While planning for our year, both in advance and on-the-go, TripAdvisor became our sixth family member. We poured over reviews and suggestions of restaurants, apartments, hikes, hotels, trains, and self-guided tours. As a school writing assignment, we even studied what makes a good review and published some of our own.

Because it was so useful to hear from those who have gone before, we want to share some of our recommendations for YOUR trips abroad. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just many of the great things that come to mind when we look back on our year.

Sorry there are no helpful comments here, but we wholeheartedly recommend all of these places and activities linked below (we DID have some disasters and some less-than-ideals, we just left them off the list). If you want the full story, feel free to email us and we will talk your ear off!

GENERAL TRAVEL

AirTreks Round-the-World Airfare

Renault Eurodrive Lease/Buyback Program

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor CityGuides App

HomeAway Rentals

Holiday Lettings Rentals

AirBnB Apartment Rentals

Rick Steves Audio Europe

ICELAND

Iceland Camping Card

Hotel Keilir, Keflavik

Northsailing Whale Watching, Husavik

FRANCE

Hotel Esmeralda, Paris

Le Manoir Quinquis, Bannalec

Cro Bique, rental in Beynac-et-Cazenac

Font-de-Gaume Cave Paintings, Les Eyzies

Beynac Castle, Beynac-et-Cazenac

Transmanche Ferries

ENGLAND

Broadhembury Campground, Kent

Dover Castle, Kent

Farriers Arms Pub, Kent

London Eye

Tower of London

Blenheim Palace, Oxford

Helm Lune Cottage Rental, Bowness

Holiday Inn Maidstone, Seven Oaks

Car train through the Chunnel

BELGIUM

Maison Antoine Frites, Brussels

European Union Visitors Centre

SWITZERLAND

Chalet Im Batzenboden, Wengen

Trummelbach Falls, Lauterbrunnen

CROATIA

Montona Gallery Pizza, Motovun

Perfectly Charming House, Viganj

Antony Boy Camping and Windsurfing, Viganj

Jadrolinja Ferries

ITALY

L’Arcobaleno Apartment, Rome

Il Sorpasso Ristorante, Rome

MOROCCO

Riad Safir, Meknes

Rough Tours Company, Sahara

TUNISIA

Novotel, Tunis

GREECE

Hotel Phaedra

TURKEY

Villa Blanca Rental, Davutlar

Ephesus Archaeological Site, Izmir

Perge Archaeological Site, Antalya

Flintstones Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Red and Rose Valley Trails, Goreme

Sedef Restaurant, Goreme

Hitchhiker ATV Rental, Goreme

Sahkulu Place Apartment, Istanbul

TANZANIA

Nomad Tanzania Safaris

RWANDA

Solace Guesthouse, Kigali

Kigali Memorial Centre, Kigali

Meze Fresh Burritos, Kigali

MALAYSIA

Petrosains Science Museum, Kuala Lumpur

Novotel City Centre, Kuala Lumpur

THAILAND

Thailand Elephant Conservation Center

Sojos Cafe, Chiang Mai

Khaomao Khaofang Restaurant, Chiang Mai

Free Burma Rangers

Medici Restaurant, Bangkok

Navalai River Resort, Bangkok

Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok

VIETNAM

V’Spirit Cruise, Ha Long Bay

Hanoi Charming 2 Hotel, Hanoi

CHINA

New Day Foster Home Guesthouse, near Beijing

Huanghua Great Wall of China

Olympic Water Cube Water Park, Beijing

Xian HQ Apartments, Xian

Mt Huashan Hike, Xian

Terra Cotta Warriors, Xian

JAPAN

Japan Railpass

Sakara Kyoto Guesthouse, Kyoto

Sakara Gion Machiya Rental, Kyoto

Musashi Sushi, Kyoto

Hiroshima Memorial Park, Hiroshima

Andersen Kitchen, Hiroshima

Toyota Plant Tour, Toyota City

Pepper Lunch, Tokyo

KOREA

Cozy Residence Apartment, Seoul

… AND SOME ORGANIZATIONS WE HAVE GROWN TO LOVE

St. James Muswell Hill, London

Friends of the Lakes District, Kendal, UK

Lakes Christian Centre, Bowness, UK

St. Paul’s Cultural Center, Antalya, Turkey

World Relief Rwanda

Sonrise School, Musanze, Rwanda

Akiba School, Nairobi, Kenya

Light and Power Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

The Ocean Church, Tanzania

Kenya Connection, Kenya

Dave and Lucy Chaves, Nairobi, Kenya

Christ Church Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya

International Justice Mission Thailand, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Grace International School, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Free Burma Rangers, Chiang Mai, Thailand

New Day Foster Home, China

HAPPY ADVENTURES TO YOU ALL!

