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Out on a limb

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One of the things I miss when I’m not in Asia is the lack of death defying acts! Sure, you can turn on Fear Factor or Jackass, but really in every day life America is lacking in people that are willing to put their life on the line for simple things. For instance today, on our way home from the bank we pulled over to watch this little accident waiting to happen as a crew tried to get a water tank up on a new hotels roof. Sure the tank had a rope around it, but what about the guy balancing on the rebar!?!?

Water tank going in

The man in charge

Man on a wire… Read more »

Moms On The Run

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No, we’re not running away from anyone, in fact we are generally running AFTER someone. Traveling with kids is rarely easy, but often rewarding. As working moms traveling with our families is usually the best chance we have to spend uninterrupted time with them…for better or for worse. As travel experts we plan a lot of holidays for families and we’re lucky enough to be able to take a few ourselves. Here’s what the Journeys Within moms had to say about traveling with kids:

April O’Connell-Cole
Mother of: One boy
Based: Truckee, CA
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When I received Gavin’s passport the first thing I thought of was what great experiences he would have through travel. I envisioned him learning about foreign cultures, gaining tolerance, being an overall better member of the human race (oh, and that’s just the half of it!). What I didn’t realize was how much I would learn through him when we traveled together.

My most precious memory traveling with Gavin was on our last trip to Cambodia. We took him on a village tour in Siem Reap. Gavin walked around the village and wanted to play with the local kids, climb on the ruins and snuggle with his mommy. He saw no difference between this foreign country and his own home back yard. It opened my eyes to the similarities we all share as humans and closed a bit of the gap which I had felt when I first walked around this rural village. I soon realized that in dreaming of all the things that Gavin would learn on his travels, the one thing I missed was all that I would learn by traveling with him.

I look forward to the many things Gavin and I will continue to learn through our travels together.

Linda Chhay
Mother of: One girl and one boy
Based: Siem Reap, Cambodia

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My favorite part of traveling with kids is I get to take care of her and when she happy or sad I will know because I’m there and not at work.
I have enjoyed a vacation with my kid at the sea.
I hope that because she travels she will see everything new that different from the old place that she usually saw, especially when she can travel a lot she will know the culture of different people and she will not be scared of those people.

Thanh Van
Mother of: Two boys
Based: Hanoi, Vietnam

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My favorite part of traveling with kids is playing with them and taking care of them. I love to enjoy with my kids in the four or five star resorts with nice swimming pools on the beach. I hope my kids get to know the culture of the local people, to discover places that are relatively un-known and get real experience for doing everything by themselves in their life.

Andrea Ross
Mother of: One girl and one boy
Based: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Discussing Buddha
I love that for kids everything about travel is an adventure: the overnight train ride isn’t an exhausting and smelly 12 hours, but rather an amazing experience where you go to sleep and wake up somewhere completely different! My kids are just as excited whether they’re going to the Pumpkin Patch or Thailand and that enthusiasm is contagious. I was lucky enough to grow up traveling and I know the sense of independence and strength it gave me and I love to see my kids learning the same lessons. Traveling helps them figure out who they are and at the same time traveling makes them who they are.

Philippa Nigg
Mother of: Two girls
Based: Truckee, CA

When our kids were little we didn’t travel a lot, or far, but every vacation was an opportunity to explore new experiences and see new places. Then finally we decided that before they were off on their own we would take them to Africa where both of us had grown up. There were groans and please of “Not Aaafrica, there are bugs, and snakes in Aaafrica…”. We went and they never looked back or stopped traveling since! What a fun experience to share those special moments – when we stepped into a local African market – not a tourist market – and they truly realized what it meant to be a minority – when we all felt the adrenalin surge and then relief as we realized the bull elephant was really only doing a mock charge…the shared laughter, new experiences and the opening of horizons happens at unexpected times – but travel and vacations make those moments more likely.
I wish every child and young person could travel, for with travel comes understanding of others as people, of other nations as nations and concern for the whole world rather than a single, selfish small part.

Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Travels!!… Read more »

The Mother of all Weeks: Laos

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Anyone that has stayed or worked in our Luang Prabang office has heard the offspring of this next mom. Nicole interviewed Chim about being a mom in Laos:


Chim

35 years old

Hometown: Luang Prabang

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I know all mothers are busy, but this Lao mother works harder than most I have met. Not only does she take care of her own kids, but family members children from the countryside who come to school in the city as well. On top of that she is the owner and only cook for a big restaurant on the Mekong River. I see all that she does and her responsibilities because this family has adopted me into theirs. Living and working right beside there house I know intimately about Chim’s family and can see what hard work she has to do daily. She is one of the first up to dress her children for school and one of the last to go to bed after closing the restaurant. And as much as I LOVE her children, I have to say they are not the most well behaved. Like a Laos friend once told me, the sound of a child screaming and crying at the top of their lungs is a Laos traditional song. And trust me, these kids got some lungs on them!

