Travelling with an infant certainly presents some challenges. Bright lights and activity during flights energize and cause certain young children to wiggle between legs and escape into the aisle during take-off. Eating at a restaurant is an exercise in mess and sound minimization. Naps need to be very carefully scheduled in order to occur in the hotel room rather than the walking tour. Baby-proofing a new room needs an eagle eye and quick reflexes.

However, I have also been surprised by how Hayden has also managed to open up the world to us. I had expected to receive a globally negative attitude from others towards our noisy messy rascally son. Instead, Hayden seems to make friends everywhere he goes. This was very apparent during our trip though Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In most restaurants, the waiter or waitress would usually scoop him out of our arms, say “bye bye” (if they spoke any English at all), and then whisk him out for a tour of the kitchen, to return a few minutes later proudly waving a banana or a pineapple swizzle stick. At museums the attendants would insist on baby-sitting, pulling out hand-embroidered bracelets to tie around his wrist. As we walked through bazaars, Hayden would be showered with blankets, tokens against the evil eye, or strange looking biscuits.

The people who so generously gave these gifts to our son refused to take any cash in return. Luckily we had packed extra items of make-up, LED torches, and Belgian playing cards so we could return the favour. I was really touched and humbled by the kindness of the residents of Central Asia. Bringing Hayden along on our travels helped me to feel like we were all part of one global community, doing our best to bring delight to the next generation.

A few months ago, I was Skyping with JT and he mentioned that his organised group tour of the Stans had been cancelled after he had booked his flights. He asked us if we would be interested in joining him for a private trip from Ashgabat to Tashkent. I quickly checked online that we would be able to tick off a few more UNESCO World Heritage sites for Adrian, and then agreed that it would be an interesting way to spend ten days.

I drew some possible routes in Google Maps, contacted some local travel agents recommended in the Lonely Planet, and we decided upon an itinerary. Tourist visas for these countries were a little tricky – they required letters of invitation, letters from our employer, a detailed itinerary, photos, and a few trips to the Embassy. We finally had all our visas in hand, and I triple checked the dates, as I did not want to flee another country due to a visa expiring earlier than intended.

We arrived in Tashkent at 4:00 am after one pleasant 3 hour flight (baby in baby seat) and one horrible 3 hour flight (baby on lap) with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul. When we landed I had three main concerns – wrong visas, lost luggage, and fake tour company. Amazingly, we managed to get through the whole process (including the requirement for US$22 in exact change and extra passport photos) with relative fuss, found all our luggage, and, best of all, discovered our driver waiting for us at the exit. I was so relieved that the money that we had transferred to Latvia was not part of an elaborate sham, and instead we had hotels and guides booked for the next week.

One of my favourite parts of a trip is that journey from the airport. The first glimpses of a new country are some the ways in which my preconceived notion of a place begin to be challenged.

Ashgabat was a particularly striking example of this. At 5:00 am the twelve lane highways were deserted. The cityscape was in darkness, the vista punctuated with gleaming ivory towers. The city was a study in black and white, with the only colour visible on the high-tech traffic lights constantly counting down to zero and the bus stops announcing the waiting time until the next arrival. There was no rubbish, no graffiti, no people. Every structure was a million-dollar construction draped in Italian marble. This capital city was unlike any that I had ever seen before. Strange and empty. It was a blend between the Washington DC monuments, Las Vegas, and Pyongyang.

We sleepily checked into the Grand Turkmen Hotel, eager to get some sleep before the harsh desert sun came to greet us in a few short hours.

Photo from samruthandhannah

Bugaboo Bee Stroller (checked at gate)

Diaper Dad Nappy Bag (cabin)
1 Avent sippy cup
3 260 mL Avent bottles
7 Pampers nappies
6 spoons
8 tubes formula
2 lightload towels
Antibacterial wipes
Baby shoes
Nail clippers
Nail scissors
Bandages
Sterile gauze
Pen
Sunscreen Stick
My little seat travel high chair
Travel tissues
1 Pampers wetwipes
4 serves baby food (fruit puree available in Ashgabat, nothing available elsewhere)
First aid for babies and children book

20 litre Osprey Meridian Backpack (cabin)
1 Pampers wetwipes
6 nappies
Camera
Camera charger
Laptop
Laptop cable
Sunglasses
iPhone chargers
iPhone cords
Kindle charger
Pen
Sunscreen stick
Travel tissues
Power adapter
4 serves baby food

Lydia’s Handbag (cabin)
Passports
US Dollars
Kindle
Pen
Nurofen baby suppositories
Paracetamol baby suppositories
2x Passport photos for registration in Turkmenistan
Sunscreen stick
Lens cloth
Lipgloss
Lipstick
Sunglasses
Antibiotics
Social cards
Point-it visual dictionary
Shewee
Steripen UV water steriliser
Travel tissues
Ziplock bags:
Foundation
Water decontamination drops
Saline solution
Moisturiser
Conditioner (absent in hotels)
Toothpaste
Dish detergent
After sun lotion
After bite lotion
Toddler Milk Sunscreen

44 litre CabinMax backpack (cabin)
Hairbrush
Funskool preschool stacking drums
Gorilla Tape 1-inch handy roll
24 nappies
27 tubes forumula
3 packs wetwipes
Adrian hat
Adrian sandals
Adrian Shave Stick
Adrian shirt (x2)
Adrian socks (x3)
Adrian swimsuit
Adrian toothbrush
Antibacterial wipes
Mothercare cold water bottle sterilising kits (kettles absent in hotels)
Copies of LOIs
Copies of visas, passports
Deoderant
Flight e-tickets
Floss
Health insurance document
Hayden hat
Hayden swimsuit
Hayden toothbrush
Itinerary
Lydia dress
Lydia hat
Lydia scarf
Lydia spare glasses
Lydia swimsuit
Lydia toothbrush
Lydia top
Solid shampoo
Solid laundry soap
Solid shower soap
Travel tissues
Tweezers
Ziplock bags
Baby food
Water squirter
First aid kit:
Reydration salts
Immodium
Enterol
Motilium
Ibuprofen
Amoxicillin
Paracetamol
Nesivin
Tobrex
Fenistil
Levofloxacin
Amoxiclav
Buscopan
Cetirizine

40L Osprey Meridian Trolley (checked)
36 Pampers nappies (available everywhere)
27 tubes formula
4 packs wetwipes
Adrian shirt (x2)
Adrian shorts
Gift Chalk
Gift Makeup
Gift Notebooks
Gift Pencils
Gift Playing Cards
Gift Torches
Lydia pants
Lydia top
Sewing kit
Travel tissues
Conditioner, large
Moisturiser, large
Sunscreen, large
Tomy Hide ‘n’ Squeak Eggs
4 serves baby food