We really loved Hong Kong. I’m so glad we started and ended there. It made us realize how much we had experienced and how much more confident we were with our travelling skills. Hong Kong was really the only first-world country that we visited out of the nine countries. It is so organized and the buildings, underground train system and downtown are really fascinating!
Where is Waldo? Or should I say Geoff?
Here’s a few misc. pictures from the Philippines.
Wow! Starting to think that maybe Asia wasn’t so bad. I would have to say the transition to being back is a bit overwhelming. For one, we should have planned more of a buffer. Geoff and I were scheduled to work basically the minute we got off of the plane (and I was sneaking in some work while still away). Fall registrations for activities are overdue plus the kids are trying to fit back into life. I guess as the mom, I am not only worrying about myself but seem to be taking on everyone’s worries at all hours of the day and night.
The one great thing about being on this trip is that we all did everything together. No running one kid here, one there. No worrying about who your kids are hanging out with, if they have good friends, enough friends, close by friends, etc. We were each other’s friends (or enemies) day and night. It sure simplifies the mind.
Also, no worries about what activities everyone would be doing and what commitment that will entail for the whole family. We would decide what everyone wanted to do for the day and we would all head out together.
I know I wasn’t alive during the 1950s but it sure seems like it would be an ideal time to live. If the kids wanted to play a sport, you sent them out the front door, locked the door and told them not to come in till supper. If they wanted to arrange a play date, you would do the same as just stated above. No running thirty minutes across the city to bring them there, drive thirty minutes home to pick up another kid and run them in a different direction only to run out and collect all the kids at the end of the day.
If you lived in the 50s you wouldn’t have the electronic war. If they were bored, you would send them out to pick peas in the garden or tell them to get a book and lay in front of the fan. No trying to take away their iPod, threaten to throw a baseball thru the TV screen or have to hear how they are the ONLY kid who doesn’t have unlimited access to screens.
Asia reminded me of how life could have possibly been in the ‘Good Old Days’ of North America. They don’t have all the options we do. They don’t have the electronics, the extracurricular activities, the running around and the clutter. Everywhere you went you saw kids playing outside and getting by with simple things. One girl was teaching Rylie how to cup her hands and pound them to the ground to see how far she could get a blade of grass to fly. A lady commented that the kids could do this for hours in the day. Older kids aren’t complaining of boredom either or needing a sport to keep them active. They are out working in the rice fields or laying bricks in order to help with the family’s income.
Although we sometime’s may think that these 3rd world countries are behind the times, I wonder if they have a lot more going for them then we think.
I’m guessing that some of you are wondering how you finance and afford a 4-month trip with a family of six. My short answer is that I have a very smart and fugal husband AND we have an extremely gracious employer (Rockpointe Church) who has generously given us a 3-month sabbatical (on top of our vacation weeks for the year). My long answer is as follows….
We have had this trip in mind for several years. We wanted to do a trip with our kids before they start heading off to college. Many, many times we have told our kids, “No. We are not buying that. We are not going to full price movies. We are not getting new school clothes this year because we are saving for our world trip.” I’m sure they will each tell you that they have heard that speech more times than they have cared to hear. But even though we did save up for the trip, this trip is much more inexpensive than most would think.
I had typed out a details list of what everything had cost but instead of bore you, I will just give you the summary. The biggest expensive of this trip was just getting over to Asia. Once there, you can actually live cheaper there doing numerous excursions, eating out and staying in hotels than sitting in your house twiddling your thumbs in your North American home for 4 months.
A few months before leaving on our trip, Geoff went online and looked at several different Asian destinations and booked the cheapest flight he could find (which ended up being Hong Kong). We were able to fly for $1,100 each for a round trip ticket to Asia. Then we started mapping out where we would like to go. We formed a loose itinerary and started booking flights with an airline named Air Asia. We ended up booking 16 more flights totaling $600. That would be the bulk of our travel expenses. Of course, we had to hire drivers, taxis, take buses or boat rides but those where again dirt-cheap in majority of the places we visited. But the grand-total of our travels was probably around $2000 each (not much more than taking an all-inclusive trip to Mexico or flying down to Hawaii).
Then there was lodging. In Asia you can find very cheap accommodations. Of course, there are times when it is less than ideal but for the most part, the accommodations were satisfactory and actually amazing for the price that we paid. We also did some house sitting (which was the best option all around). We would pay what it would cost to cover electricity plus try to leave some extra cash for the hassle of having us there. While we were staying at people’s houses abroad, we had people using our vehicles, cell phones and house back in Canada.
Food was the next major expense but in the countries that we visited we could usually eat all meals combined for less that $40 a day (and that is eating out at restaurants and vendors). When we were house sitting it would cost about $40 -$60 for the week.
Then there were the excursions. Again, entertainment is cheap. Maybe because they don’t have to provide liability insurance and you are taking your life into your own hands most of the time, but compared to here, it basically is pennies in comparison.
So all in all, after 4 months of travel we came without hardly a dent in the bank account. So, if you have always wanted to do a trip with the family and have convinced yourself that you just can’t swing it financially, think again. It might just cost you more to stay home :).
Here’s a post I forgot to post :)….
