Track Us Down! An Around-the-World Backpacking Expedition with Kids

By TrackUsDown

A young couple in their 30’s from N. America researches, plans, and successfully completes a one-year, Around The World backpacking trip with their two young kids, aged 7 and 10. From a three-month, 11,000-mile motor home trip around Europe, to the wonders of Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, India, S.E. Asia and Australia with a backpack, this is must-read for anyone dreaming of doing the same thing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TrackUsDown
• Release date: Mar 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465919885

TrackUsDown

Doug worked for 27 years in Law Enforcement and his wife, Monique, was in Education for close to 29 years. They are still happily married, and their boys are all grown up. They retired early at age 50, and moved abroad to launch their "second half of life" of travel and adventure, starting in Madeira, Portugal. Stay tuned!

Book preview

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Track Us Down!

An Around the World Backpacking Expedition with Kids

By TrackUsDown!

Copyright 2012 DB TrackUsDown

Smashwords Edition

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Start: 1999 – 2006

Chapter 3: England & France

Chapter 4: Europe – Part I

Chapter 5: Europe – Part II

Chapter 6: Europe – Part III

Chapter 7: Around Europe In 80 Days

Chapter 8: Egypt On a Budget

Chapter 9: Kenya with Kids

Chapter 10: South Africa – ‘Rounding the Cape’

Chapter 11: India – A Rollercoaster of the Senses

Chapter 12: Siam!

Chapter 13: The Kingdoms of Cambodia

Chapter 14: Vietnam: A Two-week Tour of Duty

Chapter 15: A Little Country called Laos

Chapter 16: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Chapter 17: Sydney, Australia

Chapter 18: Australia – Part I

Chapter 19: Australia – Part II

Chapter 20: Full Stop

Chapter 21: Starter Guide to World Travel with Kids

Author

Chapter 1: Introduction

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And look down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other as just as fair,

And have perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no steps had trodden black

Oh, I kept the first for another day

Yet knowing how way leads on the way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood and I...

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference."

- The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

MY WIFE AND I both love to travel. We believe that travel is, among other things, one of the most powerful educational tools available to anyone, especially children. It has the ability to enlighten one's way of thinking, as well as break down all kinds of barriers. It is endlessly interesting, and a lot of fun!

I was 21 years old the first time I ever boarded a commercial airplane and headed out into the world. A friend and I backpacked around Australia for 9 months. Like many others before me, I discovered a freedom in exploration, in meeting new people and especially in seeing the sights of the world. Those sights and that feeling stuck with me for good, and I wanted more. But life went on. Maybe it was my upbringing, maybe the society we live in here in North America, maybe both – but after that trip I, like most young adults my age, felt the pressure to get a job, a career, a future. I didn’t know that I was young, that I had lots of time for all that. Nobody told me. What I did know was this: the thought of waiting until I was perhaps 55 years old, if not older, and retired – and hopefully still healthy enough to experience the world again – scared the hell out of me. Many people travel early on in their adult lives, and they all say the same thing once they have kids: Well, I guess my traveling days are done for awhile. I wondered if it really had to be that way.

I met my future wife, Monique, when we were both 16 years old, and I can still say how extremely fortunate I was to meet such a special person early on in my life. We started dating in our early twenties, and married at 24 years old. Monique had travelled to Europe a couple times in her teens, but nothing grand-scale. A year after we were married we became parents, and 3 years later once again. So, all that time we were busy with kids and careers, and happy to be just that. But deep inside I still wanted to travel and explore more – a lot more – and not have to wait until retirement to do so. What I really wanted was to teach our kids from an early age that there was a bigger world out there – go explore it! Luckily for me, Monique felt the same way.

When we departed on our journey in August of 2006, I had been a police officer for 12 years and, at times, believed I had seen the best and the worst of what society had to offer. Monique had been a teacher for 14 years and was well-respected in her profession. She knew instinctively how to make learning fun, and how to make kids want to learn. We were both 35 years old. Seven years before that, in 1999, we began planning a family world trip. Our two boys, Dakota and Tristan, were 10 and 7 years old respectively when we took that first, giant step out into the world. Although it was no small task to plan a one-year around-the-world trip with young kids, it turned out to be a lot easier than we thought, or that sceptics would have us believe. Regardless, we strongly believed that the gift of a year traveling would have the single most profound impact on our boys’ childhoods, and that it would be a year they would never forget. We also believed it would help mould the men they turned out to be.

Everyone’s kids are a little different at 7 and 10 years old, depending on how they were raised to that point, as well as other human-nature related factors, especially genetics. It was interesting to see how their personalities differed or compared as they grew. Because they were such a big part of this trip, if not the inspiration for it, it’s worth getting an insight into each of their personalities prior to departure.

