Thanksgiving: 10 Travel Experiences For Which We’re Thankful
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY TRAVEL FAMILY TO YOURS!
At Thanksgiving, we take time to reflect on our lives and show gratitude for all for which we are thankful…which lucky for us, is a lot! So, we’ve composed a list of some of the things we have discovered through our years of family travel for which we are grateful! In addition to our friends and family, viewers and travelers, here are some things we love:
10) Elephants: We’ve had the opportunity to see elephants in the wild and work at several elephant sanctuaries in both Thailand and Africa and I am just blown away by elephants. They are so smart and intuitive! I’ve actually watched one on one of our Travel With Kids trips in the wild pretend to eat while watching us back! Very cool creatures!
Lauren (TWK Tour traveler) with elephant, Kachanaburi, Thailand
9) Bula spirit: The people of Fiji are so warm and welcoming, we feel like one of the family every time we visit. Last year, we chartered a cruise so we could take 20 families on a family vacation through the islands to experience it. We worried that the bigger group wouldn’t get that loving feeling, but the spirit of Bula shone through and everyone was super sad to leave!
Seamus with local Fijian kids, Levuka, Fiji
8) Music: Music has the ability to bring people together in a way not many other mediums can. We have played guitar and sung along to songs all across the world on our family travels, often times the kids make good friends with the locals in this way.
Nathan playing guitar with locals in Sumatra, Indonesia
7) Trains: We LOVE traveling by train especially as a family…it brings back an old world sense of adventure and romanticism that went hand in hand with travel centuries ago. This train traveled from Colombo to Galle along the south coast of Sri Lanka…the kids loved sitting in the open doorways (along with locals) watching the jungles and beaches go by…I have to admit it made me a little nervous at first, but it was an adventure travel experience they will never forget!
Nathan riding train from Colombo to Galle in Sri Lanka
6) Smiles: When you are traveling through a foreign country, it is so comforting to receive a smile and have a conversation with a stranger. It makes you feel welcomed and not so far from home and helps you really immerse in the culture. We appreciate all the smiles and conversations we’ve had with many people around the world over the years of our family travel. Monks in Asia have been some of our favorite people to get to know!
Seamus with monk at Angkor Wat in Cambodia
5) Orangutans: There are just over 7,000 Sumatra orangutans left in the world, so we felt very lucky to see this lady and her baby on a trek through the jungles outside Bukit Lawang. Their cousins have fared slightly better on Borneo, but are also endangered. Watching this one itch herself and munch on a snack…she seemed so human like! It was a once in a lifetime travel experience!
4) Ocean: We love the ocean and everything in it…YES! including great white sharks! We have been very grateful for the many chances we’ve had to explore it….cage diving with great whites, free diving with other sharks and sting ways, snorkeling with whale sharks
and dolphins, traveling by submersible to 500-feet and much more! Ocean adventure is definitely a priority for us on our family trips!
3) Differences: We are grateful for the different peoples of the world. All of our differences unite us in one humanity. From the Karen and Mon people of Burma and Thailand, to the Masaai of Kenya to the Incas in Peru, we are so grateful for all the cultures we’ve been able to learn about on our travels.
Nathan and Seamus with Masaai people in Kenya
2) Volunteer Time: I appreciate the kids on our trips, and my own kids, for working on the Re-Pack project to help children in need. The fact that they recognized a need in the world and figured out how to help shows they have empathy and gratitude…and that’s something i’m very grateful for!
Travel With Kids Group on TWK Tour – volunteering in Langa Township, Capetown, South Africa
1) Travel Time: I’m grateful for the time we have had with our children exploring other countries and immersing in culture and nature and for all the bonding that’s come from it. It has truly formed the people we are today.
Simmons family at Machu Picchu, Peru
And of course, I am grateful to you…our friends, our family, our viewers and our travelers for being a part of our travel with kids family. HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!
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