How many kids did your mom have?

My mother had four children, two boys and two girls.

How many kids do you have? How many do you want to have?

I have four children as well, but three girls and one boy. I wanted to have eight children before because my family is small. Now that I have four I think it might be enough.

What is your favorite thing about being a mom?

That I get to have a big family. I know that I have to take care of them now, but in the future they will take care of me. When you have big family then everyone can take care of each other.

What is the hardest thing about being a mom?

Having too many kids that are young. It is difficult to give them all the same attention. They all need different things at the same time.

What is the most important advice you will or have given your kids?

To decide what is important to you and your future. Decide if you want a big family or a career.

***Note: Chim doesn’t think her job as owner and cook of the restuarant is a JOB!!!!!!****

What was the most important advice your mom gave you?

To always give my children clean milk. Everytime they want milk you should give it to them and make sure it is clean. And always wash your children daily. Three times a day if they will let you. It keeps them healthy.

What do you hope for your kids?

That they have good health and a good job. I hope my one boy works at the bank.

… Read more »

The Mother of All Weeks: Thailand

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This week’s mom comes from Thailand and is one of our favorite guides. Well has guided for Journeys Within for a number of years and she immediately makes guests feel like part of the family. Jeab interviewed Well about being a mom in Thailand:

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How many kids did your mom have?

My Mom has 3 kids.

How many kids do you have? How many do you want to have?

I had 2 kids. I would like to have 3 kids.

What is your favorite thing about being a mom?

To take a good care of them and hear they called me “Mom”

What is the hardest thing about being a mom?

When I saw them cry and they can’t sleep all night.

What is the most important advice you will or have given your kids?

Try hard for their study because its will help them in the future.

What was the most important advice your mom gave you?

Think positive! (Even sometimes it’s not all easy with my husband)

What do you hope for your kids?

Being a good person in the society and if they have chance to help the charity.

Jeab says: I am actually admiring all Mums, including my Mum. But I will say and show my thumb to Well because she had so much problem after gave birth to her 2nd kid as the doctor found the gallstone in the urinary bladder so he recommended her to take it out so she had double painful from giving birth and gallstone operation. She had even told me that she was thinking I will not be surviving to see my kids grow up!! I saw her in the hospital she looked very weak and skinny but she always has the good spirit! Well works really hard for the tours and being the guide, but she also works hard being the mom, I think that’s really good.… Read more »

Mother of all Weeks: USA

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Today our mother comes from the US and is a friend of April’s. I like that her answers aren’t that different from the moms here in Cambodia, I guess in the end we’re all just mommys after all:

Emily
Hometown: California
Age: 27

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How many kids did your mom have?

My Mom had 4 kids. 1 girl and then 3 boys to follow

How many kids do you have? How many do you want to have?

We have 2 little girls right now and I would like to have at least 1 or 2 more. Pregnancy doesn’t agree with my body but the end result is so amazing! Hopefully we could get a little boy next time we try but we will be happy with whatever we get!

What is your favorite thing about being a mom?

Being a Mom you don’t realize how much your children look up to you and admire you until you see them copying things you do everyday. The other day my 3 year old was attempting to clean the mirror with soap in her bathroom and I was so furious with her. When I asked her what she was doing she replied “I am cleaning just like you” It seriously melts my heart anytime I look at my children and see that they are happy and smiling!

What is the hardest thing about being a mom?

The many other titles that come with being a Mom that most people don’t realize until they ARE a Mom!! Such as cook, nanny, maid, taxi driver, nurse, etc. Being a Mom is the most time consuming thing you could ever do but nothing is more rewarding than being a Mom.

What is the most important advice you will or have given your kids?

That no matter what they do I will always love them

What was the most important advice your mom gave you?

That dishes and laundry can wait but your kids can’t. They grow up way to fast so take advantage of everyday with them because before you know it they will be grown up and moving out of the house.

What do you hope for your kids?

I hope that my children can remember that everything we do helps shape our future and that we need to learn from our mistakes and move on and not dwell on them. I hope that they will be happy and successful at whatever they choose to do knowing that no matter what they do with their lives I will always be there to support them. Also I hope that they remember their manners when I am not there to remind them…is that too much to ask!?!

… Read more »