Traveling with Kids in Nepal

If you are wondering whether your kids are the right age to travel, the answer in our humble opinion is a resounding, yes! It doesn't matter what age your kids are, all of life's experiences are building blocks to whom they will become. You can tailor your trip to their ages and your pocket.  It really is not difficult. We encourage everybody to do some type of trip with their kids. Whether it is a long overseas trip or even a weekend away to a nearby mountain, forest or beach, it's still a learning experience. These minds are our future prime ministers, engineers and environmentalists. They need to get out there and experience life to see first hand what changes need to be made in order to make their world a better place.

Learning is not confined to the classroom, it is all around us and you can teach your children so much just in day to day living. You don't need to be a teacher to impart wisdom to your children. Following are our top twenty suggestions for traveling with kids in Nepal.

1. Following the exchange rate, converting costs and checking the bill is great for maths skills and is a reality of life with money. As well as haggling to get a good price and purchasing and working out what change is owed.

2. If you intend to go anywhere where you might see animals or track them, take plaster of paris. You can take molds of paw prints. For kids, who really can't get too close to wild animals for reasons of safety, this is still a great way to feel like a tracker.

3. Our kids won't walk five minutes to the local shop, but they walked for 18 days to trek to Mt Everest Base Camp. They chose this trek. We think if you give your kids ownership of their holiday or trek; they are more likely to stay enthusiastic about it, than being told what they are doing.

4. Teach your kids a few words in the local language of where you are going. They will have a much better time and will gain respect with the local people.

5. Try and find kids fiction and non fiction books about where you are going, or watch movies about the area you will be in. We read 'The Everest Trilogy" by Gordon Korman before we trekked to the Everest Region. It was fantastic for giving the boys some knowledge of the surrounding mountains, altitude sickness and some idea about how difficult the trek was going to be. For adult books, buy them in Nepal. They are a fraction of the cost you will pay in Australia.

6. We also researched famous people from the countries we were visiting or foreign people who had made an impact in those countries. My boys chose, Sir Edmund Hilary for Nepal, Jim Thompson for Thailand and the Dalai Lama for Tibet

7. Always give your kids a card of where you are staying and the address of your embassy in English and get it written in the local language and enough money for a taxi. It's hard to imagine, but if something were to happen to you, they have a plan. However, that said, I'm sure the embassy would pay their taxi fare, should an emergency arise.

8. Get into the habit of always washing your hands.

9. Wet wipes are handy for faces, hands and bottoms.

10. Whether it was just luck or good hand washing, we really didn't suffer much from diarrhea, however I have heard from a doctor friend that diet red cordial is very good at curing a bad tummy and lets face it, what kid doesn't like red cordial.

11. Unless you have specific medical needs, don't overload your bag with a huge medical kit from home. You can buy everything you need in Asia at a fraction of the price.

12. The same applies to trekking gear. Definitely bring good shoes and socks from home. But if you are not a professional climber you can definitely get away with using copies of everything else, eg jackets, pants, beanies, gloves, walking poles. You may need to get things made especially for your kids, which is inexpensive, but may require time and patience. We used copies and they were fantastic and will be used again.

13. Learn a few card games. Cards are light to carry and you always have a game to play. It's a great way to make new friends. My kids were given a deck of cards in Nepal and learned a new game just about everywhere they went. 

14. Nappy rash cream for trekking, not only heals dry and cracked lips by morning, it can be used on everything. This was our most invaluable trekking item. Seriously! We put it everywhere.

15. Always have a couple of treats in your bag. You never know when hunger will strike or a bribe will be needed. Chocolate is ridiculously priced in the mountains, so buy it in Kathmandu.

16. Whistles. Our boys wore orienteering whistles around their necks everywhere we went. They were only to be blown in an emergency. Trust me when someone blows one of these whistles, everybody stops! Your child can be very easily found in a crowd. Partly due to the fact that everyone is staring at them.

17. Get involved. If you have time we highly recommend donating some of it to a worthy cause. What you give, you will receive back ten fold from the local community. This is an experience that will remain with you and your kids for life. If you are interested we can recommend many places with variety of causes.  Beware: there are many places offering placement for volunteer programs at outrageous costs. The people who really need it do not get this money. You are simply paying a company to introduce you. If you have money to donate, it would be better donated directly to those that need it. We can happily recommend orphanages and a hospital that would love your help or donation.

18. Thermometer and compass. We became quite obsessive about temperatures and directions. They are small, light and fun.

19. If the activity you are planning doesn't have safety equipment that fits your kids. Ask for it. They may be able to get it sent within a few days. We have heard some horror stories that could have ended very badly. Eg Life Jackets.

20. Give your children increased responsibility:  As parents we tend to think of our children as little treasures that need to be protected and have things done for them.  When traveling, it is necessary to actually give them increased responsibility - "wait there and mind the bags, each day on the trek you need to fill the water bottles, you need to make sure all your clothes are packed into the bag".  The children respond magnificently to this increased responsibility and this only adds to their growth.  They seek to understand why they are doing things, and with suitable rewards develop a sense of achievement when they fulfill their responsibilities (not a bad lesson for life).

x Steve, Lisa, Cody & Taiga