During the first three months of our travels not a day went by without hearing some version of, “Why aren’t you kids in school?”  I held back the snarky answers and we joke about it now, but I do think about those whose answer is, “Because there isn’t one.”

YOU can change that!  Fellow travel bloggers (and great writers) Beth Whitman, Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, and Pam Mendel have teamed up to form Passports With Purpose.  This year the charity of choice is   American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC).  And we want to help them build a school in Cambodia.

Need a little more incentive?  How about winning a prize?  Every $10 donation enters you to win one of many awesome prizes, including cameras, hotel packages, and cool travel gear.

So far the original goal of $13,000 has been met (yea!), but they still could use more for extras like a water filter, garden, and a school nurse.

We aren’t selling any cookies, popcorn, or gift wrap this year.  I have declared this our school fundraiser, and I ask you to please consider participating.

For a little levity, I thought I’d post a recap of some of the funny signs we’ve seen while on the road. Finding these little gems is one of the many joys of world travel:

Potty Humor:

bathroom – or hidden lair of an obscure superhero in Peru?

apparently this Bangkok toilet is for emergency use only.

I couldn’t tell if this Tokyo subway sign was also an attempt at potty humor – maybe it’s just me.

Smoke Signals

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that wine bottles aren’t allowed to smoke at most Buddhist Temples in Thailand.

The Japanese take a more passive-aggressive approach to the problem.

Oh, Behave!

Peninsula Valdes in Argentina takes the prize for “strangest analogy”,

while this one from China’s Great Wall at Mutianyu is probably just an updated version of the sign used in ancient times to keep the Mongols out.

What’s in a name?

Business was understandably slow at this tour stand in Phuket…

…but this restaurant in Auckland seemed to do a really brisk business.

If you want to see many more hilarious signs from around the world, pay a visit to signspotting.com.

Or better yet, get out there and find some yourself!

This is part 1 of a series I’ve been inspired to write on the environmental impact of cruise travel. I feel this issue is too important (and complex) to cover in just one short post. So bear with me..

Oh, and while it’s no secret that I’m a fan of cruising, I’ll do my best to stick to the facts and be as thorough as possible – if for no other reason than to avoid being branded as a peddler of “travel porn”.

Emerald Princess docked at Dominica

This weekend, a handful of travel writers are departing on the Twitter Press Cruise aboard Crown Princess, a first-of-its-kind publicity stunt that I’m sure the cruise line hopes will generate a lot of good PR for them.

I can already see one major flaw in their plan – they somehow failed to invite us! (I guess we need to get some more Twitter followers).

I’m only kidding, of course – but a few other travel writers have apparently taken serious offense, even going so far as to hijack the #followmeatsea tag to denounce the cruise industry as “travel’s dirty little secret”, and to cast aspersions on the ethics of the participating bloggers.

One outspoken critic even felt compelled to post the following lengthy diatribe (or one like it) on a few of the participants’ blogs – and just about everywhere else she can:

It will be really interesting to see how all the travel writers handle the “twethics” as we all know that large cruise ships do HUGE damage to the environment. It’s the travel industry’s dirty secret, isn’t it?

Sadly, cruise ship companies give so many freebies to travel writers, that most of the public does not know that big cruise ships are the worst possible option in travel for our environment! While many travel companies flounder, cruise ships are a booming business.

Cruising is actually 7x worse than air travel on C02 emissions & most also plane to start the cruise as you will. Not to mention how much waste and garbage these floating cities dump into our oceans! Please look deeper than the sugar coated supposedly “green” policies of a cruise company.

Why is it only travel writers NOT taking all the freebies or advertising dollars from cruise ship companies, doing the important job of educating the public so that our kids & grandkids can enjoy travel too?

Anyone who has sat like we have in tiny, ancient towns like Dubrovnik, Santorini, Capri, Mykonos, or Ephesus & seen the absolute obscene horror of 30 thousand cruise ships’ passengers flood them like a hoard [sic] of locusts, could ever call big cruise ships responsible travel! The damage they do in the Caribbean is also just as bad and well documented.

At the very least, I hope all the twitter writers on this freebie press trip point to the Clean Cruise Ship Act is in Congress now. Travel writers on #followmeatsea press trip can promote petition!

