Just travelled around the world with my kids

[Sturl]

Hi,
Im a single dad of 2 young kids. I'm not long back in the UK from a round the world trip just me and the kids.
To cut a huge story short I did a blog before and during our travels. In it i detailed what we did, how we did it and how we coped on a small budget.
We only had 10 weeks so couldn't do everything but you will see we did a heck of a lot.

All in all we visited Russia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Borneo, Singapore, Japan and the USA. Much of the trip was done using local transport. During the trip we learned so much so if anyone is considering such a trip or needs advice please see my blog or feel free to ask.

thesummerholidayofalifetime.blogspot.com/

Obviously the blog starts from the most recent post - which is the end of the holiday. So you will have to click on July for all the planning/visa etc info...

Not sure about the bit where you give your 7 year old a Pina Colada

whoops

what country was that

Thank you for the supporting posts.

I never intended to cause friction toward anyone. I just wanted to help.

In terms of how i got 10 weeks from work - I made a few mistakes when i was younger and this meant i re entered education as an adult. Eventually i got to University and finished my degree in June this year. I had secured a job with an employer which was due to start in October this year. (Due to the recession this is now deferred until January 2010) Anyway, knowing i had all summer off and how it would no doubt be a once in a lifetime opportunity i decided to make this summer a special one.

The school - On my blog if i remember correctly i posted the letter i wrote to school asking for time off. The school were exceptionally supporting and since our return my children have done an assembly in front of the whole school about their trip. I was very surprised just how supportive the school were, but very grateful at how they responded.

It is difficult to give a total cost because we were living week to week in terms of our spend. I ended up losing quite a lot of money through ignorance and being naive, that aside the total cost of travel (21 flights, 6 train journeys and multiple buses) came in at £1600 - With the largest chunk of that being the trans pacific flight from Singapore - Tokyo - Los Angeles. If this leg was not taken then wipe off £900, the cost of accommodation was £600, but this does not include the USA since my ex wife gave me a lump sum which meant we had some nice hotels across the USA.
It seems very expensive but, consider what you spend on a weekly basis in the UK, and consider that a 4 day week in Pontins in Oct Half term has cost £250. For a 10 week holiday around the world i would say it is exceptional value.

Thanks for your input.

I forgot to add, the Car in the USA was £400, plus $250 drop off fee.

USA was by and large the biggest drain on the budget.

Fortunately i used my miles to fly from New York to London. The taxes and Fees came in at something like £70.

OK Pagwatch, I do see your point, but, I just got the impression he was trying to be helpful, whether he was lucky or not. Bet alot of the kids at his school were jealous too

Thanks Sturl, yes I believe schools are generous with this sort of thing but not at GCSE level.

Wow, just looked at it quickly. It does look like a really interesting read, thanks Sturl

Actually I just wanted to post in support of the Op

I have been feeling VERY down and depressed in the last few weeks and finding it really difficult to think of anything I could be bothered to do. When I read this blog it made me remember that there is something I love to do ( I had almost forgotten since ds was born) and that is travel.

Some of my happiest memories are of the travelling I did pre ds and dh. Since I married (dh isn't overly keen on international travel) and we had ds our holidays have been much less than inspiring for me.

This blog actually sparked some enthusiasm in me and I am now thinking of doing some proper travelling with ds (4yrs old) (probably just us two as dh said it sounded like a nightmare!) and it the first time in weeks that I feel remotely positive or inspired.

The op's blog is so normal and practical in advice so thanks - I'd never have asked about this but I'm really glad I saw it.

The blog is also a model case study in packing light!!

I don't see the need for nasty comments either - to me it seems he's not showing off, but attempting to get publicity/visitors for the blog, in the hope of future articles/book deal - I'm a publisher, I see this all the time. V sensible to try and get publicity, and it is something that people planning an extended trip with children would want to read about. Similar titles on the market tend to be several months or a year rather than 10 weeks - is interesting to see how he's crammed so much into such a short space.

And come on - all these MNers who post the minutia of their child's GCSE grades, university acceptances, school play performances... at least OP has done something out of the ordinary!

Thanks very much for the great comments.

Bumblingbovine, what a lovely thing to say, i really hope you reignite your enthusiasm for travel and that it becomes a much brighter chapter in your life. A favourite quote of mine is - "the world is a book and he who does not travel reads only a page" (or something like that!)

Best of luck!