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Daily Journal
Our adventure begins here!
Processing/Recap
On 09/22/2015, I messaged our friends in Malaysia to ask if we could start planning to make a visit some time in 2017. It seemed so far away, but we are now back from that trip! For over a year, I ate, slept, planned, and over-thought this trip. Just ask my husband! There’s just so much to think about when traveling so far around the world with 2 young children. We’ve gone on several lengthy road trips, but there’s always been a Walgreens or Target around the corner when a need arises. Also, given that we would be using a lot of public transportation & our children are not yet able to handle their own luggage, the 4 of us packed all our stuff into 2 suitcases (plus our normal backpack carry-ons)! It was a challenge, but it really worked out! Prior to this trip, our children had only been on one round-trip on an airplane. So, that aspect of this trip was an adjustment as well (6 flights total, ranging from 1.5 hours to 13 hours). One more thing we tried to prepare the kids for was the relentless humidity. All in all, our kids were absolute troopers! Our younger daughter was a little under the weather most of the time too, but she just kept going.
It feels surreal that this trip actually happened. All the emotion finally hit me as we were getting ready for bed a couple hours after arriving back home. I had a good cry. For missing our friends. For our travel mates. For the planning coming together & working out. For second guessing after-the-fact planning choices & attitudes. For new experiences & cultures, especially for our kids. For safety every step of the way. And then…for the realization of the trip having gone by so quickly & for the planning to be done. For laundry & getting back to “normal.” Most of all, for God’s hand in all of it. Thank the Lord…for everything.
Malaria Meds
We took the last of our malaria meds today (06/12/2017). So far, so good! Seems like third time’s a charm for my husband. He’s had malaria twice before, when he was in really deep jungle areas in the Philippines and the Ivory Coast. Yet another thing to thank the Lord for on this trip!
Here’s a list of many of the useful items we took with us: Items to Pack for SE Asia
How have you felt after returning home from a long-awaited & long-planned trip? Please share in the comments below!
STARTS WITH
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