Dakota – aged 10

Dakota, or DK as his friends and family often call him, turned ten a week before we departed. Whether it was hockey, soccer, swimming, diving, baseball - or just about any other sport he tried - Dakota’s natural athletic abilities were immediately apparent. His personality type was such that he was hard on himself and became easily frustrated when his initial athletic capabilities didn’t measure up to his own expectations. DK was extremely outgoing and was usually surrounded by a group of friends; he thrived on socializing. He was relatively calm and cool, and had a warm, caring, generous personality. DK still loved to snuggle, and absolutely adored his little brother.

Early on Dakota showed a keen interest in travel and adventure. He enjoyed camping, exploring, and history, and could always be found front and center, listening attentively whenever a guide was explaining something. Although Dakota was excited about the trip, he was also old enough to understand and had alluded to the fact that he would be away from his friends and his sports for almost a year. He had already started a verbal list of things he would like when we returned: a dog, a dirt bike, Xbox 360...

Tristan – aged 7

Seemingly from birth, Tristan marched to the beat of his own drum. He idolized his older brother and was the perfect complement to Dakota's personality, yet he was entirely his own person. No one could make DK laugh so easily as Tristan. Dakota affectionately called him Bister. We called him TK. Tristan turned seven a few weeks before we left. Even at an early age, he was endlessly interested in the world, and had the energy to maintain that interest. He collected things like bugs - dead or alive - bottle caps, rocks, garage-sale finds, etc. Tristan could talk....and talk...and talk, often at a speed that no one could understand but him. He was a comedian and an entertainer and used a vocabulary beyond his years. TK was well-liked and had a few close friends, but was just as content on his own, doing his own thing. He also liked traveling, camping, and exploring. He was known for going for bike rides by himself around the neighborhood and stopping along the way to check out other peoples' garbage. Like his brother, Tristan could also be found front and center listening to a guide, but he'd be the one pointing things out or bombarding the guide with questions. TK played the same sports as Dakota and although not quite as athletic, he tried harder.

Tristan was excited about the trip but was too young to understand the depth or scope of it. His list of what he wanted to load his little backpack with would fill this page.

Join us on our trek around the globe and see what kind of world is really waiting out there for you and your family to explore. I aim to dispel the myths that so many pessimists will throw your way. The following pages will show how easy – and exciting – it can be for anyone else to accomplish this dream trip. I hope that it will inspire more people to travel with their kids and give them the life experience our boys received!

Douglas, Monique, Dakota & Tristan  Track Us Down!

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Chapter 2: Start: 1999 - 2006

June 2006

One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy.

-Sir Richard Burton

He who would travel happily must travel light.

-Antoine de St. Exupery

SEVEN YEARS. It seemed like more than enough time to plan a trip such as this. There wasn’t much to plan back then – it was only an idea, a seed that grew slowly at first. In 1999 our first child, Dakota, was just 3 years old; his younger brother, Tristan, was born that summer. Monique was starting maternity leave from teaching and we were adjusting to a reduced income – there was no top-up allowance in those days. We were going over Monique’s working agreement when we came across something called a Deferred-Salary-Leave-Plan, or DSLP. We learned that she could, for example, put one-sixth of her salary into a mutual fund each year for six years. She would then be permitted to take the seventh year off, with full pay, and still have her job to come back to. Somehow that conversation drifted into what it would be like to be 35 years old with 7 and 10 year old boys, and take one year off – but for one specific reason: why not travel? As it turned out, at the end of maternity leave it was easy to make the transition into the DSLP program because we were used to budgeting. Although the decision to sign up didn’t seem like a big deal at the time – 2006 was a long way away – there is no doubt that deep down inside Monique and I both knew we were signing up for something much bigger. We just didn’t quite know what yet.

The years slowly ticked away as we worked at our jobs and raised our family. In order to get the kids used to seeing different sights, we started taking them places at an early age. We did a lot of camping in a tent, to get them used to roughing it. We also did a lot of driving trips, to get them used to long hours sitting still, with often no more than their thoughts to keep them busy. Camping, driving, and sightseeing are quite normal for a lot of families, and provide great training for future adventures. As a bonus, we figured out that we all really did enjoy being together for hours on end. We had no idea what to expect when we would spend month after month together, 24/7. But all that wasn’t just training for the big trip – we really did enjoy long drives to far-off places. One Christmas we drove for 33 hours down to Florida, and then back. Sometimes it was a driving trip to the Rocky Mountains, other times to the Badlands of South Dakota. Sure, we took the boys to Disney World in Florida a couple times, because we didn’t believe that all travel should strictly be about history – sometimes it had to be just about the fun of it. Of course, being rather fond of history, I did incorporate a drive from Orlando down to the Florida Keys one year, so we could catch a boat from Key West out to the Dry Tortugas and see Fort Jefferson - which prior to that, like so many other places, I didn’t even know existed. So much history on such a little atoll, lost somewhere out in the Gulf of Mexico. We found it fascinating, and I still think of Key West as inspiring and exotic. That experience merely strengthened our resolve to pull off the big trip – I mean, what else was out there in the big, wide world that would amaze us? It would be never ending, so we found out.

