It's a journey that has long lived in our dreams, an adventure that we've looked forward to for ages. When our boys weren't 'school bound', we wanted to make a longer trip to Australia and New Zealand. The plane tickets were booked and we were going. Almost....
A month before departure the pandemic began and we were all at home. Our company, Tula Yoga Studios, was struggling and with doors closed we decided to start an online business, Tula Yoga Online. Our days became longer and the nights shorter. Fortunately, our workdays never really felt like work, because we always did what we loved and still do. But the big trip never left our minds.
When the whole world opened up again our wanderlust started to itch more than ever. After a long time of surviving (business wise), we really wanted to start living again. We wanted to go out, discover the world, spend more time outdoors, get to know new cultures and taste new flavours.
The dream of traveling the world with our kids resurfaced. To step out of our comfort zone and make beautiful memories. However, our boys were now obligated to attend school and our businesses were open 7 days a week. We didn't know exactly how to arrange all this, and had to figure out many things. But we did...
This website, our Youtube channel and our Instagram account is our way of sharing our experiences during our travel and what we did to start this journey.
We share our adventures and call ourselves the Family Life Explorers. We focus on three pillars: family, life and travel.
For us, this is not just a search for new destinations, but a deep desire to embrace life. We have a great hunger for adventure, a thirst for the unknown and a passion for discovering everything this world has to offer. But why do we want this so badly?
Our 3 reasons to travel the world with kids
1. Live more outdoors
Managing our yoga studios is an amazing life with a lot of inspiring and open-minded people around us. However, we spend a lot of time indoors behind our computers and we miss to be outside more.
We find peace and inspiration in nature and by making this world trip we will consciously spend more time outdoors. There will be plenty of time for hikes in the mountains, campfires under the stars and mornings with only the sound of the birds. We look forward to leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind and embrace the simplicity and beauty of nature.
2. See more of the world and discover new cultures
Is this it, our life? A question that came up regularly. We currently live in an average family house in Almere (next to Amsterdam) with a small garden where we can just about grow a crate of vegetables ourselves. That's fantastic, of course, but we've never have time to garden. Let alone that we know how to do it, while so many people in this world are self-sufficient. We are curious about how other people live in this world.
The world is big and diverse, and we want to see everything of it! We are not only curious about other cultures, but also about the diversity in landscapes. Maybe then we will discover for ourselves how we would really like to live.
3. Giving life meaning
We decided to embrace every second of this trip, admire every view and cherish every conversation. Our world trip is more than just a journey. It is a way of life, a philosophy and a celebration of everything it means to be human. Jon Jandai once said in his TED Talk 'Life is Easy' and that is so true.
We believe in the beautiful quote of Victor E. Frankl: "the meaning of life is to give life meaning" and we want to explore that further. We consciously choose to take a year away, together on an adventure. Only we can color our own lives, no one else will do it for us.
We invite you to travel with us on this unforgettable adventure :-)