Somehow, taking three 8-year olds on an extended tour of Asia seems like a good idea.
We’ll see…
The Plan
Written Summer 2013
We are flying to Nepal in mid-September 2013. We have 6 weeks there, followed by a month in India. We arrive in India in the North and fly out from the very southern tip so I guess that month will involve some pretty immense journeys. From India we head to Sri Lanka for a month, then in January we’ll move on to Thailand, where we plan to base ourselves for the next 6 months or so, visiting as much of South-East Asia as our kids can bear. Money permitting we may also visit Bali but that’s far from certain.
Then, in July 2014, we fly home and try to re-acclimatize to the British weather, to school, to jobs, and to staying in one place for more than a few weeks at a time.
On arriving at Kathmandu, after a 28 hour journey from the UK, we realised we had put all the passport phots we needed for visas in our luggage. Luckily there was a booth where we could get these ones taken. We looked a lot fresher when we set off.
Nepal
Written December 2013
After a lot more than 6 weeks, we are still in Nepal. Indian visas were prohibitively expensive so we decided to stay on. It meant we could linger in Chitwan National Park and we’d loved trekking in the Everest Region so we decided to do the Annapurna Base Camp trek, too.. then one of our girls fell and broke her leg meaning we had a week in hospital and had to spend another three weeks resting up (back in Chitwan).
So no India, nor Sri Lanka. But we’re still loving travelling and are looking forward to moving on to Thailand for Christmas.
Travels with Triplets 
As adults your children will thank you for their memories and admire your courage in taking this step into an adventure.
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Love reading through your posts so far. You & the kids will have a fantastic time. We’ve just returned from 3weeks in Nepal with our girls, 6 & 8 years. We also did Nepal in 2012 & India in 2011. The girls saw so much and were great travellers. As you would know, it’s hard work with kids but really enjoyable. Have fun!!
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Really enjoy reading your posts. Its like reading a really interesting book. Hope all is well! Caroline
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Hello to all from Joseph. I met you at the airport flying to Lukla, and again the day we all saw Everest for the first time. At that point yr game plan was ‘Gokyo or Bust’ and the girls were scratching that name into the dust on the trail. I ended up going up and down all three valleys, first the east (to Everest), then the west (to Thame, Marlung, and Lungden), and finally to Gokyo. I had just come down from Kala Pattar when the big snow began and I got stuck in Pheriche for three days as it piled up outside. You must have had an exciting journey getting down from Gokyo in those conditions. Of course I didn’t know whether you had made it that far until I got there in early November and asked around, but you and yr tribe had not been forgotten. I’ve enjoyed reading the posts from everyone, you are all fine writers — the whole thing is beautifully laid out and entertaining. I totally understand why there is a big gap around the time you were in the higher regions as internet access was hard to find except in Gokyo itself. Congratulations to all, especially the girls for making the top of Gokyo Ri. I made it but it took me 7 hours round trip. That was the turning point for me, and every step after that was a step towards home. I ended up spending over 7 weeks in the Khumbu and celebrated my 71st birthday up there. I will always remember our first meeting at Kathmandu airport, watching Fergis carabiner each girl to her teddy bear. What a good Dad! Joseph Stevenson — Astoria, Oregon, USA
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Hi Joseph. Great to hear from you. And 7 weeks?! That’s dedication. We were there for nearly 4 weeks in the end, I think. But we all want to go back someday. I’m not sure it’s possible to go high into the mountains and not fall a little bit in love with the place.
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Enjoyed reading your blog and it’s great that you’ve had the courage to take the kids out of school and give them a different type of education for a year. We did something similar (Spain, not quite so adventurous) when my daughter was seven and she easily managed to catch up.
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Thanks for the comment, it’s good to hear that catching up was OK.
We did some algebra for home school today and the kids really took it in their stride. Fingers crossed they’ll fit back in just fine.
It us going back to work that I’m worried about!
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Love that you are doing this for yourselvs and the kids, and great that they get to experience it all together:)
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Thanks for the comment, it’s good to know that not everyone thinks we are crazy…!
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you’re not crazy… you’re brilliant:) Happy travels:)
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