Traveling with children - all about packing

You would think that, since I had my children whilst living abroad and have been traveling with them since they were little, I would be a pro at packing suitcases and bags. WRONG. I still get it wrong all the time, and forget crucial items like ear drops when going on a diving holiday, or head phones with the right plug to use in the airplane. And the big one to forget when swimming a lot: vaseline or coconut oil! Against shaving thighs, dry skin, unruly curls (the oil, then). To be honest - my 6 year old is better at packing then I am, and I thought I’ll use her methods of preparation as an example and put it down in writing so I can be the ultimate packer next time.

It’s a cute story actually: last year my then 4 year old requested a princess suitcase for her birthday. As her birthday falls in summer, she urged me to ‘Amazon it’ before we left to go to the Netherlands, because OBVIOUSLY she had to use it on the trip. I was worried she wouldn’t grasp the concept that thát would then already be her gift, and there would be no other gifts on her actual birthday.. she said she understood. And she actually did. Of course, on the actual birthday, I re-packed the suitcase in a large furoshiki cloth, and added some small gifts inside it, pretending it was a completely different present. She thought it was hilarious. This suitcase is actually a really good brand, and I’m hoping it will last her all the way throughout her princess phase and after it will have good re-sell value!

Since then, so she was 5, she’s been making packing lists in an app on her ipad (I think she just uses the to-do list app) and she ticks them off accordingly. She knows how to count how many pieces of underwear she needs for the particular trip, she combines sets of clothing, and adds her toiletries and cuddly dog last. She never forgets the ipad charger, and charges her ebook before we leave. Really - she’s amazing for a (now) 6 year old.

Okay, so I may have exaggerated a bit in the beginning saying I am the worst. I do have a lot of good packing tips! So here are my top tips for baggage and traveling with kids, and a FREE to download Summer packing PDF with a tick off list

1. Always use the same bags and suitcases, preferably colorful ones that you can customize with stickers or tags, so you & the kids will always recognize them and they stand out. We use a mix of medium sized suitcases and bags with wheels. Usually the bags are inside the suitcases on trips back home and they come back full. If you’re an expat, you know the drill!

2. Now that my kids are older, I’m moving from packing for everyone, to everyone having their own bag that they are responsible for themselves. Packing & carrying. For weekends, we use their school backpacks (okay or the princess carry on). For longer trips, we use the bigger bags / suitcases. I have just invested in a North Face bag that we will gift my eldest daughter for her birthday. My husband has one and it has lasted him more than 20 years already, so we know it is worth the money. With the bag, I’ll give her a travel notebook, so she can document all her travels.

3. For hand luggage, I still always have an extra set of clothes (thin long sleeves / pants) for everyone and a few plastic bags / zip locks for dirty clothes. Cancelled flight, cold AC in a van, spilled juice, lost luggage - for all those times.

4. I have these small vacuum bags and boxy fabric things from Daiso that we can fold and stack clothes in so it takes less space.

5. Snacks snacks snacks… every mom knows this. The last holiday (which was kind of remote and had a kitchen that I didn’t know about) also reminded me to take some easy-to-make things like oats, flour for pancakes, granola, pasta. It’s usually easy to get some fruits & veg, but if you’re particular about dry goods, it’s good to bring some.

6. Green juice powder and vitamins! On holiday the food is usually not as routined as at home, so it’s good to boost that immunity.

7. For sunny holidays: UV swimsuits or rash guards save your skin and saves on sun block. For your exposed skin, use a sun block that is safe for the ocean and marine life.

8. We love bringing games, especially the travel version of SMART Games and a deck of cards. Great for rainy days or waiting. We also love UnStable Unicorns & Rummikub travel edition.

9. These days so many things are charged by USB, so I have a ‘USB hub’ with all the chargers connected that we can keep in one place.

10. Lastly, I always label everything with our last name only. I once read that children can be easily swayed by strangers (read: kidnappers) who know their name, so labeling everything with their first name is not recommended. Luckily, our last name is difficult to pronounce for non-Dutchies, so that’s a plus LOL!

I hope this has given you some ideas for your next holiday! Where to this time?

PS; download your free check list, summer edition here!

PS2; I understand that many of you NOT living in Thailand are going in to winter season - who is looking for a winter checklist?

Moving internationally - AFTER the move!

I can’t believe it’s been 8 months since I’ve moved to Bangkok from Kyoto. Thinking about that time frame actually gives me goosebumps, because in that time, I feel like I’ve been living different lives.

Upon arrival, we moved into a hotel, which made an easy transition. Housekeeping, laundry, logistics - it was all taken care off. I only had to concentrate on the children and settling them into their new school routines. After a few months though, we started house hunting and we consequently moved, which brought new challenges but also fun and excitement. To complement our household, we also adopted a dog! But then - only 1.5 months after we moved in, summer holidays started and the kids and myself travelled to our home in the Netherlands. Coming back after 6 weeks, we busied ourselves with visitors, camp and a last hooray at the beach before school started again. Pretty busy first half year of 2022! So now that September has started, I feel like finally we’re getting to live our ‘real new life.’

