Two days ago, while at staying at a gorgeous youth hostel in Raglan, New Zealand, I met an American (USA) family. They have two girls (8 and 10 years old) with whom they are traveling for six months. They are also homeschooling their kids. They were only three weeks into their trip, which is heading west (compared to our easterly travel direction). Next week, they will be heading to Asia, where we spent seven months.
We only spoke together for a few minutes, but the mother asked me for advice for their upcoming time in Asia. She said "There are plenty of good places but is there any place we should avoid?"
It was a good preface to her question. There ARE lots of good places. There are tons of great places. We have seen and done so many wonderful things so far, but quickly, three "must-do's" come to mind - places I would recommend in a second (interestingly, they are all very remote or natural places)!
Staying in treehouses and flying along
15 kilometers of zip-lines through the forest in the Laotian Nam Kan National Park.
Spending four incredible days snorkeling and hiking while camping and
kayaking on the beautiful islands in Palau.
Exploring the remote backwater villages through the jungles of
Borneo for five days in a motorized dugout canoe.
Surfing the long left-handed breaks on a near-empty beach when staying in a teepee at a serene and healthy
hostel in Raglan, New Zealand.
But is there any place I would recommend travelers or families avoid, from amongst the many places we have been so far? Places I would never ever go to again?
No. There is no place (to which we have been on this trip), that I would never go to again or would tell people to avoid.
That might seem unlikely - but remember - attitude is everything!
Nadia