Please don’t just do travel porn that glamorize cruises without giving the complete story! Those of us that are passionate about responsible travel will be following this closely.

It may come as a huge shock to you, but approximately none of the bloggers were motivated to cancel their press trip as a result of this scolding.

However, I was motivated to rise to the challenge and try to uncover “the complete story”. Feel free to follow along, closely or otherwise…

[Read more →]

photo courtesy of sectionz on Flickr

“Oh, God! No! Somebody HELP!”

As we walked up to the train station after our fun day at the State Fair,  we noticed a middle-aged couple frantically yelling & beating on a departing train in a vain effort to stop it. The woman was on the verge of hysterics as she flagged down a motorcycle cop nearby.

“My son is on that train!”

Apparently, the young boy had bounded onto one of the cars just as the doors were closing, and was now traveling solo toward downtown.

I’m sure everything turned out all right, and the bewildered boy and his parents were soon reunited. After all, the police officers and station attendants were able to understand the situation and could quickly respond. But what if this had happened to them in a foreign country, where few people speak English and the rail system is far more crowded and complex?

We used a lot of subways and trains in big cities like Buenos Aires, Bangkok and Tokyo, and we tried to make sure Hannah and Olivia knew what to do if they found themselves on a train without us or left behind at a station. Luckily, we never had to use it, but we did have a plan.

So, if you’re planning to take your little ones to a strange city where you’ll be using public transportation, you might want to have a strategy, too – just in case.

Every autumn, Dallas plays host to the State Fair of Texas, a 3 1/2-week celebration of Texas culture that we’ve seldom managed to visit in the past. But since it’s just a 10-minute train ride from our new home, the girls and I couldn’t resist making a field trip out of it this year.

Visitors are greeted by Big Tex – the creepiest animatronic giant mannequin on the planet.

The fair celebrates all things dear to us Texans – livestock,

midway games & carnival rides:

and most importantly, FOOD:

especially food of the chicken-fried variety:

You see, here in Texas, we believe there isn’t a food on earth that couldn’t be improved by being dipped in batter and plunged into hot grease until golden brown.

Every year, the state’s greatest chefs work very hard to transform your favorite foods (and drinks) into deep-fried delicacies:

This year’s headliner was deep-fried butter – available in 5 flavors (cinnamon sugar was a late addition not on the menu).

We opted to try the garlic flavor:

nom-nom-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM!

nothing like lubricating the ol’ arteries on a nice autumn day, is there?

Don’t worry, they also have some healthy choices – well, not really.

But paramedics are standing by!

They’ve also got concerts, animal & car shows, college football games – all kinds of wacky fun! So, if you’re ever near Dallas in late September or early October, it’s definitely worth checking out.

More photos of this year’s State Fair of Texas are on our Flickr page.

I know it’s been a long time since we’ve posted anything – we’ve been busy adapting to life back in the States, and sorting through the lessons we’ve learned while trying to figure out how to turn this simple journal of our travels into a valuable resource for other families and aspiring travelers.

For me, one of the biggest challenges is avoiding the rather self-righteous tone some of the famous travel bloggers seem to take. You know, it’s not that they’re conceited or anything – they’re just aware that because they’ve been all around the world, they’re a little bit better than everyone else.

I’m sure most of them don’t really feel that way – and for the most part, these people really are awesome. I just wish they weren’t so in-your-face about it. Gosh, I hope I never come across that way, but I probably do sometimes. Sorry.

These accomplished travelers might lead you to believe there’s a “right” and a “wrong” way to travel and experience other cultures. They might give you the idea that if your travel plans include air conditioning, hot showers, tour guides or recognizable food, then you’re not a “real traveler”. Don’t believe them.

NOTE to any famous travel bloggers who read this article:

I’m not talking about you. Really, I’m talking about someone else. You’re awesome. And totally down-to-earth. I mean it.

So what is “real travel” anyway? What is fake travel? I have to admit that I’ve met a number of people who travel in such an isolated way that they never interact at all with other cultures and probably don’t learn anything in the process. Maybe that’s not “real travel”. But how far beyond that do you have to go?

For me, real travel is anything that not only moves you to another physical location, but to another mental one as well. While I agree that the further you push outside your comfort zone the more you can grow, just getting out there (both physically and mentally) is more important than how you do it.

