You so would not believe the day I have had! First off I forgot to turn up to work…yep crazy day ahead alert.
So I worked a half day! Then when I got back to our Motorhome, I had to ring and speak to a telstra person regards our internet Modem. Which is broken and wont turn on. Luckily we have another Internet Device so I can still connect. The person on the other end (who is meant to work for Telstra) can not understand me, and I can’t understand what she is saying…mind you she is not talking much. She is spelling out everything that I say – literally!
Yeah crazy day, ends with me trying to play catch up with all of the emails that are pouring in. Then I almost forgot to post our Regular Monday Featured Travel Blogger. Luckily someone said to me today “Hey, it’s a gorgeous Monday” 🙂
So without any more waffling on from me…..New Life on the Road is proud to announce Monday Featured Travel Blogger is Mary from Bohemian Travelers.
Q:- When did you and your family start travelling? Did you travel before having children?
We both started traveling just after high school, but I myself have always had a traveling bug in me. We took a few road trips out across the US and I went with a girlfriend to Europe for several months. I think that trip was what sealed the deal on my need to travel.
As a family we were always quite active and even if we were not on vacation I made it a point to get out and explore our area as much as possible. Then about 6 years ago we decided to sell everything, quit our jobs, and move to Costa Rica. We took a 1 month road trip with the boys first and they did so wonderfully. I really think traveling around our area of the country helped them gain the ability to adapt in most any situation. We lived in Central America for 5 years, again exploring the area. Now we are on an around the world trip of constant travel, living the nomadic life. We are currently in Asia and look to head over towards Europe by this winter!
Crater Lake in Oregon before our move to Costa Rica ~
What a great photo moment!
Q:- You are a family of five travelling (three boys), do you homeschool as you are travelling, or place your children back into school?
We un school our boys. We did homeschooling even before we left the US and then slowly transitioned into un schooling as our time in Costa Rica progressed. For us it is the path that is most harmonious and instills a love of learning best. We believe very strongly in the principles of child led learning and after letting go of all the societal pressures that can often times cloud judgement, we have been able to see the amazing growth and learning that has taken place in our 3 little guys.
Our youngest on the white house lawn during a Washington DC trip ~
Love this one 🙂
Q:- What inspired you to travel, and where was your first destination?
I think what initially inspired us, when we first left the US, was a strong desire to get our kids out of the consumer driven madness that we were seeing all around us. We wanted them to understand that there is a difference between what we need and what we want in life. We felt that couldn’t be accomplished very easily in the US.
When we left Costa Rica for our round the world adventure 6 months ago I think what inspired us most (although there were many things) was seeking out personal growth. My husband and I felt a bit stagnated in CR in regards to feeling so comfortable that our own growth was not increasing like we wanted. We knew once we pushed ourselves out of that comfort zone those challenges would thrust us into a path of self discovery. It’s working for all of us 🙂
Q:- If you could travel to any place in the world, where would you take your family/and why?
That is a very difficult question to answer. There are so many things to see in this world. On one hand I have dreamed of taking my family to Italy ever since I was there in 1998. But on the other hand seeing the pyramids or Petra together as a family is also something that I cannot wait to do.
We have decided against India on this trip and maybe that is part of the reason I think India is the real answer here. It is a place that I am nervous about but also the one that I feel will do the most to push me out of that comfort zone I mentioned earlier. Kids can learn so much from a country both rich in culture and drenched in poverty all at the same time. I feel it would be most valuable to us as human beings.
All of us at a wedding in Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica ~
Love the family photo, and the smiles on those boys….gorgeous!
Q:- Where are you currently living? Do you work as you travel?
We do not really “live” any where. At the moment we are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but in a week we will be in Cambodia and in a month we will be in Vietnam, so being settled down is not something we do, at least not at the moment. We take our time on our travels and stay in a town for 1-3 weeks and then move on.
