Letter of the week
You asked for our stories of exotic travels with children (“Infants’ India: A Survival Guide”, last week). Well, while my friends were taking their precious newborns to baby sensory classes, to watch lights and listen to music, we took ours to the most colourful, chaotic country on the planet. When I took Olivia for her eight-week vaccinations, days before we departed for India with her and her two sisters (aged 2 and 1), I could tell the nurse thought I was a lunatic — and potentially suffering from some sort of postpartum breakdown. I explained that I had visited India before, when I was seven months pregnant with my eldest. This, I fear, only confirmed her suspicions.
Flying across six time zones with three under-threes is not, it has to be said, for the faint-hearted. When we arrived in Kerala, our driver decided not to turn up. After 24 hours of travelling, my husband and I had a sense-of-humour failure. We were the only non-Indian people at the airport, and for a moment felt vulnerable. A nice young chap from London, who was born in Kerala, came to our rescue. If you are reading this — thank you!
We eventually arrived at our hotel in Cochin and met my parents, who had been in east India. We drank, ate and swam, and our journey was a distant memory.
Getting around was certainly a challenge. One tuk-tuk driver took one look at our double buggy, then pulled out some choice-looking bailing twine and tied the buggy to the roof while we clambered in. No rear-facing car seats here. The children sat on our laps as we negotiated our way through a sea of saris, chickens and goats.
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When you walk into a shop in India, everyone wants to talk to the children — and will literally take the baby out of your hands for a cuddle. This is the culture, and it is truly wonderful. Olivia touched her first elephant at nine weeks old, and had her first proper bath in India. Our eldest two just absorbed the chaos like sponges. Children are so adaptable, and we should give them credit. I am certain the tastes, smells and sounds of such adventures stay with them for a lifetime.
Ellena Benton, Essex
We have four children, aged 15, 12, 3 and 1. I have travelled alone with the two little ones to Mexico and Brazil, and last Christmas we took all four to Thailand. In Khanom, we took boat trips to see pink dolphins (which the three-year-old loved); a local ferry to Ko Samui for a shopping trip and some watersports (a hit with the teenager); Thai boxing classes (a hit with the husband); morning yoga on the beach (a hit with mummy); and a beautiful trek through a mosquito-ridden jungle to a waterfall, where we found a rope swing to fly, Tarzan-style, into a crystal pool (a hit with all of the family). This month, we’re going on a road trip around Morocco.
Anna Munro, London
Last year we were invited to a wedding in South Africa and decided to take the plunge with our two- and three-year-old boys in tow. We tasted wine at the Spier estate (the boys had grape juice) and, on safari at River Bend, the vehicles were fitted with toddler seats and loaded with snacks. The monkey that stole the cake out of our two-year-old’s hand in Addo National Park, and the three-year-old sitting atop Table Mountain, will be lifelong memories.
Helena Martin, Surrey
How gracious of Sarfraz Manzoor to take his family to India. All that “recovering” in five-star hotels as a reward to his children for enduring all the privations! Why did he take them if the trip was going to be a test of endurance? He behaved like a returning colonial, although with less grace.
Shyla Jehangir, Mysore, India
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One of our most memorable holidays was a trip to South Africa, where we spotted sharks off Cape Town, penguins on Boulders Beach and elephants and lion cubs on a safari. After the trip, I asked my seven-year-old which was his favourite animal he’d seen. “The squirrels in the park in Cape Town,” he replied.
Sharon Marriott, Worcestershire
On a trip to India, seeing a double amputee with bloodstained bandages reduced my eight-year-old daughter to tears. There and then, she said that she wanted to grow up to help people. She never forgot this experience, and over 16 years made several return visits to India to volunteer, then qualified as a doctor.
Frances P Jones, Anglesey
Last week’s Do the Maths graphic showed how well travelled children today are. By the age of 16, I had been on zero foreign holidays, apart from Scotland, Wales and Lancashire, and tried zero foreign dishes, unless you include tinned spaghetti hoops.
Roger Graville, North Yorkshire
Kenneth Wheatley wrote in last week to say he now only flies first class, to avoid “tattooed drunks” and “screaming kids”. Sorry, Kenneth, old chap. I am tattooed, my granddaughter has lungs like a jet engine, and we only fly first class, too.
Kevin James, Oxfordshire
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Congratulations to Ellena Benton, who wins a pair of return flights with Monarch to any destination on its network. Monarch flies from five UK airports to more than 40 destinations, including Tenerife, Faro and Venice (monarch.co.uk).
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