this type of content). I’m more interested in sharing what I did to make it possible. To be clear, it was mostly trial and error!
1. Daily routines that we both liked
We had a fairly consistent daytime schedule; waking up between 7-7:30 am, eating breakfast and then doing an activity in the morning (museum, market, tour, etc.). When we returned to the hotel, we would go for a swim and then have lunch or supper, depending on the time.
I was intentional about having somewhere to go in the morning, to prevent my son from trying to spend all morning in the pool! First of all, it’s cool enough to walk around (as opposed to the afternoon when it’s blistering hot) and secondly, I feel like I’m wasting the day away if I’m sitting by the pool in the morning (I’m not a pool person!).
In the evenings, we walked around and visited different night markets for food or treats. We were somewhat limited in where we could walk or Uber to, due to the New Year festivities happening close to where we were staying (more on this later). This meant that streets were blocked, or two-way streets became one-way streets, which slowed traffic down. Nonetheless, we still managed to find quieter spots - we just couldn’t move around as much.
2. Activities based on my child’s interests
When we went to Mexico (Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Puerto Escondido) last year, I did a few kid-friendly activities but not much. It went well, but for this trip - I felt like it was imperative to choose activities based on his interests. I want him to enjoy being in new places and learning about new cultures. Since he really loves water, reptiles, and marine animals, the theme of the trip was definitely water. We did as many activities along this theme as possible, even if they weren’t geared for children, such as hot streams, an all-day island hopping tour. To be clear, I interspersed things that I liked too. For instance, we would visit an aquarium or a snake museum, then go to a Buddhist temple, or do the reverse.
3. Bought favourite/familiar foods
This is a biggie - I feel like I failed on this one for part of our trip. After many food struggles, I let my son eat Western meals such as pizza, burgers, club sandwiches, etc. It made our trip more enjoyable because finding that piece of home (or familiarity) meant he ate enough and was in a better mood afterwards! It meant more logistics because we usually had to go to two different food vendors or markets - one for me to get Thai food and one for him to get his food. It wasn’t ideal, but we made it work!
Some family travel bloggers recommend introducing foods (cooking them at home or eating out) a few months in advance. I like that idea, but it doesn’t work for every child. Sometimes repeated exposure does not make a difference.
3. Stayed in quiet accommodations
This was key! I spent what seemed like an absurd amount of time looking up the best middle-range budget hotels. My criteria was: clean, close to amenities (to limit walking in the heat), quiet, and with a spacious pool. The quiet part was important: my son actually asked for a place with “no kids”. He gets overwhelmed when there are many other children who want to play with him. He did up playing with a few children. He wasn’t thrilled, but he had fun! When he had enough and was getting frustrated, I had to intervene (because of the language barrier) to inform them he wanted to play by himself.
4. Transportation
There’s so many transportation options in Thailand. We mostly flew everywhere because of the distances between cities. We were in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi and then back to Bangkok. My son enjoys flying because of the comfort (snacks and tablet time), but he was pretty sick of it by the end! Not to mention we were in Washington DC and Tokyo before Thailand - it was A LOT of flights in two weeks!
We went on several day trips to visit, where we traveled by boat, bus, minivan, or car (hired a driver). It went well for the most part, except towards the end of the trip when my son started to get fed up with all the moving around!
During our not-so-great moments, we were lucky to have been seated beside very patient (or just polite?) folks, who did not complain. We also made a friend on one of the bus rides - she graciously listened to my son’s stories and showed him videos of her dogs and adult kids, I was very grateful for that encounter!
Thailand is an ideal destination, especially for families with younger children. My son loved Thailand because he felt comfortable there. Thai people also made him feel comfortable - interactions were friendly, helpful, and respectful of personal boundaries (they don’t touch heads, which meant nobody touched my son’s hair!). These details make a difference for some people, including children.
My son also developed a keen interest in Buddhism, particularly Buddha. I was asked so many questions and then, sure enough, Buddhism/Buddha became incorporated into everything - his storytelling, play, drawings… it impacted his 5-year-old worldview! It was fascinating to see how the cultural immersion (i.e. visiting so many temples) sparked his curiosity and creativity.
In my next blog (part 3), I will share some of the challenging aspects of our trip.
