Is the Mumsnetter who travelled around the world with her little ones still around Mumsnet???

[IlanaK]

If so, please reply here as I would love to ask some questions. We are thinking of doing similar!

Are you thinking of Dejags? She is still around.

Didnt Aufish (is that spelt right?) do it as well?

We did it in 2002 with DS when he was nearly 7 years.

But I think it is Dejags you are thinking of

Oooh. We are thinking of doing a mini-version of this (South America and Australasia). DD is one. Would love to hear others' experiences

We went "Round the World in 80 days" which is sort of 3 months

MALDIVES

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

FIJI

HAWAII

LAS VEGAS

TORONTO

In New Zealand we were there for about 6 weeks in a MOTORHOME it was deffo brill fun and IMHO and IME the best way to travel around complete freedom

We set off in January and returned in March

We taught DS as we travelled

Sounds fab. Both DS and DH would love it.

Our situation is this: we are selling our flat in London and were looking for another similar. However, we have worked out that if we just put the proceeds of the sale into an account, it would earn us £3000 a month in interest which we could tavel/live on. When we come back, we can move in with my mum temporarily while we look for a house. Dh work has a "perk" that they can take upto a year off unpaid for this type of thing and come back to their job (presumably think no-one will actually do this). My kids are homeschooled so no problems with education. We also have family all over the world (primarily US, Oz, and Sri Lanka). So when Dh mentioned it half jokingly (thinking I would say no way), I actually stopped and thought about it.

My biggest worry is that my youngest ds will be too young. He can be difficult here so I am worried what keeping him entertained woul be like in the longhaul. I am not worried about my eldest. Also, a bit worried about disease and tummy upsets if we travel a bit off the beaten track.

The idea both intruiges me as a real possibility and also horrifies me!

nappybaglady did it first I think - I don't know if she is still around.

dejags is still here though

I wish we had had done an online blog

DS did a diary each day as part of his school work but we didn't have such things as online blogs in those days.

Mumsnet didn't exist to me then either

How old are your children?

DS was flying longhaul from 1 year old and if you get organised it is fine

He has been on more planes than trains and buses put together.

What are you thinking will be difficult?

Do you mean when you travel or when you are in unfamilular places?

Thanks for those links - very interesting reading!

My boys would be just 4 and 7 by the time we got organised if we do this.

What would be difficult? Well, I suppose it just boils down to me not being a particularly "go with the flow" type of person. I can think of many many reasons why it would be a wonderful experience, but the back of my mind is screaming "Nooooooooooo!

the only thing I would say is that under 6 years old I don't think they will remember much about it in the future

DS does remember it but I think if he had been much younger he wouldn't

He is now 12 years - so it is about 5 years ago

BUT PLEASE DO DO IT It will be deffo brill I am sure

Last year when we went back to Australia and Cook Islands in South Pacific we were saying how the people in UK were missing out by not visiting the southern hempisphere and pacific islands

We love the whole area

Thats where my Dh wants to go. He says that it is too far to visit from gere for a holiday (we did visit the inlaws in Oz once though) and this would allow us to travel all around there.

I would love to travel around the US. We go there often, but only to visit my family in Florida. My 6 year old is desperate to visit NY and we have tonnes of friends all over the US.

I think I would give most of Europe a miss as we can/do that on normal holidays.

I was quite interested in this article about travelling across Spain and Morocco with 3 children. I'm planning a similar journey (with 3 girls with similar age-gaps to the author's) but I noticed that at the end the 3 children seemed primarily impressed with ice creams rather than anything else. Which does make me wonder if it's worth it while they're little.

www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/aug/12/escape.familyholidays

But is it just for the children that we do it? I would say it is more for my dh and me, but if it benefits the children then great.

I think children learn sooooooo much about the world by travel

Meeting different people eating different food, culture, language, different ways of building houses etc., power - solar, water damms, etc.

XXXXX posts

DH and I deffo got alot out of it too

And spending 3 months together as a family was deffo brill too

def do it - your kids sound the perfect ages.

there are parks etc all over the world esp where you want to go so make sure you factor in time for your little one to run around and do kiddie things and you will be fine!

We did 6 months with 4 children ages 10,9 5 and 4. Got back in Feb this year and had such an amazing time. Didn't go anywhere too adventurous- did usa,Canada, Cook Islands, NZ, Australia and Thailand. Eldest 2 certainly got the most out of it but have no regrets going with the smalls at the age they were. They amazed me how well they coped with the long haul flights (- better behaved than some adults at times!) Planned and booked nearly all the accom and transport before we left as on tight budget and being a family of 6 not so easy to fit in sometimes.
I think the best part was just being able to get away from all the day to day stuff, be together as a family without any distractions and see some amazing places. Please go if you have the chance - life is too short not to take these opportunities. Please let me know if I can help.

'you only live once' and 'nothing is impossible'... believng in stuff like this means that some (possibly crazy) people like us end up travelling and living abroad. It's not always meant to be easy but it certainly enriches your world.

Also, you'll find there are MNetters all around the world. It might be worth starting a thread asking for tips from people in the countries you would like to visit - tips on places to go, stuff to buy, where to avoid, useful things you wouldn't get in guide books. Maybe someone would even invite you over for coffee and a play date during your travels!

Even if your children are too young to remember everything properly there will be photos to remind them of the trip and keep them talking about it for years.

If you do decide to go for it, and it sounds like you have the ideal set of circumstances there to failitate things, then I wish you a fantastic time.

Thanks everyone. DH is looking into the finer details at work about whether he would be given permission. If they say yes, then I thin I would definately like to do it.

You have planted an idea in my head too llanak!

I'm still around too. Unfortunately more of an occasional lurker these days than a regular visitor. Real Life has caught up with me in a big way since our return. However the memories of our trip and the knowledge that you really can do anything if you set your mind to it keep both of us sane through the tough times at work. DS, who was 19m when we set off, doesn't really remember any of it but does understand that it was something special. DD remembers lots about it, particularly about the friends we met. We're still recovering financially from the trip but it was well worth it.

If you want to ask any advice please feel free to CAT me. I'm afraid I really don't turn up on threads very often.

Above all, if you have the chance to do this, do it.