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A Family "Round-the-World" Trip
Was it itchy-feet, a desire to "see the world", a wish for
our children to get a bigger picture of this place we inhabit and realising
they had reached the perfect age... well, something made us decide to
go on a "round-the world" adventure, "us" being
Joe (13), Rachel (10), Simon and myself, Jeanette. After a brief flirtation
with backpacking for a year, we settled on a more practical, comfortable
and school/work-friendly 9 weeks. Thanks to understanding schools that
could see the educational benefits, and an equally understanding employer,
the next step was to get planning.
A list of all the places we were really keen to go to was drawn up
... and then whittled down to something manageable. We were keen to
make sure that we would not only see the sights, but would also get
to explore off the beaten track and learn about the people and culture
of each place - with this in mind, we decided we would book several
small family adventure tours, combined with some DIY time. Although
I usually do all my own holiday research and booking of flights etc.
(love the internet!), it soon became clear to me that expert help was
needed - which is where Travel Nation came in, guiding me through the
complicated world of RTW air tickets, as well as booking the tours I
wanted. So, this is how our trip went...
First stop - Cambodia.
We were only going to be here for 4 days, and this was mainly to visit
Angkor Wat (high on my list of "must-see-places"). So I'd
decided on an Intrepid Independent trip "Angkor Explorer"
which gave us our own local guide and transport for 3 days. This is
a great way to explore the area - with our charming and knowledgeable
guide, Moni, we were introduced to the wonderful and truly inspirational
temples and ruins scattered through the jungle, as well as a boat trip
to visit the floating villages on Lake Tonle Sap. There was plenty to
interest the kids (even with lots of history and temples!) - and there
was time in the afternoons and evenings to recover from the heat and
humidity and explore Siem Reap. Here we could sit sipping local Ankor
beer, watching a very different world go by - dusty roads full of tuk-tuks
and motorbikes carrying whole families, market stalls selling exotic
food, and, sadly, evidence of a troubled past with landmine victims
and small children trying to earn just a few coins any way they could.
As we sat and talked about all we'd seen with Joe and Rachel, and listened
to our guide speak with real hope about his country's future, I knew
we were doing the right thing in trying to see and understand a little
more about the world.
Second destination - Bangkok.
Just for 2 days, and with the Grand Palace as the main draw. This didn't
disappoint (what a fabulous glitzy set of buildings!), but we all found
the city hard to really get to grips with - perhaps a few more days
would have allowed us to acclimatise to the traffic and hectic atmosphere.
Kids really appreciated the swimming pool at our hotel, though - never
fails to revive hot, tired children.
Onto our next country - China.
Here we were booked onto Intrepid's "China Family Adventure"
- a 14 day small family group tour that would take us from Beijing to
Hong Kong via Xi'an (home to the Terracotta Warriors) and Yangshuo (with
its stunning scenery). "Small" was correct, as there were
just 6 of us in the group - my family plus an Australian mother and
daughter (aged 10, an instant friend for Rachel!) - along with our very
likeable young Chinese leader, Huang. This really was an experience
that we will all remember: not only did we see many of the highlights
of this fascinating country, but we also had plenty of chances to meet
local people and find out about life in modern China. Perhaps travelling
with children makes more opportunities for interaction - certainly many
local people wanted to talk to us (and were fascinated by my daughter
with her long blond hair).
Joe: These 2 weeks were the best bit of the whole trip - I found
the people and the history fascinating. Highlights included walking
along an empty stretch of the Great Wall, visiting Imperial tombs in
Xi'an, cooking lessons in Yangshuo, and sampling the food in Beijing
(in fact, the food is what I enjoyed most - Peking Duck, lots of spicy
dishes, and even their version of potnoodles are great!). Hope to go
back there one day in the future.
Of course not everything went as planned - the tail-end of a cyclone
meant we had a couple of days of torrential rain in Yangshuo, and also
led to an epic 31 hour journey on the sleeper train to Hong Kong (due
to tracks being washed away!). But, in many ways, the unexpected things
are what make a trip memorable and more of an adventure - after all
it's not every day you buy noodles through the toilet window of a train!
Australia.
From Hong Kong, we flew down to Cairns. The next two weeks I'd planned
as a relaxing do-as-we-like time, beginning with a week in a self-catering
apartment on Trinity Beach. And very pleasant it was too, and I have
to admit we spent rather a lot of time just "chilling-out"
on the beach rather than exploring...but then the sea was warm, the
sun was shining, and Aussie wine and beer needed sampling! Of course
we took the compulsory trip out to the Barrier Reef, which to be honest
was a bit disappointing and "mass-produced".
