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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Has anyone taken their DC to India?

13 replies

Allora · 15/09/2010 21:01

We were thinking of going in January. The DC are 9,7 and 12 months!

Is that madness or could it be a fun adventure?

Where should we go?

TIA

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kneedeepinthedirtylaundry · 15/09/2010 21:54

I took my ds when he was 10 months and again when he turned 3. Hard work but good fun.

In terms of where should you go, what do you want? January would be good in the south ? hot weather, but not too hot.

fishingfilly · 15/09/2010 22:02

TB jab is a must have it months before as it takes 4-6 weeks for it to come out in a scab. My ds is very sore and raw at the moment - he had it done 4 months ago

Allora · 16/09/2010 09:42

Thanks for TB tip - had no idea
We would want some sun but not necessarily for the whole month
I think we just want to mix it up a bit and give the older two an amazing experience. We thought we might see if we could get them into a hill station school for a couple of weeks maybe (since they will be missing school here and we'll have to get permission for them to do so)

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Mumptious · 16/09/2010 21:09

Check with your GP but there is a new hepatitis jab for kids that seems to give them lifetime cover.

QS · 16/09/2010 21:33

We spent 3 months in India when our oldest was 18 months. It was an adventure for sure. We travelled around the south, particularly in Kerala, which was lovely. We spent some time in Bangalore, Pulinkudy (tiny village), Cochin, and went up to Munnar and the hillstations, checking out both the tea and spice plantations.

In addition to TB and the usual travel vaccines, you need malaria profylactics. Our son lost his apetite, as this was a side effect of the antimalarial drugs, and hardly ate for three months. He also had a viral fever at some point, which was pretty scary. His health was the reason we only stayed 4 months, rather than 6 months as we had planned. He was so young, it only took 4 months of no apetite, for him to develop severe iron deficient aenemia. This was not diagnosed until he was nearly 3.

I think I have seen the inside of 5/6 different hospitals during our stay, and I was really impressed with the medical care we received. I had food poisoning 3 times, despite being very careful. I mostly stuck to a vegetarian diet, and I got ill on each occasion I ventured beyond veg to try the chicken. A shame, as I love indian food. Keralan vegetable Pakora is the best!

In Munnar, our son was so ill, he was barely conscious. The entire village turned up (it seemed to me) to gawp at this pale sick extremely blonde little child, and prod him, and giggle at me, sitting with him lifeless in my arms on the bench outside the hospital, waiting for test results. Some women tried striking up conversations with me, asking if I was sri lankan. It was quite an experience. It was new years eve, and almost like a miracle, after having been out of it for more than 24 hours, he woke up as the fireworks started, looked at the orange at the bedside table, whispering "food". So we took him outside to look at the fireworks, and the next day he was already better.

Make sure you have adequate travel insurance. Not that it really matters, day to day you still have to pay in hospitals and for medicine, but if something out of the ordinary happens, it is good to have the security of proper cover.

One of the most memorable experiences was a backwater cruise from Cochin to .... boy I cant remember. 24 hours, just us, our boatsman and the chef.

One tip: buy moscito repellent locally, there are some fab brands out there, and bring your own insect net, and always bring with you longsleeved light shirts and trousers for wearing after dark. The mozzies are very intrusive.

Allora · 16/09/2010 22:57

Thank you for your very detailed post - I would venture that the boat trip was around the backwaters of Alleppey?

We did that a couple of years ago on our own (DH and I) Totally gorgeous.
It is very important to remember that outside Kerala the hygiene isn't great...food for thought for sure...

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QS · 17/09/2010 07:53

Yes, thats right! We had a car, so were driving around a fair bit. Arrived into Bangalore, stayed a bit in a rented flat, flew to Trivandrum, and drove down south, spent some time in Pulinkudy at the Bethsaida Hermitage (can totally recommend it, have a google! Run by a local Catholic priest, to finance the local orphanage and womens centre, where women can learn a skill, and maths to enable her to sell produce, etc, and save up for a dowry....) When we were there it was fairly new, it looks a lot more sophisticated now, judging by the website! It was a real community project, where nearly the entire village was involved.

