Notes from abroad

We are coming towards the end of our summer trip now having been out of Vietnam since the 10th of June. We've around England and Italy a little bit and also visited Chi's brother and family once again (story relayed here and here).

How is it doing all this travelling with a toddler you might ask. Well - the answer is - hard. BUT, as with all life's situations, you get on with it. Lou had already travelled from England to Vietnam, Malaysia, Greece and Thailand  experiencing aeroplanes and boats and buses and cars many times, so adding another cross continental trip to England, Italy, Switzerland and France shouldn't be a problem. We thought. Those baby memories of earlier trips were probably of blurred lights and weird faces as she was moved from one crib to another. Now, with a fully functioning pair of legs and a non stop mind, the excitement of the whole trip was like aphrodisiac to a rutting rhino. She did remarkably well to last until nearly 1.00am in Bangkok airport before falling asleep for 7 hours on the overnight flight to Bangkok.

Lou looking dishevelled trying to keep her eyes open about 10 mins before boarding the 1.10am to London.

Comfortably asleep in cattle class torture chair:




And once awake again, reading a magazine, one of many activities attempted to keep her still for 5 minutes. Others included the ipad, a puzzle book, eating, singing songs, playing with the seatbelt, jumping up and down, looking out of the window, walking up and down the aisles, and on her part - constant wriggling and an epic tantrum ending with lying on the floor under the seats and refusing to move.

 Once we landed the new country bought its first new experience, car seats. We do have one in Vietnam but only for long journeys and have not used it in a long time. A very tired, worn out toddler being asked to sit in a car seat when she is used to being cradled in mummy's lap in the back of a taxi = hard. She screamed for about an hour on the way home before passing out. It turned out to be a great lesson though, since that experience she has been as good as gold in that car seat.

So a few days in the UK having enormous fun with grandparents and uncle and auntie. Then it was off to Italy, more travelling but thankfully from our local airport 15 mins drive away. The outbound journey was relatively smooth.



Louisa attended to everything she had always wanted to do on her first visit to Italy, from visiting Florence, Pisa and Siena, sampling the local cuisine and puking all over herself and her seat in the hire car. Here she is at Ponte Vecchio: 

Surveying the beach at Marina di Pisa.




Having fun in Siena's Piazza Del Campo.



So all in all a great bit of travel for her, and us of course. We returned to England for a couple of days again and then set off once more for a weekend in Gex. Chi had a chance to catch up with her brother and his family once more and we all had a great time once again thanks to the wonderful hospitality of brother Dai (Jean-Baptiste's) family. 
Chi and brother, July 2011: 



Since then we've been in the UK exploring the delights of Dorset, as much as the weather might allow...and we have gotten the real value of such a long trip home that I was looking for - experiences for my daughter that can't be had in Vietnam and some real time with my family. Her English has had an amazing boost too. 
Activities have included trips the seaside with friends



Pony cart rides




Feeding all the swans at Abbotsbury 




Exploring the rock pools at Osmington Mills



I get quite a few emails from various people in similar situations to myself - getting married in Vietnam, living in Vietnam or thinking of making the move, and also people thinking of moving back the other way. All I can say is - the UK is great for kids, so much to do especially the outdoors, but it is of course expensive. I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can spend time back in England in the summers if I wish. Personally, as a father,  I'd like my daughter growing up with memories of England, similar memories to what I have, by doing these activities and more. It's important to me that she grows up with an equal knowledge of where I (and her) come from and that we instill a real sense of belonging and cultural identity in her, so that if she desires in the future, she can come to the UK and feel at home. For the time being she is growing up in Vietnam, but with a healthy dose of (my) home thrown in....