My How Travelling Has Changed

Karen and I were lucky enough to have traveled for extended periods in Europe and Asia in our younger years, before we knew each other, but roughly around the same time - 20 years ago. Now I know some of you math whizzes are saying "That can't be. That would have been when they were 9 and 12". But alas, too be truthful, we are a little older than that ...

Well traveling 20 years ago seems in many ways to be similar. No we didn't have kids with us then, but the jist of it is the same - travel within a budget, eat where the locals eat, sponge where you can, plan as you go and be ready to be spontaneous. Though we haven't stayed in a lot of hostels, we have hit a few and they are good to make us feel a little bit younger again as we chat with the other travelers about whatever - usually good places and bad, how long we've been on the road, countries visited ... Just like 20 years ago. Granted it does get weird when we share some anecdote from our travels 20 years ago and the looks around the room tell you that the other travelers weren't even a twinkle in their mothers eye back then, let alone been born (Talking about shooting digital versus film usually has the same effect). Mattias and Emilia are closer to their ages than we are... by about double.

Where it starts to get different is when you factor in the technology that just didn't exist when we traveled 20 years ago. Almost all the travelers we meet travel with technology, usually some sort of netbook or laptop and that is where a bulk of their planning is done. Mattias and Mima use the gadgets we have for everything from music to math. Even most of their books are electronic. Where we used to have a guidebook or two as a starting point, people now use the web (though you still will see the guidebooks around but even the guidebooks themselves are available electronically).

Internet and wireless are key selling points for places to stay and merchants rely on the internet to get the word out. Ratings on TripAdvisor and similar sites can make or break an establishment. Travelers check these and base a lot of decisions on that information. More and more people book in advance, or at least they do in the places we've traveled so far. We used to just get to a place and start asking around of other travelers or maybe start with some of the guidebook recommendations. It usually took a little while but I must admit I'm glad the kids don't have to be part of big searches for a place to stay as I seem to recall doing.

Even places when you do book with will send you a google map link to give directions to their place, have panoramic views of their rooms, and even have computers on hand to use. I also talking hostels here - not fancy pants hotels and so far it seems more common than not.

It changes things in terms of planning and perhaps lessens the sense of surprise when you get to a place (that can be good or bad). Maybe some spontaneity is lost and certainly there are those who don't use it for this reason. For us we have used it and more since we are no longer camping (though campgrounds featured the technology as well). Spontaneity is often there with kids and traveling, but the kind that we were accustomed to in our 20's is not necessarily the kind that Mattias and Emilia would enjoy.

We'll see how true this difference of traveling with technology will hold as we venture beyond Europe, but so far - it's working for us.

Pre Trip Ramble

As we get closer to our departure date everyone asks " how many days?" and yet, we are so focused on work, finishing the house and planning the trip, I don't think any of us really knows - we are not counting down - just getting very excited.

I spend more and more time as the planning subsides and the list of things to get done diminishes thinking about the real part of the trip. Not the details, not the where are we going, not the what do we need to take - but the why are we going, what are my goals and my family's goals, what can we expect from this, and how will we be changed as a result of our time away together? The last of these questions is likely the most difficult to measure as we will never know what we would be like if we hadn't had some of the unknown adventures ahead for us.

Though the practical part of the trip will expose us to so many geographical, cultural and life changing experiences, it is the family time of being together, bonding, sharing and living life without the fast pace of always needing to be somewhere or doing something that excites me the most.

When Did It All Begin?

Well, that is a good question isn't it? Perhaps the urge to venture out and explore the world came from our parents - historically and on both sides there is the vagabond spirit. It certainly existed for us individually in our 20 somethings as we traveled and lived in other parts of the world. And our first few months together put our travel skills to the test when Karen agreed to go North with me and six of my buddies to hike the Chilkoot Trail. Karen and I stayed longer and hiked 10 days in the Kluane as well as paddling rivers in the Yukon. The Spirit of Adventure has guided us all along.

Mattias and Emilia are already used to this spirit and they too embrace it. Multiday wilderness canoe trips have been the general theme, still they also have had great experiences in Europe and other parts of N. America. They are excited, though we all wonder out loud at times if we really know what we are getting into? As we busily hammer away at our jobs and other commitments, there seems little (and getting less!!) time to actually plan this thing. It could be one of the greatest exercises in winging it.

So what is there to plan anyway? Well, we won't leave it all to chance and definitely don't care to subject ourselves to gross misadventure. We've been busily getting vaccinations, committing to flights and our general itinerary, purchasing equipment... I suppose each of these may be topics of further posts - we'll see.