Next, we stayed in a lovely "tree-house" lodge hidden away
in a protected patch of ancient rainforest, where the most amazing wildlife
would come and visit us every day - from parrots and possums, to a rather
scary cassowary, an elusive tree kangaroo, and a tree-frog in the bath!
I've never known a place before where the kids didn't even turn the
TV on once.
Finally, we flew on down to Sydney for a few days that went by very
quickly what with shopping for a few warmer clothes for the second half
of our trip (and Sydney was chilly!), catching up with a cousin I'd
not seen for years (doesn't everyone have a relative in Sydney?), and
spending many hours gazing at the gloriously alluring Opera House.
Next destination - Peru.
We took the long, long flight from Sydney, via Auckland, to Santiago,
Chile...an overnight stop (with a quick rather uninspiring look at the
city)...and then a flight up to Lima in Peru. Of all the long time-zone
hopping journeys we took, crossing the Pacific was the only one that
caused us serious jetlag - how I hate waking up at 2am and feeling like
the day should start! At least we had a couple of days to get over it
before embarking on our next tour.
This time we were booked onto Explore's "Andes and Incas"
tour - another small family group tour that promised to take in the
highlights of Peru. However this time "small" meant 21 people
(too many in my opinion) - consisting of families from the UK and USA,
with kids from 9 to 15 years of age. It was a good trip, though - very
well organised by our efficient and ever-cheerful guide, Louise, and
it did what it promised. We explored colonial Arequipa surrounded by
snow-capped volcanoes, visited the Uros reed islands on Lake Titicaca,
marvelled at Machu Picchu, and thoroughly enjoyed the laid-back town
of Cusco - managing to avoid any side effects from the high altitude,
apart from my inability to speak after climbing more than 2 or 3 flights
of stairs. And then there was trying the local cuisine (word of warning
- if you decide to try Guinea Pig, it will still look like a Guinea
Pig on your plate!), lots of shopping in the colourful markets, whitewater
rafting on the Urubamba River, and the wonderful train journey across
the Altiplano from Puno to Cusco.
Unforgettable! There were some long days travelling by coach or train
- for me, this is how you get a feel for such a vast country, but don't
expect kids to appreciate it - and perhaps a bit too much history and
culture for their liking too (although this was balanced by more "fun"
activities like rafting, soaking in the hot baths at Aguas Calientes,
and visiting the creepy catacombs in Lima!).
Our final destination - Ecuador.
Here the plan was to spend a week out in the Galapagos Islands, followed
by a few days in the countryside of Northern Ecuador. For our time out
on the islands I'd booked us onto Intrepid/GAP Adventures "Galapagos
Family Adventure" trip, which would give us 2 nights in Quito as
well as 7 nights on a boat - this trip seemed to me to be good value
in a notoriously expensive market, and with a maximum of 16 passengers,
just the right size. So...the Galapagos...
The boat was great - comfortable cabins, good food, a crew who got
friendlier as we got to know them (a bit of Spanish comes in very handy),
and an expert naturalist guide. Each day we would visit different islands
and also get the chance to snorkel, with plenty of time in between to
read and snooze while looking out for whales and dolphins.
Rachel: The Galapagos must be one of the best places I've been in
my life! I didn't want to leave. The young sea-lions liked to play with
us when we were snorkelling - and we swam with a sea turtle and saw
sharks, stingrays and lots of beautifully coloured fish. We also saw
giant tortoises, marine and land iguanas, penguins, flamingos, and lots
of other great birds - the best was the Blue-footed Booby, they were
really good at dive-bombing into the sea. Our guide, Roberto, was really
funny and was always telling jokes.
Definitely a perfect trip for families who enjoy watching wildlife -
and we are fortunate in that none of us get seasick (unlike a few of
the other passengers!).
We then had just a few days before finally returning home, which we
spent staying at an old Hacienda in the beautiful countryside a couple
of hours north of Quito. We shopped in the famous market in Otavalo,
went horse-riding, generally relaxed in very pleasant surroundings -
and experienced some of the world's worst driving on the Pan-American
Highway!
Home.
After a long flight via Madrid, we were finally home and reunited with
family, friends and the cat - and a day later with our luggage! I suppose
our bags had to get waylaid somewhere - ironic (and lucky) that it was
on our very last flight!
So, was it worth it? Was it a trip of a lifetime?....Of course it was
- just wish we could all set off again right now!
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