three months in - thoughts from the dad

Our trip has stopped feeling like an extended holiday. So how are we doing?

Getting Around

Nine countries (two as layovers) with 17 destinations so far. We've stayed with friends, in guesthouses, pensions, hotels and a cave. Crammed our gear into countless planes, trains, subways, cars and buses, and had some epic tuk-tuk rides. Next month we'll start the ferry and speedboat legs of the trip.

We've had three of our four birthdays, visits from grandparents and footloose friends, and seen elephants, monkeys, lizards, bats and massive bugs. My reactions to the latter have not been the finest moments.

Food & Drink
We've been without a kitchen for about six weeks now, and this is unlikely to change for a while. Most meals are in the guesthouse or restaurants, and I've eaten curry every day for the last 4-5 weeks (but have been solo on that venture). After refusing to eat another roti in Sri Lanka, the kids are currently subsisting on lots of rice, noodles and fruit smoothies... which they sometimes actually finish.

Beer was hard to find and often warm in Sri Lanka, good wine really does cost just a few dollars in Spain, Turkish coffee is truly awful, exotic fruit grows on trees in exotic places, the best tea does come from Ceylon, and Nescafe is everywhere. And there are few superlatives to describe Thai food actually prepared and eaten in Thailand.

The Load
We've ditched a suitcase, mailed a package home, left books in every country, and are down to one pack a piece and a few shared carry-ons. Best thing we packed? Antihistamine (Buddy had a bad allergic reaction and we were able to act fast) and flash lights (the power goes out a lot). Worst? Nothing too outrageous, but it's hot and the hoodies rarely come out of the bottom of the packs.

But even with a reduced load, our guesthouse room always looks like a suitcase exploded an hour after we arrive. One of these nights I am going to sneak out and toss a few of the 24 pairs of flip-flops, sandals and shoes we seem to have.

Fun & Games
Surprise, surprise, but the kids aren't begging to see a new temple every day. And truth be told, neither are we. We like cities where you can walk around and people watch, small towns with good hiking, and access to a beach or pool to help avoid hot grumpiness.

Uno tournaments, drawing, homeschooling, playgrounds, music, paperbacks and the Kindle help pass the downtime, which there is a lot of. But this is interspersed with sporadic awesome activities like waterslides, caves, fireworks, elephant bathing and storm-watching. And the occasional temple.

14 weeks in, here's a few observations:

There is no off the beaten track. Although we haven't intentionally sought out-of-the-way destinations, we have travelled to some small towns in the off-season, and there have always been other western tourists. Not necessarily a bad thing, just interesting.

Plastic reigns. While we have local populist political movements at home to ban plastic bags, everything here is wrapped in plastic. And this is compounded by a huge tourist trade that can't drink the local water, and relies on bottled. With no recycling, this is a problem.

Don't try this at home. Whether it's crowd control, alcohol consumption, food preparation or even sidewalks with gaping holes to open sewers, the running tally of activities and sights that wouldn't fly in Canada is way up there.

I'm all for public safety, but some of the festivals and celebrations we have seen (from Europe to Southeast Asia) have been truly spectacular… and would never happen at home.

Peaks and valleys. Not everything we do is worth writing home about, and for every elephant camp there's a whole lot of mundane day-to-day stuff. I didn't think it possible, but eating out most meals gets tiring… and why would they put hot mustard on a plain cheese sandwich for the kids? I spend an inordinate amount of time researching and planning routes and places to sleep - the internet is useful and everything, but 20 years ago we would have just gone, right? And we still get in the odd family squabble, only now in more interesting locations.

Although my wife may hope for more, I didn't have any grand expectations that this trip would "change" me as a person or us as a family. It hasn't so far, and that's okay. But I am happily spending more time with my kids than ever before in their lives, and learning a lot.

Seven- and nine-year-olds don't have profound revelations about culture or wealth distribution. But they do notice little things, ask questions, take pleasure in small, simple activities, and are generally open to differences in people and customs. And they are seeing lots of differences.

We are still in the early stages of the trip, but it feels like we've found our way, and have a pretty good sense of how we want to spend the remaining time.

Less windy bus trips, more ocean, longer-term stays in one place, and the same level of curry.