Darren and Sandy (Harkness) Van Soye

(Reprinted with permission from "Experiences Magazine" 2004)

This wasn’t your ordinary vacation. This was a lifestyle change that lasted more than four months. Departing in September 2003 and returning in January 2004, Darren and Sandy Van Soye, along with daughters Lauren, age 13, and Kristen, age 10, embarked on 19-week adventure, visiting12 countries of England, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, India, Australia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia and France. Darren is a manager in IT Systems Integration and Architecture, Credit Services, while Sandy is a director in IT Applications Solutions, Product Applications Development, Credit Services, both with Experian.

 “We had been talking about doing this for the last four years,” said Sandy. “We found that 2003 gave us a good window of time, given our daughters' ages. We came up with a financial plan and saved money during that time.”

Sandy and Darren explained that their main purpose of the trip was to provide an educational experience for Lauren and Kristen. “It was also an opportunity for us to learn because we are fascinated with history, archeology and architecture. “They home-schooled their daughters on the trip, after working closely with their school before leaving. Most of the countries they selected to visit integrated with their daughters’ studies. For example, Kristen studied Africa and India while they were actually in those countries.

They worked closely with their daughters' principal, teachers and a math tutor months before leaving so Lauren and Kristen could get ahead and learn the concepts. Lauren and Kristen did some of their schoolwork over the summer to minimize the amount of work while traveling. They obtained lesson plans and books to take along for their studies while traveling. To reduce the weight of materials to carry, they cut up workbooks and took double-sided copies. They also arranged to ship books home in exchange for new ones sent to them by Sandy’s parents while in Australia.

Darren and Sandy each requested an unpaid leave of absence from work, with the understanding that there was no guarantee of job protection. “Both our managers graciously granted us a leave. We also spent the last few weeks before we left turning over work to our coworkers who acted in our place while we were gone. Even with all this, we didn’t’ know until we came back if we actually had jobs,” explained Sandy.

Travel planning also included getting four shots each to protect them from yellow fever, typhoid, encephalitis and hepatitis. They requested prescriptions for antibiotics and malaria, and purchased several over-the-counter drugs, and bought travelers’ and evacuation insurance policies.

The pace of being on the move for 19 weeks was challenging, said Sandy, and they missed some of the creature comforts of home, such as English printed material, hot water, comfortable beds and TV (especially for the kids). There was one hostel in Zambia that they had to leave because it was so bad. The “eastern” toilets, all agreed, also were “challenging” to use.

While “roughing it” most of the time in hostels, they stayed at a nice hotel at least once a week. Most of the hostels and huts (on safaris) were clean and secure, and many had washing machines as well as kitchens, said Darren. “We cooked many meals along the way, particularly pasta because it’s easy to prepare. In fact, we ate pasta for Christmas dinner while in Australia. When you’re traveling for this long, you have to find ways to stretch your budget.”

Since most of the trip was spent in warm places, the heat and the bugs were almost constant, said Sandy. They dealt with it as best as possible by bringing supplies such as insect repellant, lightweight clothing, hats and sunscreen. “One interesting tip we learned was to make sure water bottle caps were securely fastened – this was meant to prevent buying used bottles filled with unsafe water,” explained Darren. “We also had to be on the alert for scams and rip-offs in many places,” said Sandy. The travel safety guidebooks were very helpful, added Darren.

“There was a nice simplicity on the trip when all you have is a 15- to 30-pound backpack with you,” said Sandy. They each packed three outfits, sandals, boots, fleece jackets, long under wear and rain jackets. Other than receiving a shipment of books, lithium batteries for their cameras and sending back their cold-weather clothes in Australia, they made do with their original supplies. 

They experienced famous sights such as the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and Harbor, Victoria Falls and Angkor Wat (ancient ruins in Cambodia). Less typical experiences included trekking in the Himalayas and in the jungles of Borneo and going on safaris in Africa. They visited a real village in Zambia and learned about the villagers’ way of life and stayed in an authentic Thai village for two nights. They learned about the countries’ history, different cultures, customs and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, and attended a Hindu service and visited several Buddhist monasteries. They rode elephants and camels, and saw lions, emus, kangaroos, jackass penguins, and many other exotic animals.

The rode trains in Africa, India, Australia, Thailand and Europe. In all, they took seven overnight train rides during the trip. “Riding trains is sort of a hobby for us, so it was great that we were able to have so many experiences in many different countries,” said Sandy. Their favorite was a three-day/two-day night trip from Zambia to Tanzania, said Darren. “Even though the cars were in poor repair and had bugs, and it was hot and humid and the food wasn’t very good, we were in Africa. On the last day, we traveled through Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, where we actually saw elephants, giraffe, wildebeest, warthog and zebra from our window. It wasn’t hard to imagine what travel was like one hundred years ago.”

“We were really scared before we left and were wondering if things would work out,” said Sandy. “It was a long time to be away and we didn't know if we would get hurt, sick or be in danger.”  While they selected their itinerary with safety in mind based on information from guidebooks, they were always on guard. A few times they found themselves walking in a strange city at night such as a narrow street in Cape Town, South Africa. Darren said he and Lauren were out late and had to walk through dark, deserted city streets in Lusaka, Zambia. “I also fell while jungle trekking on the island of Borneo. I realized that if I had broken by leg, hip or arm, the trip would probably be over. At the time, we were hours away from any kind of real medical help. But, you take a chance every day when you get into your car. Our goal was to do the research, determine the risks, and either avoid or mitigate them.”

Sandy and Darren said that the length of time provided a chance to really get away from the day-to-day issues at home and reflect on living through the time on the trip. The family was together almost all day, every day during the whole trip. While that was challenging at times, they also learned a lot about each other and felt like they got to know their girls better at an important time in their lives. “Because of the nature of the trip, we had lots of time to talk, giving us the chance to have discussions that we otherwise wouldn’t have had,” said Darren. “We also had conflicts, but can I look back on these as a learning experience.”

Most importantly, they feel the trip brought the family closer. “It gave all of us, especially our daughters, a worldview of things,” said Sandy and Darren. “They learned not to take things for granted and got real world experience from interacting with other people. We literally watched our daughters grow up before our eyes, when we compare them from the beginning of the trip to the end. We’re now noticing different behaviors in social situations where they have a new confidence. Both seem more comfortable speaking with adults or calling someone on the phone.”

“Almost without exception, we met people who were hospitable and friendly and who made us feel welcome,” explained Sandy. “People are so happy to see anyone travelling internationally at this time that it is really a shame that more people are not doing so. As we met people we also felt privileged to be Americans. People definitely aspire to know more about America and want to come here, so we felt very blessed to be living here.”