living one month in the north with a kid and a baby

Hi! I would like to have your suggestions where to stay for a month in the North with a 3 year old girl and a 10month baby? We have never been in the north and we are a bit worried about travelling there with a baby. We are considering either the area around Dharmasala or in Dehradun. We will practice yoga and do some distance studies. What is your opinion of the health care system in these areas? risks of diseases? how about travelling around the area, would you consider it safe? I appreciate any other practical advices like dipers food and so on.
thanks!

It's in March by the way

Dehradun-closer to delhi, comparatively better health care system, better shopping malls and amenities when compared to dharmshala. But dharmshala is in hills, Dehradun is almost in plains. It is not an apple to apple comparison.

Here are the charts for the two places.

Dehradun and Dharamsala

Dehradun is the Capital of the state of Utranchaal, and home to some national government research entities, with which comes a set of infrastructure amenities.

Thanks for your replies! Yes Dharmasala is the prefered "apple" but we consider Dehradun since it seems more developed. In the same time Dharmasala seems much calmer and a good area for the kids? We have actually been adviced to instead go to Sri Lanka because its more developed and safer for kids. But its something in the north of India that attracts us.

considering you have kids with you, I would suggest keeping it safe and go with Dehradun. Dharamshala along with less amenities will also be more colder then Dehradun.

Hi there!
I'm from Dehradun. You may ask me whatever you would like to.

Thanks
Akhilesh

What exactly do you mean by "safer for kids"?
Yours kids will be under your supervision I guess. Or they will go out independently- may be for a walk, cycling/ mountain biking, nearby book store, painting workshop or a simple grocery?
Or you mean the activities where chances of interactions with locals/ strangers are more?

Hi many thanks! rajatchakraborty With "safe" I mean access to health care/safe transport, less risks of diseases. They will ofcourse be under our supervision, no solo rides on bike for the baby yet . I'm used to live in remote places out in the middle of nowhere and therefore not worried. The mother is worried about the 10 month baby, in case if something happends.
LOWKEY_ ok thanks for advice. Is it because of better health care you think so?

Dharamsala has much presence of Tibetan medicine, with a looong tradition of mother and child care know-how. Much preferable to allopathy which in India mainly means giving of antibiotics.

Take care of the two main fields of protection: safe water (best bring your own purification devices, like a Katadyn pump or similar and a Steripen) and mosquitoes (bring good nets).

Be moderate with use of sun screen creams, depending on skin type, in case the kids are blonde.

For food, plan for mild types of food at least for breakfast and lunch (bread, cereals, fruits with yogurt etc).

In case of Dharamsala establish a relationship with a Tibetan doctor immediately after arrival. Possibly the same for Dheradun in relation to Ayurveda, although Tibetan meds are preferable.

Just a precaution (from my personal experience), this year the H1N1 cases seem to be on rise in Northern states. No need to panic. Normal precautions shall keep everyone fine/ healthy.
My new year's gift was this H1N1, thankfully it was detected on the second day of fever.

Ahem. You are asking parents of small children to take treatment from all kinds of alternative medicine specialists. (BTW understand that Antibiotics are not exactly poison, they do make you recover quick, overuse and abuse notwithstanding.)

@ Peter Alke, just out of curiosity which country are you all from?

I am not saying "treatment". They are there for one month, and worried for that situation which most likely will not occur, if precautions are followed.

I am just saying that there Indian docs tend to take recourse in antibiotics in any case of doubt. Definitely overuse of antibiotics in India, and not only there.

Antibiotics are definitely poisons for biotics which the body needs for healthy functioning, that's what the name says. In cases of serious infections great, but not as a precautionary measure.

Anyway, my advice to contact a Tibetan doc is just to alleviate the worries and to get perhaps some advice about additional precautions, nothing else. I am sure there are also good allopaths in Dharamsala.

Hospitals you definitely want to avoid except in emergency situation.

The premise that Dehradoon is somehow better or safer for you or children is flawed. It definitely has better health care but that’s about as far as it goes.

I am no expert but the most worrisome ailments in India are mosquito driven. Dharamsala is colder and less likely to support mosquitoes. It also caters better to the tourists. Nothing wrong with either but Dehradoon is more of a head scratcher of the two for your situation.

I'd also say that Dharamsala is better for western type foods, since many Westerners stay there for longer terms.

One thing I have observed is that kids can easily get nasty skin infections from climbing trees etc. Maybe not a preferred activity of a 3 year old girl, but nevertheless good to know in advance, in case.