Packing: Southeast Asia Packing Guide for Toddler – A Post-Mortem Review
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In this post we share a toddler’s packing list for a three-week trip to Southeast Asia.
Trip Details
18 hour-long haul flight (nonstop, direct to destination)
Four “commuter” flights (less than five hours) during the trip
Carry-on style travel (some of the smaller flights have low weight restrictions where this will not be possible)
Weather: high 80s, low 90s Fahrenheit (mid-20s-low 30s Celsius); high humidity, occasional rain showers
1/2 of the trip will be exploring cities (Singapore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City)
1/4 of the trip will be outdoors (no intensive trekking or hiking)
1/4 of the trip will be on the beach
Accommodation: hotels, villas (with access to laundry services)
Laundry done once mid-way through the trip
Trip Post Mortem Notes:
We were traveling with our child, and because we all tend to get grubbier due to kid activities (park, exploration, eating) so we packed an extra outfit for day outings.
Wash/dry/fold laundry services are inexpensive in most parts of Asia. We utilized them three times during the trip. For this reason, we could have packed half the amount of clothes as we did the wash once per week.
The weather was humid and we tended to select the clothing items that were lightweight and had breathable material. We avoided clothing items that were denim, synthetic, or clingy.
Make sure that antibacterial wipes are kept on hand; finding hand washing facilities was tricky.
We are pleased with our choice to bring the Mountain Buggy Nano stroller instead of our usual larger UppaBaby Vista. The smaller stroller allowed us to more easily get in and out of all types of transport — long tail boats, ferries, speed boats, trains, mini buses, taxies, tuk-tuks etc.
The Venture Pal backpack was a surprise – having the ability to collapse the backpack into itself, its malleable nature – this became our flex “catch-all” bag for day outings.
Long Haul Flight Outfit
[Items noted below are all listed in the clothing section and are NOT in addition to what is packed in the backpack]
Joggers
Long sleeve shirt
Zip up jacket
Sneakers
Extra outfit in a ziplock bag – onesie, linen harem pants
Socks
Toddler OutfitPost Mortem Notes:
The harem pants again prove to be a success; they provide leg coverage but at lightweight where kiddo can move around, be changed in the plane and feel cozy.
We swapped sneakers for the sandals (with socks).
Long Haul Flight Busy Bag
Activity & coloring book
Crayons
Blocks, Lego, Magna Tiles or other type of lightweight building materials
Mini lightweight tape measure
Play-Doh
Busy BagPost Mortem Notes:
While Play-Doh is a timeless toy, we found it rather unpleasant to have on the plane. Kiddo placed the Play-Doh in all the nooks and crannies of the plane, I would hold back the Play-Doh until your arrival.
Long Haul Flight Snacks
Baby carrots
Sliced cucumber
Halved grapes
Pita bread pockets & hummus
Fried rice
Long Haul Flight Snacks Mortem Notes:
As always, keeping prepared snacks for in-flight consumption is a necessary step. The snacks offered by the airline were filled with sugar. Select items that don’t have much of an odor and don’t have too much liquid content.
We were pleased with the shorts and pants we selected for the trip. The harem were perfect for travel and the shorts were a no-brainer for the hot, humid days.
Underwear
Dyper diapers (Non-toxic and are free of chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, TBT, parabens, sulphates, & phthalates. They are unprinted, unscented, hypoallergenic, and cruelty-free).
Fragrance free diapers and wipes are difficult to find when traveling. We recommend bringing your own and sacrificing some packing room for the comfort of not worrying about where to find diapers that will not irritate your child’s skin.
UnderwearPost Mortem Notes:
Having our preferred diapers and wipes during these travels was once again a huge relief. So many of the small drugstores that we encountered either carried diapers that had fragrance or the sizing was too small or big.
Beach
1 one long sleeve rash guard suit with snaps in underwear area
1 rashguard
1 swimsuit
BeachPost Mortem Notes:
The rash guard suit proved helpful during days where the unrelenting sun would have otherwise burned kiddo’s shoulders.
Because it was so hot and humid outside, kiddo had zero interest in wearing socks or closed-toed shoes. The socks were helpful for the long-haul flight where her feet swelled up a bit and she wanted to roam around.
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