Marie

Travel bucket list for 2012:

South Africa and Zimbabwe have been on my bucket list for a few years. Luckily, lots of United Miles are taking our family to Cape Town, Zimbabwe and Botswana this summer. Obviously, the thought of a first safari for our family is quite exciting, but I am looking forward to showing our children not only amazing natural beauty with Victoria Falls, but having them engage with children in the townships near Cape Town and Rose Charity orphanage in Zimbabwe. 2012 will get our children engaged in collecting soccer uniforms for us to deliver to the local children we meet on our adventure. So this trip has more than one goal….checking off destinations on my bucket list and inspiring my children to see the world through other children’s lives.

To go off-the-brochure:

One of our favorite off-the brochure activities happened by accident in Amman Jordan. We were able to get into the Amman Citadel ten minutes before closing. The city is illuminated and there was nobody else up there at that hour of the evening. It was quiet and lovely as we walked around the Hill, and yet the city lights were aglow. After we were kicked out of the Citadel, we wondered down into the old city and stumbled across the Habibah cafe.

We knew we had found a special spot as the line was out the door, and only men seemed to be allowed in to purchase this local delicacy called Knafeh. The pictures of my daughters peering over the glass looking at the dessert surrounded by a sea of locals made our first night in Amman quite an adventure. Not to mention what a treat it was for our children to have this sweet dessert Knafeh before we had even had dinner!

A travel dilemma started when:

We took our children around the world for 42 days….and obviously a family of 6 on that type of journey can run into many snags………

1. Two hours into our journey, before we even departed from LAX….we found out that our suitcases that we had meticulously packed to just be carry-on luggage were already too heavy as carry-ons. We quickly unpacked, cross-packed, and carried on our biggest necessity items and checked the rest of the bags. Not the best start to our care-free adventure of traveling light around the world.

2. The next snag may have been the 7-hour tarmac delay we had in Hong Kong as we headed to Beijing. Clearly, the new US rules for passenger rights on delayed planes did us no good on that flight….. But the bigger challenge was trying to communicate to our guide who was meeting us at the airport. Luckily we were able to use our phones, and google the agency and find a number for a woman in Beijing, who was kind enough to text our guide that we would be arriving at the insane hour of 4am. And at the bleery hour of 4am we were warmly greeted with a Canadian flag by our young guide. Somehow he had been told that we were Canadian…and not Americans. ( I would also be lying if I did not admit that the wine that they finally served under pressure was really the saving grace to that unexplained delay in Hong Kong!)

3. And our biggest snag…..and potentially the snag that caused the most angst and terror…was losing two of our children (ages 7 and 10) on the Beijing subway on our first evening in town. We were not prepared for the throngs of people shoving to get a spot on the crowded trains, and two of our children were caught in the crowd that pushed forward as the doors opened. Not only were they on different cars, but they had no idea that the other sibling was on the train. As the doors closed, and the train pulled away, my husband ran frantic along side trying to get the doors to re-open. Luckily, one of us stayed calm and was able to mouth the words to my 10-year old daughter as the train pulled away from the station…”One stop, get off, Christian in next car”. Those 14 minutes were the longest 14 minutes ever as we waited for the next train to arrive at the station…and with utter relief…at the next stop, on the empty platform, stood two frightened little kids holding hands.
That was a great wake-up call for us to refresh everyone on our back-up plans in case anyone got separated!

To be a prepared traveler, don’t forget:

Best gadget for 2012 is the i.Sound Portable Power Max with 5 USB ports. This one gadget brings portable energy to charge up to 5 gadgets at one time. Ideal for international travel so that you can charge your ipad, ipod, phone, camera or any other device that can get charged with a USB cord. Saves space by not having to bring 5 different chargers along on a long trip. Great for families on long trips so that you can charge the kids DS, ipod, etc on a long plane or car trip!

Next item we all pack/wear are dog tag necklaces that every family member wears on every trip. Has our name, dob, and emergency contacts back in the States. Studies show that kids don’t remember key information (names or phone numbers) in an emergency, so this small necklace contains all the information in case we get separated or are caught in an emergency situation.

Next up is Supertramp>>