Toby & Maya in East Bali

Travelling with a young kid scares a lot of people. Just the thought of a trans-oceanic flight, long layover and dealing with baggage, Customs, taxis and hotels, is enough to put a lot of people off. Certainly there are moments of frustration, but as with everything, we create our own reality. If you travel thinking its going to be a stuggle, it will be. If you tell yourself things will work out, they always will. Travelling / living in Asia, is a lesson for westerners. After living in Hong Kong, I learned how to line-up, as in Hong Kong, there are lines for everything, all day long. Travelling in India taught me the importance of letting go of control. One time I especially remember, on the platform of a train station. My train was 30 minutes late, the sun was beating down, temperature about 35C. Pacing up and down, I asked the station master when the train was arriving. “Don’t worry Sir, train is coming.” he said. Another 30 minutes, and the train had not arrived. I asked him the same question, and got the same answer, finally realizing what he meant, that at some future time, a train would arrive, and there was nothing anyone could do to affect that. All the while, Indian families spread lunghi’s (sheet) on the platform, in shady spots, and waited patiently, playing with their kids and smiling.

Toby and Maya are currently enjoying the tranquility of East Bali. He made the decision to bring her out to Bali, which is great. That decision also means an entirely different type of trip for him, having to look after Maya 24/7 and being limited by the transportation situation. They were staying at the Sarinande hotel in Seminyak, off of Jl. Dhyana Pura. It’s a 5 minute walk to the beach, but even that can be tiring. The other night Toby SMS’d me and asked if I could bring him food, which of course set Ika off (“ÿou care about your friend’s more than me” etc.). We worked it out and actually went to Santa Fe for a pizza.

At the Sarinande, Toby met a couple (Canadian / Indonesian) who took him and Maya to the Bali Zoo (on the way to Ubud). This kind of scenario is perfect, teaming up with other couples, when you are a solo parent. In my opinion, when you travel with kids in Bali, you have to adopt the ‘Indian train station’ mentality, which is not getting stressed when things do go to plan, and not trying to force things through, ‘bule‘ style. Toby is doing a pretty good job, but like Toby, I realize the biggest room in the world, is the ‘room for improvement’.