When in Rome, becoming one with the people

Ok, so let's start off by saying that each child is different and develops at different times. However, as practical advise that we can give from what we've learned along the way is that life in the slow lane is more enjoyable. It's important to note that we're no longer those hiking and camping twenty year old kids who set out to see everything they can in the least amount of time so they can see as much as they can. The children, as well as Artur, have specific timings and really enjoy being at home, having leisure time, their time playing or whatever it may be they need time for. I must admit I'm the one with 'ants in my pants' and I don't want to miss out on anything out there, but I learnt that it's best to choose what places I definitely want to visit and stay for longer periods of time so I can get to really know those places as a local and not as a mere tourist.

In a park in Penang, Malaysia. The boys became friends with this group of children and one went home to look for cookies made by his mother, to share with us.

We like to get to know the people, the places that the locals go to, to visit those playgrounds or those beaches where (hopefully) there isn't a crowd. Often times we've turned down opportunities to see certain places or do certain things despite knowing that others would say: "what do you mean you didn't visit THAT temple?, but being you were so close to it?, did you not go so you could rest?", and to answer those questions, yes, I regret to tell you that it has happened that way, and yes, we did stay back so we could rest. Because this is our lifestyle nowadays. Getting to the realization that this is a lifestyle took me longer than the time it took the three men in our family. However, on many occasions I'd rather take a class on essential oils than visiting a temple that's amazing and not to be missed at dawn. We also did do those kinds of things, but most of the time they didn't go as smoothly and they could have, such as getting up at the break of dawn and getting in the car for what seemed like an eternal drive just to get to that temple to watch the sunrise, only to realize that it's cloudy or have everyone feeling grumpy because we're all still sleepy and only wish we'd stayed in bed sleeping.

With Mohan, we met him in Melaka, Malaysia, at a bus stop, and as none came, we shared a taxi and became inseparable. Artur's beret was made by Mohan as a parting gift.

We like to live life in the slow lane, we enjoy getting to know every nook 'n cranny of the places we visit. If we find we don't like the place where we've arrived, we simply pack up and leave, even if it is "the" place to visit in Asia, we head to a place where we enjoy being. Even when you're visiting a different continent, that thing others say like "you have to go visit Laos because you're so close to it" doesn't really apply to us, because having the freedom to decide if we stay or if we go at any given time, is the most interesting part of this trip.