Flying Five ~ Traveling to Bali

When we started to tell people that we were going to take three kids on a round the world trip.... the first reaction we got was "You're crazy!" The second reaction was "How will you handle all of those flights with three kids in tow?"

If I am being completely honest, the flight to Bali made me more nervous than almost everything else. I'm not sure if I know a single parent who would be excited to be trapped in a giant metal tube hurdling though the air with a sleep deprived two year old for a couple of days. It's a mother loving nightmare. Fortunately for us, it went remarkably well. 

The first leg from Edmonton to Vancouver was a total breeze. It's a short flight and the kids just hung out. The hardest part was checking in all of our gear.

Checking out the cockpit YEG -> YVR

Hugh had big plans to order food.

Upon landing, we made our way to the hotel that we had booked. Our flight to Taipei did not leave until 2am and we wanted the kids to have a bit of a rest before take off. A quick meal up the street at Moxie's and some ear plugs, and we were set.

Back at the airport to check into our flight we had some pretty tired but well behaved children to contend with. Our little munchkins were a little bit over it and I knew we needed to get them on the plane and settled in to sleep. The China Airlines flight was beautiful. So clean with lots of leg room and the flight attendants were pretty fantastic. 

I'm not going to lie... we gave the kids Gravol. Unfortunately I don't think it did too much to knock them out. They each slept for about 3 hours or so but they did have a lot of really great quiet time. Even Hugh made it through with very few tears and Dave managed to get him to sleep in the Ergo carrier.

One of the best things we could have done was purchase inflatable footrests. They fill the gap between the seats and create a little bed. The kids were able to stretch out and comfortably lay down in their seats while still wearing a seatbelt. We ordered THIS one from Amazon and I am so happy we did. Major traveling parent hack!

Henry was pumped that there was a fried rice option for breakfast.

Our second traveling parent hack was using our credit card to get free entries into the first class lounge in Taipei. It gave us access to unlimited food and drinks, a quiet and comfortable space for the kids to settle and the best part... showers!!! Do you know how good it feels to shower and change into clean clothing after traveling for 26 hours!? We felt so much better and were refreshed for the final 5 hour leg to Bali.

In a lot of ways, that last flight was the best and the worst. The service was shit and the food was pretty gross... but the kids and I slept the entire  flight. It was a dream. That flight felt like it went by in the blink of an eye and when we began to prep for landing it was almost impossible to wake up both boys. Photo evidence below...

Hugh was NOT interested in waking up at all,

After what seemed like a million years waiting at baggage claim, we made it out of there with all of our bags in tact (international travel bonus!) and connected with our prearranged driver for one very wild ride to Ubud. The 37km drive took over an hour and a half. It was our first introduction to traffic on this side of the world. 

Backseat Chronicles

More details on the villa and so much more to come. I am also hoping to have the youtube channel up and running asap. Our network has been giving me a little bit of grief when it comes to uploading. Wish us luck!

Steph