A bit of miscalculation on my side: I thought moving back to a place we’d lived before, would be a lot easier than moving to a completely new country and city. And to be fair - in some ways it definitely was. We already knew the ins and outs of Bangkok and were aware of pain points like the traffic. But living somewhere with a toddler and a baby is completely different from living with 3 elementary school children ánd a dog in a different part of the city. And apart from logistical and family changes, I hadn’t counted on the mental and bodily challenges.

Safe to say that, although I’ve been super happy about being back here, I still went through different phases of change. Included in these (for me) were the ‘honeymoon’ phase, grieving the life I’d lost, feeling guilty about all that I left behind, frustration about cultural things in my new country of residence, and acceptance (and gratefulness!) that this is my new life.

In conclusion: it doesn’t matter where you move, how far, or for what reason - moving is HARD. It is not to be taken lightly. I will probably take you 6 to 12 months to truly be at home in your new home. And you have a right to all the feels that might come up.

Here are my top tips to make an easier transition once you’ve arrived at your new destination:

1) Make time to do fun things first.

Especially when you have children, the first impression is so important. Leave the luggage for what it is, wait a moment before setting a strict routine. Just go and do something that is fun for you and your family. For us here, it was definitely swimming and eating mango and sticky rice. No pressure, just being together and experiencing a little of the new local flavor of life.

2) Get enough sleep.

It is tempting to do everything, experience everything and arrange everything perfectly straight away. The truth is though: you have time. Make sure you sleep, not just because it is important for your health, but also because no one can be their best on low energy and it is easier to fall into bad habits when you’re tired.

3) Sign up for things - even if they’re out of your comfort zone.

One of the first women I met here in Bangkok told me about this gym she went to where they did group training, and I went with her the next day and joined the training program. It is not exactly my cup of tea (with my bad knee and all), but the fun & community it brought me, were definitely worth it. I found my tribe of likeminded women there, I met my life coach and I made some great friends. So worth it.

4) Connect online.

Both on Facebook and Instagram I connected with several different groups and found friends and information that way. Not only school or ‘mommy’ groups, but also general expat groups, women’s circles, and freelancer / digital nomad groups. Now that I have a dog, I connected to a Pet group to find out where to go and take my dog in Bangkok. It is a fabulous way to connect if you’re more of an introvert. Second hand groups are also great for finding things you need for your household, and if you’re lucky you meet some great neighbors at the same time! It’s happened to me LOL!

5) Ask for help.

People love to help people. So if you’re stuck, or looking for something - ask. Don’t be shy or waste time finding the answer yourself. Just ask. Pretty soon after I moved, I noticed that the way I was feeling mentally and in my body was not normal, and I set myself a timeframe to see if it would change. It didn’t, and straight away I sought out help from a naturopath, a doctor, and other alternative sources like acupuncture and sound healing. Moving is a big change, not just for your body but also your mind.

6) Find time for yourself and do nothing.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s what helps me most. To be with myself, to let my thoughts float, and be at peace. This doesn’t have to be yoga or meditation (but it can of course!). For me it’s taking naps with music or a hypnotherapy session in my ears or taking a walk with my dog and noticing all the things outside.

Which of the above resonated most with you? What would you add?

Moving abroad - the BEFORE tips!

Moving your family internationally, even with all the help, is not easy. It involves a lot of planning and keeping track of the to-do list. We only heard about our latest move 3 months before the moving date, and after the initial 'shock' to have change the vision we had for 2022, we moved into action. Here is my top 5 of things that I recommend you do before a move!

1) Start a googledocs to do list to share with other people (partner, family, PA, HR, or whoever is involved in your move) and assign tasks and do-by dates.

2) I took the opportunity to really Marie-Kondo our house and I gave away and sold everything we don't need anymore. From all our electronica (Japan has different voltage to Thailand) to toys, to clothes to furniture to school uniforms. I created a googledocs form I could share with friends and my Kyoto community and used color codes for items available, reserved or picked up, with dates when they would be available. I used fun language to describe the items and got a laugh out of people. Knowing which things are expensive or unavailable in Japan / Kyoto, I priced everything accordingly - and made close to $3000 in sales. Ka-ching! (Yeah, good money but I had to buy new things in Bangkok upon arrival of course haha!)

3) Don't wait until the last minute to do farewell parties or playdates. We have everything scheduled ahead so that the last 2 weeks we can take it easy and wrap up. Well apart from my birthday but that's taken care of by someone!

4) Look at your finances early on to anticipate expenses. Even if the company is facilitating your move, it is still expensive in many different ways to move and set up home again. Some expenses I didn’t anticipate exactly were school uniforms, health checks, and PCR tests for example. It also takes a while to get paid from the new job, which eats into the savings.

5) Organise your home before the movers come. I've spent quite a few hours to sort all the toys, art, put all the books together, and put things like clothes, cuddly toys and blankets in vacuum bags.

Okay, I said 5 but actually there is another one: ENJOY the process too! Take a break when it becomes too much to handle, take care of yourself, carve some minutes out of your day to rest. Everything will be okay in the end!

Anything I missed? What is your toptip?

Bye bye Kansai!

Arriving in Kyoto August 2018.

New Year’s wishes before leaving Kyoto, January 2022.