The most difficult thing I found with such a young child was to find food he liked. He loved coconut pancakes, and pineapple pancakes, but the rest? We ended up in KFC for chicken and rice (the only place I miraculously could stomach the chicken) on a fair few occasions. Grin

Allora · 17/09/2010 15:34

Thanks again. I have food poisoning from a curry I ate last night. It is making me have second thoughts I must confess!

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MisSalLaneous · 19/09/2010 21:44

We spent 2 weeks in Rajasthan in Feb with our 22 month old. First week in Jaipur, hired a car and driver for some parts of remainder of trip, some internal flights.

We only stayed in really high end hotels, never ate buffet (I never do when travelling, it's food poisoning galore in my opinion), and we were all fine. We have some wonderful memories, but I have to add that it was exhausting and hard work at times.

I always recommend a trip to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases Travel Clinic in London before going anywhere where jabs might be needed. They are excellent, the jabs cost no more than they do at your gp, and they are way more clued up about what is really required specifically to the area you are visiting vs "country advice". (No disrespect to gp's, but this is obviously their area of expertise.)

pipsqueak · 19/09/2010 21:52

were going to kerala for 2 weeks in ocotberover the hal term - dd1 is 15 and dd2 is8 so think they will get a lot out of it .we are all v excited!

megonthemoon · 19/09/2010 21:54

DH and I have been discussing this only today! DS is 2.5 and DC2 is a week overdue (grr!) We actually think that we will do Sri Lanka with them first. We loved it there almost as much as India. It doesn't quite grab you in the same way, but it is a wonderful place to travel around. We found travelling around much easier than India - shorter distances between the interesting places, still loads of variety, wonderful food, gorgeous beaches etc. It all felt a bit less extreme than India IYSWIM so perhaps a better place to break our DCs into the subcontinent.

So maybe take a look at Sri Lanka as an alternative. But good luck if you go to India!

We also decided that we don't want to do a travelling holiday with them until they are out of nappies so we don't have to deal with that on top of everything else we'll be carting around - so I guess we're looking at going with a nearly 3yo an a 5.5yo at the earliest.

QS · 20/09/2010 17:00

oh nappies!

Allora, are you using cloth nappies or dispoasables?

Even in Bangalore it was really tricky to find disposable nappies. We ended up not using nappies.
We did it the local way. Plenty of shorts in my handbag, and tissues.

Our son would just wee were it suited him. (straight down the through the leg of his shorts.)

I do remember a joyful occasion in a restaurant where the waiter asked if I minded take the turd my son had just deposited on the floor. They said it happened all the time.

On some occasions I would be able to find "nappy pads" which were like a large sanitary towel, but rectangular. I would put it inside underpants.

We found it was so hot and humid, our son got a horrid nappy rash, and our neighbours laughed at us for using nappies. They did not even know where to buy disposable nappies! I found them at the chemist, in packs of 5. Local variety, no such thing as pampers. The same issue with wipes, locally produced, thin wipes, awfully perfumed.

He was toilet trained by the end of our stay though. We had a potty at home, and he would just walk around in his t shirt, and I would catch wee/poo in a potty after meal times, naptimes, in the morning, etc.

MisSalLaneous · 20/09/2010 17:35

Ah yes, nappies... If you do buy some and you have anything other than a really skinny toddler, buy at least one size bigger. Granted, ds is a little fatty, but the local nappies was tiny and could barely fasten around his waist. I could only find them at the chemist too, as QS said. The first time I needed some, I tried on my own in the shopping centre, then went to the flashy tourist mall, and still no luck. Getting desperate, I asked the hotel front desk whether they could help me. They were extremely helpful and asked how many I needed, so I said 1 pack in his weight. Half an hour later I had a knock on my door - with 5 nappies. Shock

I'd actually recommend taking reusables with even if you don't normally use it - would be useful in an emergency.

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