I am sitting on the plane right now flying from Vancouver to Calgary. It is bright and sunny and very few clouds in the sky. I have forgotten how amazing the Rocky Mountains are. They are absolutely breath taking! With all that we have seen and all of the terrain that we have flown over and the entire underwater world we have explored, there is no doubt in my mind the Rockies have got to be at the top of the list. For all our friends who have never been here, it’s time to come. Our house is open and we’ll be your tour guides! Summer or winter!
Tonight at supper we all shared one highlight from our trip. Some of us shared the same highlight and some of us varied slightly with our responses.
Geoff…renting motorbike for the day and travelling around the island
Janel… motorbiking around the island
Maddie…meeting different international workers and hanging out with them
Zach…exploring Hong Kong
I headed out yesterday to do some grocery shopping at Superstore. It is so odd to walk through a store and not have to do math before purchasing something. The price listed is the price it is. We are so used to dividing everything so we know the US or Canadian price. In the Philippines we divided by 40, in Malaysia we divided by 3, in Vietnam we divided by 20,000, Cambodia we divided by 4,000 and in Indonesia we divided by 10,000. On and on it goes. So, we may have not been the best about doing math timetables with the younger kids everyday but we for sure worked on division every time we purchased something.
I would have to say my appreciation for Superstore has increased. I have always had a hate/love relationship with that store, but my love has grown. Yesterday I walked down the Asian aisle and saw things in that aisle that I never noticed before. Our kids loved a drink called “Milo” over in Asia. Before leaving to come home I went and bought a huge bag of the powdered mix and lugged it all the way back. Well, yesterday walking through the Asian aisle, low and behold, what did I see?! MILO!!!!
It was hard for me not to stop every Asian walking the aisles wanting to ask where they are from and that just maybe I met a long lost friend or family member of theirs. Just like when we are down in the States and we tell someone we live in Canada and they ask if we know their Aunt Mary in Halifax (I can make fun of Americas since I am one) :).
I am writing this at 3am. Jet-lag has won. Geoff and I were up the first night after 2 hours of sleep and I think our bodies thought it was a nice long afternoon nap. The good thing was that it gave Geoff and I 4 hours to talk and debrief a bit, something that has been a rarity on this trip. Although I wouldn’t change this trip for pretty much anything (even though I did a fair bit of whining and worrying along the way) I know that it has had a toll on us with the fact that every waking and breathing hour we were together. The kids definitely got to see the good, bad and ugly side of being together non-stop in close quarters.
It was exciting to meet family at the airport and head out for supper and start to tell the stories. And walking in our garage door and smelling the familiar smell of home, made us so grateful to be here. But I would have to admit that the feeling hit just like when you return from vacation and you think, back to reality. Only this time it wasn’t the 2 week vacation blues I was feeling but the, “we have planned and saved and talked about this trip for years…. now what?” feeling. We don’t want to come back and jump right into life as if we never left. We don’t want to take this awesome opportunity and not be change. And I really don’t think it’s possible to come back and NOT be changed.
Yesterday, once the kids all got up, we dumped all of our belongings out and started to sort. Immediately my mind flashed to the first house we visited in the Philippines. Erica (our Compassion kid) had shown Halle her bedroom (which the whole family shared) and there was NOTHING in her room, not even a pillow and a mattress. Now I look at the kids’ rooms overflowing with stuff and get a knot in my stomach. I’m necessarily feeling bad because of what Erica lacks, but almost a depressed feeling for what we are missing out on. We have all this stuff (which we have to sort and organize and then re-organize) we have all these nice, safe walls around us, but are we truly living life more that her? I don’t think so.
I remember the day before we did our sponsor visits; I called the caseworker and asked what we could bring the kids. I thought we would maybe bring some stickers, notebooks, candy, a few small toys. The caseworker though suggested that the family would probably want food and maybe a new shirt for the child. “How boring,” was my first thought until we arrived at the home and then I understood. What good are stickers when your stomach is hungry? What good is a new toy when you don’t even have the proper shoes to wear?
So what do they have that we don’t? I think one thing is contentment. If they have food for the day, that’s enough. If they have someone sponsoring their child so that the child can go to school, they are excited for what that could mean for their family in the future. I’m sure they may also play the comparison game like we do but they definitely aren’t having their kids feeling cheated because they are the only kid without a smart phone. And their kids aren’t asking when they can go shopping and get the latest name-brand clothes to kick off the new school year. What if we could be satisfied with just our daily needs? How would our life look different?
I thought that I would wrap this up on Aug 15th as we so excitedly returned home. But I think I’ll continue on for a tad as we process a few things. The trip is over but impact definitely is not.
Keeping you posted….
I think in celebration of making it through 4 months with one backpack each, we are going to have big a marshmallow roast and burn our clothes. I think that Halle and I wore the same shirt at least 99 times. My Lululemon shorts are even starting to sag and bag. Didn’t think that was possible. I might have to go in and ask if that lifetime warranty still exists (even if you were them for 120 days in a row).
Through the countless hotels, rides, flights and excursions I would have to say we did pretty good with keeping track of our belongings. We really hadn’t lost or left anything behind until the end of our third month. Zach left behind a pair of flip-flops in Bandung and Rylie left her headphones. We had one casualty when we were zip lining this past weekend. The guys who work the zip line hook your shoes onto the back of the zip line. When Zach got to the other end of the line he only had one flip-flop hooked on.
The only other loss was our pictures and our journals (I’d rather have lost more flip-flops) but we’re still hoping to recover pictures. If not, I still have thousands of others to sort through.
12feetacrossasia 