The Eight Month

For the first time in my traveling life, I’ve never felt as nervous as I did traveling with a baby. I think it’s almost the same as when I used to travel solo (in a completely different way, of course!). But honestly, it was never something that naturally came to my mind when thinking about travel. Not that I didn’t like the idea of traveling with a baby, but to be frank, whenever I was on a plane with crying babies, I always felt for the parents. It’s out of their control, yet at the same time, they must feel bad for breaking the silence in the cabin, worrying that it might annoy other passengers. I couldn’t imagine the mix of emotions they must go through.

Many times, we wanted to travel a bit farther than just Bandung (a place we’ve visited countless times since K was born—not only to visit his grandparents, but also as a weekend getaway for us). But we always held back because we didn’t feel ready for all the unexpected things we might encounter during the trip. One of our biggest fears was that K might get bored or uncomfortable on the plane and start crying loudly.

But eventually, after seeing how much K enjoys going outside and traveling by car, and after gathering tips and tricks for traveling with a baby, we finally gathered the courage and decided to go somewhere not too far, but different enough from Jakarta and Bandung. Penang was the first place that came to mind. We had never been there before, we love small, heritage cities, and we enjoy exploring local cuisine (especially Ican!) whenever we visit a new place. Penang seemed to tick all the boxes.

And it turns out, everything went smoothly, from beginning to end. Even the flight delay became a blessing in disguise, giving us more time to rest instead of rushing. Nap times and diaper changes turned into moments for us to slow down and recharge at the hotel. And having a flexible itinerary meant no disappointment when things didn’t go as planned (bad weather, long queues, etc.).

I won’t sugarcoat it, traveling with a baby also means: pundak pegel, deg-degan during the flight worrying the baby might cry, more hassle, and way more stuff to carry. But it’s all worth it. I wouldn’t even think twice about saying YES to our next trip—the three of us together.

Thank you, Baba and Kasa, for fulfilling Mamo’s ke-BM-an, and for being my best travel partners! 🥹🤍