4
HOW TO TRAVEL
My initial fantasy was fuelled by
idyllic memories of driving through
France with my parents in the summer.
But three months around the fourth
largest continent in the world with young
children is a little different to a month
around Normandy with teenagers!
“Why don’t you just go to America?”
people suggested, but I had my heart
set on travelling somewhere completely
different, not to mention seeing how my
Spanish had held up since university
(so-so, if you’re wondering!). We found
that even within each country we were
covering huge distances and in order not
to waste time and stay safe with the little
ones we opted to take internal flights
for most of it, with a few train journeys
through Peru, a six-hour bus ride from
Chile to Argentina and a hair-raising car
journey in Ecuador. The kids quickly
adapted to so much travel and we got
into a routine of two pages of maths and
handwriting before the inflight enter-
tainment could be switched on.
5
Waiting for
the Machu
Picchu train
WHERE TO STAY
Again my nostalgia kicked in and I
imagined rocking up to cute little hostels
and paying next to nothing for a cosy
room for four. Fortunately my husband
kept me grounded by suggesting that
we’d be more comfortable renting
Airbnbs so that we could spread out a
little and have our own room. The Airbnb
website was fantastic; so simple to use
and incredibly reliable. We averaged
HK$1,000 a night, meaning our overall
rent was less than we would have
paid back in Hong Kong, and it was
such a relief to have a booking when
we turned up somewhere new. We
found each place had its own quirks,
including duvets with sharp feathers
and a runaway bed on wheels, but on
the whole, our accommodation was
comfortable and nicely equipped. There
was also minimal time wasted checking
in, since owners let us in or gate guards
had the key. If we were only staying for a
night we chose to book more expensive
hotels and share a room, but it was great
having our own space with a lounge and
a kitchen most of the time.
6
WHAT TO PACK
We opted to take two large
backpacks and four small backpacks. It
was a challenge choosing what to take,
but we found what we took was plenty
and it was refreshing to realise just how
little you actually need. We took old
clothes that we were planning to get rid
of and kids’ clothes, which were on the
verge of being too small, and we shed as
we went along. Everyone was allowed
a pair of trainers, a pair of comfortable
summer shoes and a pair of flip-flops
and we bought cheap sets of rollable
thermal underwear for the colder places.
It was disappointing how hard it was
to recycle and a lot did end up going in
the bin, although in some of the poorer
countries everything got scooped up
within minutes.
7
COMING
HOME
It’s not easy to find a short-term let in
Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay, but with
the help of a good estate agent, we
managed to get a small flat for three
months while we looked for somewhere
more permanent. Our son has settled
back into school well, albeit with a
few hiccups due to shifting friendship
groups, but seemingly no impact on
his schoolwork, and our daughter is
loving going to playdates again. I’m
also enjoying choosing all my furniture
for our new place, making good use of
Facebook again!
Most importantly, we’re all happy
to be back in Hong Kong having had
a wonderful three months, which has
brought us closer as a family and given
us such an appreciation of all that we
have. It was certainly one of the best
choices we ever made.
Summer 2017
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