As the years dragged by, we hardly told anyone our plan. Those we did tell were somewhat dismissive – it was hard for them to be interested in something that we were planning five years in the future. We didn’t bring it up too often with the boys at first either. We didn’t want them going around telling everyone about a big adventure their parents were supposedly taking them on, and then if it didn’t happen, we’d look like fools. But Monique and I couldn’t always contain our enthusiasm, and as we took those practice runs away from home, the phrase "Our World Trip" was spoken more and more, and slowly became common within our household. Although they didn’t really appreciate what it was all about or what it truly meant, our boys were fast developing into amazing little explorers and travelers, and that was encouraging.

One of the first big dilemmas we had to overcome in order to make this adventure happen could just as easily have been our downfall: my job. In the years leading up to it all, we avoided talking about that potential deal-breaker, and had pretty much taken for granted that getting away from our jobs wouldn’t be an issue. But while Monique’s year off was guaranteed, mine was far from it. In fact, to my knowledge, there had not been an instance in the modern history of my police service where an officer had requested a year leave-of-absence for the purposes of travel. I had heard of extended leave being granted in the past, but only for a month or two. If it had been granted for longer periods, it was for personal reasons usually attributed to some sort of illness or serious family matter. I made some discreet inquiries and spoke with our police association representatives, but the answer was always the same – don’t get your hopes up. With the police service being for the most part a paramilitary organization, there were rules and protocol to follow for this type of request. Essentially, I had to write a proposal for a request of this magnitude – a so-called Special Report – addressed to the Chief of Police. I knew I only had one shot at convincing the Executive, so I had to make it sound feasible, clear, and concise. What I really had to do was demonstrate in writing how letting me go would benefit not only the Service, but my ultimate employer – the City. In my mind that was easy. I knew the many benefits of travel, not the least of which was the many cultural experiences to be had. But the Service looked at things from a different perspective. Their first concern was money: how much, if anything, would my leaving cost them – either in cash or staffing? One senior officer initially requested that I somehow put together a costing, to demonstrate how much it would cost the Service if they had to call out another officer to fill my spot over the course of my absence, should my shift run short from time to time. That was totally subjective and ridiculous, in my opinion, given that so many other factors would have to be taken into account for such an undertaking, such as the illnesses, annual leave, and temporary assignments, etc., of other members. In reality I was just another number – one out of over 1300 other officers. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and that request was never pursued. The other concern that came to mind was precedent. If they did it for me, would that open them up for grievances if they refused someone else’s similar request? As I was later told from someone privy to the discussions, those were in fact the two most debated issues, with senior officers coming out both for and against granting my request. Indeed, I never heard back for three months after submitting my carefully worded Special, but as I was told by one of those senior decision-makers, he felt so strongly about what I was attempting to do that there was no way he wasn’t going to make it happen.

In October of 2005 my employer officially approved my leave-of-absence, and basically left it up to me to iron out the details with our Human Resources department. That was an added bonus, because once I had that stamped document of approval from the Executive, I had the ability to tinker with the actual leave dates and other fine points, and mesh it all to our itinerary. For example, of my 11-month leave of absence, only 8 of those months were without pay. In the Special Report, I had asked for and received permission to save up all my holidays from the current and previous year, as well as unused Statutory Holiday days. In additions, rather that accumulating my overtime in pay, I had been taking it in time, and received permission to build that time-bank beyond what was normally allowed. It added up to three months of paid leave. So, the first month I was off and while we were in expensive ‘ol England, I still had a cheque coming in. Perhaps even more importantly, during the last two months of our trip and while transitioning back into home-life, we again had those funds available.

At the time I finally – and thankfully – received my approval to go, the trip had still seemed so far away. But that approval changed everything in an instant. Monique and I had a hard time sleeping that Fall night as we each silently came to terms in our own minds with the fact that there was technically no longer anything standing in our way. We were going! It was now only a matter of months – not years – when we would actually be on this trip we’d been so casually talking about. Suddenly we felt overwhelmed and pressed for time – we only had 10 months left until departure. Where exactly were we going? What about the house? What about the boys’ schooling? Could we even afford this huge trip? The to do list seemed to grow at an alarming rate. We dug in and got busy, and time flew by. As our departure date rapidly approached, we soon realized that when planning for a trip of this magnitude, time