Frequently Asked Questions about our Trip
January 5, 2010 at 12:17 am Leave a comment
Dr. Dave answers all your questions!
Leaving in late August 08 and returning in July 09, we travelled west around the globe, logging over 30,000 miles and visiting 15 countries. This latest post aims to answer the most commonly asked questions around our year of travel and serve as a sort of summary now that we have been back in Canada for several months. Dave has done the writing with some editing by Heather (our usual and most efficient arrangement!).
How long did you plan this? We turned the dream into a decision to go for it about two years in advance, thinking that we might actually try for August, 2007 but a few key factors weren’t coming together so we readjusted our timeline and waited for God’s cue. For the last eight months, Dave drove Heather around the bend with project manager’s charts and weekly progress meetings but eventually on August 27, 2008 we climbed on Air New Zealand and headed for Auckland.
How did you travel? There was a rumour that we were sailing around the world, probably because people know we are sailors but no, we went in jets mostly, with Star Alliance network of airlines, on round the world (RTW) tickets. RTW tickets allow for changes to schedule without penalty as long as you travel within a year and don’t change your destinations. It took some convincing with a few airlines when we made schedule changes (they did not know the RTW rules) but this was largely a great way to go and catch this, we took over 25 flights and did not lose one piece of luggage – that must be a world record or something, at least for Air Canada (although we only had 4 flights with them).
The question of luggage! After a rigorous search for the perfect travel luggage and a fully boiled down packing list we managed to squeeze all our gear into one 40 L wheeled backpack-type bag and one 20 L daypack each. This required jettisoning some of Heather’s shoes, a DVD player of Ben’s and several pairs of Ben’s extra underwear (it seemed like the right thing to do since he never changed it anyways). Even Heather agreed that it was quite adequate; besides, who needs to change clothes…just change cities!
So out of the hundreds of countries on the globe, how do you decide where to go? We started by mounting a world map and each put pins on our top choices and eventually we arrived at the list of countries on the following map, with Vanuatu in the South Pacific being our first stop. Unfortunately, one of Dave’s top 3 was Brazil which we just couldn’t fit in (this time!).
Click here for Route map
Why Vanuatu? Well, Ben did a project in Grade 6 French on Vanuatu and when we found out we could get there on the RTW tickets, that was it. Vanuatu, a group of 83 islands formerly known as the New Hebrides became independent in 1980 from British and French rule. We have friends with relatives there who arranged for us to stay on a remote island called Ambrym and live with the locals for a few days (see the August 2008 archive for details). Vanuatu has beautiful remote beaches, volcanoes, snorkelling and the happiest people on earth according to a recent poll.
How did we afford this and how much does it cost for a family of three? This is a common question we got along the way and also now. Well, a family of three staying in 3 star accommodations (or less) can travel by various means for between $5000-6500 per month. In some countries you can live cheaper than in Canada and it was strange to calculate that we at times were spending less than living at home. We rented our house to a terrific university professor from New York State which covered all our home expenses. This was all made possible in the first place, however, by Heather’s amazing Aunt Pat, a lover of travel and a licensed pilot, who left an unexpected inheritance to Heather when she died a few years ago. We used it as seed money and then started saving Heather’s salary and any windfall cash that came along. God provided and the rest is history.
How did we get the time off? Dave has worked for his engineering company for over 15 years, is a part owner, and was managing 2 work sectors. His boss is a spectacular guy and recognized to keep Dave they would have to make it work. Two of Dave’s workmates stepped up (of course it took two to replace him!) and after loads of planning with staff and clients, Dave unplugged himself. Thanks to God for such a great employer. Heather was self-employed and on contract with a BC Government program and was able to step away from that (or retire as she likes to say). I remind her, however, that retirement usually comes with a pension.
Pool school
What about Ben’s school? It is hard for truant officers to find you when you stay on the move! Seriously, though, again we were blessed. Ben’s middle school (grades 6-8) was very flexible in allowing us to design our own ‘Travel School” program which consisted of self guided math (after he fired us) and writing assignments on the different countries and adventures we had. This was no cake walk and Ben struggled with discipline (us too) but it wasn’t until returning to grade 8 and a heavy homework load that he admitted it was a darn good deal. Without the competitive factor, motivation was an issue but in retrospect, we should have lightened-up a little on him as there is so much he learned about the world that you can never learn from a book or in class. What to wear in a Hindu temple or how to bargain for a Tuk Tuk in Thailand just don’t seem to be offered in your typical school curriculum.
What was your favourite country or place? This often gets asked and, of course, differs for each member of the family. Ben’s favourites are New Zealand, Scotland, and Greece. This is primarily related to 1. Shooting things, 2. Temperature and 3. Western culture. Heather’s favourites are Greece and India. Greece for her 50th birthday was her dream and after all she is a Goddess. India is a strange attraction that neither Ben or Dave can explain (you don’t vacation there, that’s for sure). Dave’s favourites are Australia and Greece, with southern Thailand a close 3rd. The boy likes beaches, surf, sand and roast lamb (not necessarily in that order). So the common denominator has to be Greece; it could be the fact that we stayed a month in one place and really immersed ourselves in the culture, or it could be the old world European small town simplicity, but I think we will be back.