We do work while we travel. My husband owns and runs a successful blog, writes books, and as an entrepreneur he is always coming up with another way to generate income while we move around. I contribute slightly, just play money really, with our travel blog; www.bohemiantravelers.com. As long as we have an internet connection then we can both continue working. We have also discovered how much work we can get done without a connection. Amazing how much you can write without the distractions of facebook, email, and general surfing of the web.
My oldest and youngest looking out a plane window ~
Great Brotherly Love 😉
Q:- Do your boys like travelling together? What is the one place they have enjoyed the most (so far!)
Well really being together all the time is all they have ever known. They love it most days but without having any activities or friends separate from one another it can be somewhat difficult, especially for my 13-year-old. They would do anything for each other but some days they have just had enough.
As for a favorite place, we all have the same answer still after 6 months…Vang Vieng, Laos. I am not sure if it was the caving, tubing, driving scooters, or the overall authentic cultural experience but mostly everything about Laos was amazing, unique, and a one of a kind experience. We loved it!
My middle son loving the beach at Punta Uva ~
How Much Fun Does That Look?
About The Author:-
We are a family of 5, mom, dad, and 3 boys age 13, 9, and 4 (almost 5). We started our around the world adventure in Asia but plan to be in Europe before 2012 is over! We travel because we want to see and show our boys the world in order to have a deeper perspective and become true global citizens. We want to show them first hand that the world is theirs to be anything they dream it can be!
Follow along as we exit the rat race and enter a life of adventure; on our blog “Bohemian Travels” or on Facebook!
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A massive thanking you sent to Mary from Bohemian Travelers for sharing more about your travelling journey.
How Inspirational Is Mary and her Family?
Have You Got Any Questions For Bohemian Travelers?
Cheers
Lisa
New Life on the Road.
PS:- Here are the Previous Featured Monday Travel Bloggers:-
Monday Featured Travel Blogger Travel Mamas – Colleen from Travel Mamas
Monday Featured Travel Blogger Special Needs Travel Mom – Karin from Special Needs Mom
Monday Featured Travel Blogger 1 Dad 1 Kid – Windwalker Duo from 1 Dad, 1 Kid
Featured Travel Blogger Travel Experta – Marina from Travel Experta
Featured Travel Blogger – Rachel from Our Wee Trip
Monday Featured Travelling Blogger Revealed – Natalie from Family in a Van
Monday Travelling Blogger Featured – Tracey from Life Changing Year
Travel Blogger – Jess from With 2 kids in Tow
Featured Travel Blogger – Jan from Budget Travel Talk
Featured Travel Blogger At New Life on the Road – Lisa From Gone With The Family
This Week Featured Travel Blogger – Keryn from Walking On Travels
Monday Featured Travelling Blogger Journey – Jeremy from Living The Dream
Featured Travel Blogger Monday – Suzi from Two and A Half Travellers
I would love to know what they travel with in terms of baggage, personal possessions, clothes etc because I imagine if they are on thr move all the time they must have to travel light?
Hi Holly, thanks for the questions:) We do travel really light and it’s something I feel really proud about. Actually besides 2 boxes at a friends house in the US (with baby books, old pics, etc) the things we travel with are all we own in the whole world.
We have 1 large pack (65L or so, for hubby, oldest sons clothes, first aid kit, and out toiletries), 1 medium one (45L with mine, and my 2 youngest children’s clothes and a few minor toiletries items), 1 small kids travel pack that houses the things we don’t use much like cold weather clothes, candle, kitchen things, etc.
Then there are 4 day packs, 1 with the 4 year old’s toys and legos and the other 3 for all our damn electronics:) We actually just got rid of a huge pack (75L) by paring down what we weren’t using much of the first 6 months. As an addendum, we just bought a small keyboard for our musically inclined 8 year old so we’ll be carting that as long as we can stand it:)
Mary recently posted..Will Timeshares Work for Digital Nomads?
Love these guys! Can’t wait to meet them.
Erin Bender recently posted..Through the jungle, down the rapids
Now that would be so cool 🙂