I think just about any kind of travel can help a person grow – even the touristy kind – if you pay attention, keep an open mind, think about what you’re seeing and doing, and interact with the locals at least enough to learn something about them.

But that’s just my opinion. What does “real travel” mean for you?

I never used to be a big supporter of the pack lightly club.  I was always a believer in the “I would rather have it and not need it than wish I had not left it at home” method.  No awards are given to the ones with the smallest bags.  However, airline weight restrictions and baggage fees  have curbed some of my over-packing tendencies and after lugging all our crap halfway around the world and back I am a changed woman.

Packing the bags up more than 4 dozen times made me kind of hate it. Squashing us and all our bags into taxis made me wish we had brought less. Tripping over the suitcases made me want to get smaller. While digging through our bags earned me the title Finder of All Things, it also drove me crazy and made me want to ditch more and more stuff at every stop.

In Thailand we took a side trip to the beach. I was able to get our stuff down to one suitcase (not counting the carry-ons) and leave the rest in Bangkok. For almost 3 weeks we had just the one bag. For the 4 of us.  Certainly made me wonder if we could do it for three weeks, why not longer?

Lesson learned: So yes, for the next trip I WILL be packing lighter. It IS a burden to bring the non essentials. We CAN get by just fine with less.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything – the last couple months since we returned have been a whirlwind of adjusting to life back in the States and planning our next steps. Time definitely moves faster here!

We’re certainly not settling back into the same life we had before – working from a blank slate after selling all our stuff, we plan continue our experiments in lifestyle design.

We’ll do our best to incorporate the things we enjoyed most about our travels into our everyday life, and use what we learned from our mistakes to plan future trips.

Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve been up to:

Our New Home

After almost a year of bouncing between hotel and hostel rooms all over the world followed by couch surfing with relatives, one of our biggest priorities has been finding a new place to live:

Since we grew rather fond of the city life during our trip, we’ve chosen a small (but very cool) apartment right in the heart of downtown Dallas – it’s a radical departure from our previous suburban lifestyle & we love it!

Back to School?

Hannah & Olivia got along so well without it last year that we really don’t see any reason to send them back now. Our continued adventures in homeschooling will be the subject of a new blog coming soon.

This Website

We’ll keep adding content here, too. For those of  you planning your own adventures, we’ll talk more about the travel lessons we’ve learned and add lots of tips and location-specific information that might be of help.

We’ve really enjoyed meeting other travelers and lifestyle designers online, and we hope to make many more new friends in the months to come. You can always email marc [at] 4suitcases [dot] com if you have any questions or need any advice – we’ll be glad to help however we can!

Of course, our passports and 4 suitcases will always be handy, too – because you never know when it’ll be time for another road trip!

I’ll do this one countdown-style, starting with the best:

Best Places We Stayed:

Of the 46 different beds we slept in, these were our 10 favorites:

10. Kool Hotel – Siem Reap, Cambodia

With super-friendly service, spacious rooms, strong A/C and a swimming pool, the Kool Hotel made a great retreat from a day of tomb raiding at the Angkor temples. Its slightly inconvenient location and slow internet service were the only downsides.

9. Baan Sukhumvit Soi 18 – Bangkok, Thailand

Outstanding location, great breakfast, friendly staff and fast internet – this place had everything we could wish for except a swimming pool.

8. Marguerite Junk – Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

We spent only one night aboard this tiny cruise ship, but the excellent food, service and comfy beds, combined with great entertainment activities made it one of our favorite nights in Vietnam.

7. America del Sur Hostel – El Calafate, Argentina

The rooms were basic and the beds not the most comfortable, but the friendly vibe, amazing staff, and delicious nightly barbecue made this place a standout in South America.

6. Cabañas Pikera Uri – Easter Island

Known to the locals as “Pantu’s house”, his wonderfully quiet and laid-back retreat was the perfect base for exploring Easter Island. Pantu, his wife Karin, and their helpers provide daily breakfasts with fresh juice, horseback excursions, and help with booking rental cars. Highly recommended.

5. AoNang Orchid Resort – Krabi, Thailand

With its huge pools, great views and friendly staff, this peaceful retreat was a great – and surprisingly affordable – place to stay at Ao Nang Beach.