What is our least favourite country or place? We spent time in some very marginalized places during our travels but Ben and I have to agree that India is not a place to holiday; you visit intently and that is just that. If you ask Ben to describe India he would say adjectives such as dirty, smelly, stinky, noisy, dusty…yet somehow India does grow on you and has a mystique that is hard to describe. Travelling India is simply an intense experience. Heather would not agree with our assessment because Heather always manages to see through the muck of life and observe good in things. The women in their bright saris, the small children watching out for one and another, and the sights and smells are different for Heather. There is one thing, however, that will make Heather see reality and that is if she has to try and cook a meal in a disgusting kitchen… more about that later.
Scariest place or experience? There were several situations where we knew we were a little exposed being the only western whites around but, thankfully, we were kept safe and never threatened, mistreated or robbed. We had a system in place where we kept just enough cash for the day in the daily wallet so that if we were robbed we would give it over and simply let the thief run off. We stored backup credit cards away from the wallet. Fortunately the system was never tested. Some of the scariest places were Chennai and parts of Agra, India. People would call out to you as you walked down the street as we were noticeably different from everyone else. Downtown Jakarta, Indonesia is also a place to be feared but we did not feel threatened at the time. As mentioned earlier, the scariest place for Heather was the kitchen available to us in Puduchittaram, southern India while living in volunteer quarters. The dirt floor, cracked counters, built-up grime, intermittent generator failures, and the rat scampering around made you glad to have a bottle of bleach at your disposal. We quickly realized why our fellow volunteer from Holland ate a diet of instant noodles.
Where did we volunteer? We had volunteer stints in two locations: in northern Thailand near Chaing Mai and with an organization called Bless in southern India. In Thailand, we worked with the Elephant Nature Park which is a sanctuary for abused and sick elephants. They have 30-40 elephants between 3 and 50 years old. Volunteers do a number of chores from preparing food and feeding them, bathing them in the river, cleaning their shelters, and repairing fences. All three of us learned a great deal about elephant behaviour and the plight of the elephant in northern Thailand which is quite grim. In 1900 there were more than 100,000 elephants in Thailand, and now there are fewer than 3000. The Elephant Nature Park works to find a better world for elephants in Thailand through education and tourism. Unfortunately, the right to use and abuse elephants is deeply embedded in Thai culture so things don’t look good in the near future. It will take political will to change the plight of the Thai elephant.
Hygiene lesson at St. Mary's High School
In southern India we worked with Bless who are doing sanitation projects for the villages and schools of the area. They began their work in relief of the 2004 Tsunami. Much of this work is complete and they now are focusing on installing composting toilets throughout the poorest communities in the area. Since over 800 million Indians live rurally and there is only one toilet for 1500 people, most people do their business in the woods and fields. When the winter monsoon rains come you can imagine what this does to transport pathogens and disease into water supplies. We worked with Bless in two different locations in Tamil Nadu state, one near Pondicherry and the other in Puduchittaram. Much of the work involves constructing the toilets next to schools. They have found the best way to teach the parents is through their children (often the case!). Dave went out to inspect and install toilets while Heather went into two schools to observe and make recommendations to their hygiene education team based on her environmental ed experience. There was not alot for Ben to do and it was hard on him. He had some outings with Dad but eventually we saw that the best thing for all of us was to give Bless a donation and move on. They are doing such great work and it seemed that money was what they needed more than physical assistance.
How has this experienced changed us? A year on the road has an effect on you that only those who have done it will understand. By far the biggest change is the chance at 50 to take to time to evaluate where you have been in your life to date, to branch out and see parts of the rest of the world, to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone and then ask yourself what to do with the rest of your life. Are we doing all we can to make a difference in the world or just living our nice North American lifestyle? Will we continue just as we left off or do something different? Your RRSPs may have tanked but you can’t take them with you, they won’t be your legacy, so what will? These are good questions to ask in midlife and we are still answering them.
So how the Murray family will make a difference in the world is firmly on our radar. Dave is getting more involved in our community through his family’s tradition of Rotary, while Heather has returned to her volunteer shift at a drop-in centre for street kids. God has a plan but has not totally revealed it yet; all we know is we have grown in many ways. Ben, of course, is growing up and very fast it seems at times. He has absorbed more than he lets on; it lurks below the surface and it is exciting to wait and see where it comes up. Friends comment that they have had some fascinating conversations with him!
Welcome home cake
What was it like getting back to normal life? Well, we leave the toughest question for last. In some ways, getting back into our old life in Victoria was easy and in others extremely difficult. The easy part was getting reacquainted with friends, family and neighbours. They have been so welcoming and we suspect they even missed us. Getting back into school mode was tough for Ben. Besides the social aspects of grade 8, there was the mountain of homework and developing a system for completing it. There are a couple of bright-light teachers at his school who helped out at critical times and in the end, his December report card made us all proud. He has thrown himself back into hockey (literally since he can now check legally) and drumming with or without a drum kit.
Dave went back to work gradually, starting one day a week and adding a day. This allowed a slow steady return to reality and avoided a nervous breakdown. His company has been patient and generous and he is fitting back in but with a slightly different role. The office that he built in Victoria continues to be managed by his work colleague and old friend, Rob, while Dave is heading the company’s Water Resources Engineering Sector based mainly in Vancouver. He takes 3-4 trips back and forth per month by float plane/skytrain with a commute time of one and a half hours (better than many in-city commutes!). This travelling is a snap relative to last year so life is good. While Dave is back, it is with a new focus that leaves room for community and volunteer efforts, something that consulting does not often allow for.
While we are back to “normal life”, we don’t feel it inside, and know that God blessed our journey as a family in ways we still don’t fully see. We encourage you to pursue your own travel fantasies and would be pleased to provide more “how to” information on a one to one basis.
Happy trails,
Dave, Heather, and Ben
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