The reality of solo traveling with infants and toddlers

Solo travelling, that too as a parent with a kid, is quite unheard of in our community till today. 

Sayma Rahman is among the few who have embarked on this unconventional way of travel, taking her 15-month-old son along to Brunei last October.

Sayma’s initiation into the solo travel lifestyle began almost a decade ago when she realised that she wanted to do something different to celebrate her 25th birthday. Ever since that first trip, Sayma has been following this tradition every October without fail. However, last year’s trip was never supposed to happen. For one, there was the issue of delayed visa approvals, a constant worry. 

Sayma said, “I had two options. One was to take the easy route and go to Malaysia, for which I still had a 6-month multiple-entry visa. Or, I could take a gamble and choose somewhere else. I knew I wanted to mark a new land. So, I literally pulled out the World Map to see which countries I had not visited before in SEA. And, that’s how I landed upon Brunei.”

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From here on, everything happened quickly. Sayma submitted the visa application to the embassy and received it within a week. A planner at heart, Sayma also took two weeks to design a meticulous itinerary for her 10-day trip. While this helped her in charting their activities for the journey, Sayma confessed that there were also moments of worry that initially manifested in overplanning. 

What grounded her in those moments was this thought: “I'm the mother, I know my baby the best. Nobody knows my baby better than I do”. Ibrahim, her baby son, was already accustomed to travel since birth and knew the trip would not be as intimidating as it seemed. 

Sayma put a lot of consideration into her itinerary to make it as interesting as possible for both of them while keeping it balanced. The emphasis was on carving out time and space for both child-oriented and mature activities. For instance, when Sayma wanted to go shopping, she intentionally chose a mall with an indoor/outdoor park to keep her son entertained as well. 

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Ibrahim particularly enjoyed the outdoor activities in Brunei, such as the time they took a 1-hour-long speedboat ride to a forest to spot the rare Proboscis monkey.

At the same time, the itinerary was always adaptable and never rigid. When any concerns involving her son arose, there was no hesitation in changing the day’s plans. In Kuala Lumpur, for example, Sayma decided to cancel the last location on a one-day tour to prioritise her son’s sleeping routine. 

To other aspiring travellers like her, she advises planning a flexible itinerary that is entertaining for both baby and themselves without being overly adult-centric. 

Sayma also cannot recommend booking a tour guide enough for those travelling with babies. The extra money on a travel guide is worth the cost, mainly due to the fixed transportation service they provide. 

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Changing Ubers constantly in a new city you cannot navigate, that too with a baby, is hardly anyone’s idea of a good time. This is where having a fixed car comes in handy. You can get around easily and also not have to worry about carrying your baby’s bag at all times. 

Another benefit that Sayma found to be unique is that the tour guides in Asia are often more than happy to help out travelling mothers. Whenever she felt lethargic from carrying Ibrahim for too long, her guide would instantly offer to take him for a while. 

All things considered; this first mother-son trip was the most “life-changing” experience for Sayma so far. Throughout it, she saw echoes of her travels with her mother across twenty countries, and it marked a passing of generational legacy. This was an especially emotional moment for Sayma, especially due to her mother’s passing a few years ago.

Photo: Courtesy