4. Marriott Kamala Beach Resort – Phuket

Though the beaches in Phuket were a huge disappointment, this ultra-posh resort was easily the nicest hotel of our trip. We loved our big 2-bedroom suite, the amazing pool with slide, and fantastic breakfast buffet. During our low-season stay the resort was less than half full, making it even more enjoyable.

2. Freedom of the Seas,   Emerald Princess (tie)

For amenities, service, entertainment and dining, no hotel can compete with these floating resorts. Sure, they’re a little crowded and relatively expensive, but our days at sea were some of the most carefree and fun of the entire trip. And the views were fantastic.

But there was still one place we enjoyed just a little bit more:

1. Palermo Apartment – Buenos Aires, Argentina

With all the comfort and conveniences of home (and 2 bathrooms!), this place has set the benchmark for all our future travels. In fact, we’re hoping to find something similar for our new home back in Dallas!

There are lots of furnished apartments like this one in BsAs, and apart hotels with kitchens and separate bathrooms, too (our favorite was Aspen Suites). Much better than a hotel – and surprisingly affordable.

Worst Place We Stayed:

Luckily, almost all of the 36 other places we stayed were perfectly fine. One however, was so bad that for the rest of our travels, every time we find ourselves in some horrible dump – even years from now – we’ll still tell ourselves, “at least it’s not as bad as…”

Hospedaje El Tumi – Machu Picchu Village

This noisy, grubby little hellhole with lumpy beds, no heat, and a funky little stream of water running from the bathroom was probably a big reason we didn’t enjoy the famous archeological site. The fact it was also the cheapest place we stayed is small consolation. Learn from our mistake and avoid this one!

OK, in keeping with the theme of best parts and worst parts, we thought of a few more specific things to add to the list.

Best Tourist Attractions:

Though most of our favorite moments of the trip had nothing to do with the famous tourist attractions we saw, some were well worth the price and/or effort:

Recoleta Cemetery

We kept coming back to this fascinating and hauntingly beautiful site in the heart of Buenos Aires. So much history, religion and architecture – it’s fun to get lost here!

Easter Island

This remote island dotted with mysterious statues is wonderfully peaceful and charming. A great place to really “get away from it all”.

The Great Wall of China at Mutianyu

Much less crowded than the section at Badaling yet still easy to access, with gondola rides up and a really fun toboggan ride down. One of the few highlights of our trip to China.

Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina

This well-known World Heritage Site in Patagonia is a bit expensive, but there are few other places in the world where you can get up close to an advancing glacier and wind your way through giant icebergs in a high-speed catamaran. Lots of great hiking here, too – if you’re into that sort of thing.

Tokyo Disneyland

A surprising absence of crowds made our visit here one of the best days of our trip, and got Olivia hooked on roller coasters!

Angkor Temples

Siem Reap was the best surprise of our trip. The temples of Angkor were awesome, and far more extensive than I realized. We spent many happy days going from site to site by tuk-tuk, but barely scratched the surface. I guess we’ll have to come back!

Worst Tourist Attractions:

Worst is probably too harsh a word, but these popular tourist draws didn’t quite live up to the hype – at least, not for us:

San Telmo Sunday Market, Buenos Aires

Construction & the summer weather probably diminished our experience, but this overcrowded flea market really wasn’t our scene.

Phuket, Thailand

I had high hopes for the beaches here, but they’re really polluted and not even in the same league as the best in the Caribbean. Of course, they’re a lot less expensive, too.

The Forbidden City / Tiananmen Square

Lots of cool things to see, sure – but the relentless throngs of tourists and con artists made this vast complex a total beatdown. In fact, we could’ve done without visiting Beijing at all.

Come to think of it, we had similar issues with the temples in Bangkok, too – but  we loved everything else about that city.

Machu Picchu

You read that right – this “wonder of the world” was pretty cool, but so choked with hordes of tourists it was possibly the biggest disappointment of our trip. I guess our expectations were too high, or we just did it wrong. If you’re thinking about going there, I’ll tell you what we did so you can do the opposite and have a great time!

And don’t let us discourage you from visiting any of these sites if you really want to. Many people absolutely love Machu Picchu, and we’re definitely not sorry we went there (same for the others). These were just places we didn’t enjoy as much as we expected.

If we’ve learned anything about traveling, it’s that different people can visit the same place at the same time and have completely different experiences and opinions. So have fun out there!