2 adults + 2 children + 30,000 miles...

Life's too short...which is why we're jacking in the reliable, grown-up, responsible stuff to take our gorgeous 7 and 4 year old girls off on a year long family RTW trip. We big ones have done this before, heading off fresh from Uni in 1995 - it's all new for the littlies, but they are so openminded and accepting of the world, and most of all just want to be with us. Jobs, house, finances, route, meds, home-schooling etc are making it all so different this time around!!

We leave in September 2007 and our route and timing is roughly:

• London-India = 26th September/October
• Hong Kong-China-Vietnam-Cambodia = November/mid December
• Thailand-Laos-Malaysia-Singapore =  mid Dec/Jan/Feb/March/mid April '08
• Australia = mid April/May
• New Zealand = June++
• Cook Islands = early July
• USA(-Mexico-Belize-Guatemala) = July/August
• London = end August

However there is every chance we'll get stuck somewhere lovely half way around and the rest will be 'subject to change'!!

So to answer all the 'where/how/what/why we're doing this' questions we've set up this webpage to keep everyone up to date - Our travelblog is where we will be putting photos and diary entries, as it can cope much better with the pics. BTW you can subscribe to our blog so it will send you an email whenever we post anything, rather than checking every so often. (hopefully that won't be an irritating feature!)

The Where/How/What/Why Questions.

These are the common ones, along with our answers:

Where are you going and how did you decide?

Chris and I have wanted to go to India for a while, and we really haven't seen much of South-East Asia, so we thought that would be a good start. We went through Africa last time, and know that long term travel there would be a real challenge with the kids health-wise. Weather plays a big part in the planning, as the colder it gets, the more kit we have to carry! We're going to Western Oz to dive with the whale sharks and play with dolphins, and in NZ we have a lot of family and friends to catch up with, and some hot springs to sit in! If we get time some of Central America would be great, but we'll have to see how much time, money and inclination we've got by then - it may end up being a US road trip! We have bought RTW tickets as we have a definate return date (big family wedding) and a pretty good idea of where we want to go. Our ticket stops in India, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, The Cook Islands, US and home, and we'll fill in the gaps using budget airlines and overland travel.

Why are you going now?

Well, because now is the right time for us. The girls are finally out of nappies, buggies, cots and mashed food, but not yet into make-up, boys and important SATs. We're young(ish!) and healthy, and have finally caught up on enough sleep to contemplate it. Sadie should start school this year and we don't want to her to start only to take her out in a year or two. Both of them are now articulate, intelligent good company and we (selfishly) want to spend more time with them, not less! They're growing up fast and that we don't want them 'managed' through childhood. We take the view that we'd rather have some time off with them now, while they appreciate it, and we'll all spend their inheritance together!

How are the children with it?

They are really keen so far. They've have had a lot of imput re: things they'd like to see (top of the list = Sadie - Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, Fin - bubbling mud in NZ!) Both are excited about going, although sometimes I think Fin is most excited about no school for a year! They still have very little sense of how long a year is and so can't really imagine being away that long. Sadie is small and egocentric enough not to worry too much about leaving friends behind, Fin is cool with it and knows that it is OK to miss your friends and family, but at the same time enjoy doing new things. 

How much is it costing? You must have won big!

No we haven't won some obscure state lottery! We travel cheap. We're also travelling through some of the cheapest countries in the world, with little girls who often sleep, travel and eat for free/not much. We have done a few figures for daily budgets and we're aiming for an 'on the road' year total of about £20,000 plus a 'homesick/poorly slush fund' for posher hotels, or flights instead of chicken buses when it gets a bit much. Flights, vaccs and visas are extra.

What's happening with your jobs?

We're leaving them. Some of the children I look after are off to school in September, so arrangements were up for review anyway, and Chris has been made redundant.

What are you doing with the house?

Luckily we've been able re-jig the mortgage and get family to move in for us, saving us some storage fees, and meaning we can come home if it turns out we hate it!

What about the kids' school?

They will be overseas for a full school year, so legally we have no obligations. Fin will miss Year 3 and so we will be taking some workbooks, games, english books and a laptop to help keep up, but her headteacher has been very helpful and foresees no problems. As long as she keeps up with the maths principles and practises her reading and writing, the rest should all take care of itself. Sadie will just miss Reception and hopefully she'll keep up with her letters and numbers so she's able to read when she comes back to Year 1 in 2008. 

How are you going to keep the girls (and you) healthy in some of those places?

'Belt and braces' basically! We will all be having jabs for hepatitis A+B, typhoid and rabies, and will be very cautious of mosquitos and the nasties they carry. India will be a bit of a trial with regard to 'delhi belly' but with proboitics, scrupulous personal hygiene and careful eating hopefully we won't suffer too much. We're not going to be plotting any maps on this trip - if we have to get to good medical care it won't be that far away. I believe that going there very well informed, prepared for the worst, means you can only be pleasantly surprised if it's better than you thought! 

How much kit are you taking?

Adults are taking a large backpack (60/65l) each. The kids are taking a little backpack each that will hold all their games, toys, Nintendo's, books, stickers, pens, paper, cuddlies and comforters. We will be carrying everything else! We are limited to 3 'outfits' each, plus fleeces, macs, swimsuits, suntops, flip-flops, shoes, underwear, pjamas, first aid, towels and toiletries etc. We have planned to follow the sun until New Zealand and will make a dash for the shops for jumpers and jeans when we get there! Grown-ups will also have a 'day bag' each in the form of a cross body bag, one will have electronics in it, the other wipes, snacks, sunblock, tissues etc. We've done two 'trial runs' now with that arrangement and it seems to work OK.

How on earth will you all manage being together 24/7 - won't you drive each other mad?

I dare say there'll be moments we won't look back on fondly(!) but mostly we're pretty compatible. Chris and I have the huge advantage of having been there before, travelling and working together continuously for 2 years, and so we know it's OK for us (watch this space for divorce proceedings...) However put the kids in the mix and it's another matter. We have planned a few things to keep us distracted - lots of friends to meet up with, some charity visits in India, a school visit in Cambodia, and Chris wants to do his PADI diving Instructor's rating in Thailand which will keep him busy for about 3 months!

How can we stay in touch?

We hope to have regular internet access via our laptop and internet cafes so please, please do email us at: fourgortw@hotmail.co.uk or crfs@fourgortw.co.uk

We will both have international SIM cards (no roaming charges) by the time we go - we'll put the numbers here as soon as we know them!

It goes without saying that we will be DELIGHTED to see anyone we know along the way (especially fresh, fit people for luggage carrying, babysitting etc!!). If you want to know more details of where we'll be when just drop us a line.

Why aren't you more worried?!

I am, of course I am! I've had a couple of wakings at 3am thinking it's all too crazy. Also the dreams - I had one where I was standing in an Asian market shouting their names over and over...I went out and bought wrist-straps and haven't had it again! I think I've realised it's no good worrying that everything will be OK, but to have a contingency plan you're comfortable with if it isn't. My main worries centre around health (the kids, and us being well enough to look after them. Lots of medical cover on the travel insurance), money (will we have enough? If we run out we'll just come home) and how the kids will cope with logistics - not A to B exactly, but more the chicken bus from R - S that only runs on Tuesdays and even then only if you're lucky etc, but generally they tend to sort themselves out, so there's no point worrying. Things like the fact we'll have no carseats (or seatbelts in many places!) and probably not every guesthouse will have smoke alarms are worries we just have to let go of to travel like this.