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Outside Magazine's 2002 Family Travel Guide

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Roam Schooling (Cont.)

Our Trip
Traveling overseas with kids requires extraordinary reservoirs of energy and patience. The basics, however, remain: Travel light, be flexible, and instill a sense of adventure into every misadventure (ask Zoe about our two flat tires in Singaraja, Bali). Go slow, sleep several nights in each place, and build in lots of downtime. Carry snacks at all times.

I planned a rough itinerary, starting with four places of ecological wonder threatened by human development: the Great Barrier Reef, the orangutan habitat of Borneo, the last Javan rhino reserve in Vietnam, and the tiger country of southern Nepal. The rest of the trip involved visiting friends and family, and going to places, like Bali, that I had long wanted to visit. I chose a "round-the-world" ticket, which cost about $10,000 for the three of us and allowed up to 15 stops in 29,000 miles. It's also possible to get cheap fares on the Internet and through bucket shops along the way.

Food and Lodging
We stayed mainly in travelers' hotels, and I quickly determined that the lowest-budget places in books like the Lonely Planet guides were a little too basic for the kids. By bumping up a few dollars (and in many parts of Asia that means paying $15 a night for three rather than $8), Kolya and Zoe were much more comfortable. In every country, they found something they liked in inexpensive restaurants. Did I mention carrying snacks?

Sickness
We avoided all serious illness—probably because I spent more than $400 on drugs (antimalarials, Cipro, amoxicillin, epinephrine pins) we never used. The basics, again: In many countries, don't even brush your teeth with tap water, and don't eat fruits or vegetables you can't peel or cook.

School + internet
The kids took math workbooks, wrote in their journals, read regularly, and did a class presentation when they returned. They didn't miss a beat. We found internet cafes everywhere, and it's increasingly easy to book hotels and flights online. E-mail was an important lifeline to home and friends, especially for Kolya.

Money
Traveler's checks work great, but also carry some greenbacks in small denominations. Credit cards are good for cash advances and some purchases, although rarely on the low-budget circuit. With American Express accounts, you can sometimes cash checks from U.S. banks to get more traveler's checks. Some days we spent $25 for the three of us, more often $50 to $75, occasionally more. Don't forget to budget for visas, airport taxes, and miscellaneous Third World surprises.

Entertainment
I brought a laptop that could play DVDs and got two Game Boys for long bus rides and planes. Watching South Park episodes in dingy hotel rooms ("Oh, my God. They killed Kenny!") was hilariously incongruous, and buying pirated DVDs in Phnom Penh was also entertaining, especially since some were filmed with camcorders in movie theaters, complete with people walking in front of the camera to get popcorn.

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