The results are in, and the winner is…..Malaysia, by about 48 hours. A Malaysian Ringgit, though worth only about 30 cents, comes as a beautiful, periwinkle blue paper bill with a delicate, transparent window and a tropical hibiscus. But H mainly sees a 3-ringgit pack of gum at the airport.

I’ve been trying to walk the boys through some Easter-related conversations during Lent. We sat down for yesterday’s conversation about MERCY in a perfect setting: each of us oceanside on a reclining chair, the late afternoon sun drooping towards the horizon, water from the Malacca Strait rolled over and over and over on the beach nearby.

Then … a flock of hungry hornbills gathered in the pine trees above us. The boys were more concerned about the imminent poop threat than Ephesians. One boy started making a stick pile pyramid in the grass. “How much longer?” another asked. “Can we go swimming?” was the answer to one of my Lenten questions. It was not a teacher’s perfect moment.

Still — an enduring memory from our few days at a Malaysian beach resort: three boys on my shoulder.

I don’t get a lot of intentional snuggling these days from our stable of young stallions … but these shoulder moments in the pool and in the ocean were sweet. And I celebrate the momentary gifts, known to — and surely cherished by — fathers of sons for time eternal.

At this late hour, a group of Japanese fellow tourists are swimming together in the darkness. A lot of laughing is coming from that direction. They may or may not be naked.

So it is as we’re enjoying a healthy dose of goofy in our current location, a seaside resort off the western coast of Malaysia. There has been a lot of laughing coming from the five of US … and it feels good.

A few nights ago, S and I were lip syncing mightily during dinner along with the endless stream of Love Songs piped through resort speakers. (I’ve already written about Barry White’s offering here.) We emoted through Chicago’s “After All That We’ve Been Through” and Paula Abdul’s “Rush Rush” and Alphaville’s “Forever Young.”

E rolled his eyes and said: “Ah, romance in the 80s!”

Then, earlier today, W had some time to himself in the boys’ room … and used that time to hide their stable of stuffed animals around the room … in a kind of scavenger hunt pageant.

Here is one of them … Puffy … who was found in the bathroom:

So I think it’s right that your view of the stars depends on where you are in our world. That would mean that the night sky in Virginia, say, is different than the night sky in Malaysia.

If true, it would explain why Orion’s Belt is directly above us … when it’s usually so low on the horizon.

I never thought I’d be in Asia … where Orion’s Belt is where it is … and where the sun *sets* OVER THE OCEAN. It’s not the cosmic differences that kept me from coming this far from home. It’s just that we live in a big world … and, despite the crazy and far-flung places I often visit with my job, I never thought my travels would bring me here. Ever. I think I even said as much on several occasions to friends.

Ever is … now … and I consider this turn of events under a new night sky (while Barry White sings his version of “Just the Way You Are”  through lobby speakers).

According to Greek mythology, Orion was a giant and a hunter. (A little bit like Barry White!) I guess we’re hunters, too … hunting Echoes … and rooting out the places in our lives we never thought we’d visit.

The tooth hangs by a thread, flicking back and forth almost as easily and mindlessly as breathing in and out. If you ask him why he doesn’t just pull it out, the answer is quick and firm: “NO. I DON’T WANT TO.”

H is on the verge of losing his second tooth of the trip. All three boys are hitting growth spurts, including their mouths, and at times it seems their teeth are exploding right out of their bodies.

In Virginia, the Tooth Fairy usually brings $1 for a tooth, but right now we are in Malaysia where one Malaysian Ringgit is equal to about 30 cents. We have lost teeth in at least six different countries this year, some in a more favorable market than others. What is the Tooth Fairy to do about international exchange rates?

Here’s how it has shaken down.

W lost the first tooth of the trip at a restaurant while camping in Iceland. It bled a lot. He received 100 Icelandic Krona, about $0.79.

W lost another one in London. The British Pound is strong! He got £1, which then was about $1.41.

H successfully yanked one in the Lake District, UK, so he scored £1 too.

Then the next day during Art of Language class, W popped out a molar that wasn’t even loose. We were/are a little suspect that perhaps he was just wanting to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate while still in the UK — or he wanted to get out of his writing assignment. Another £1 for him.

Croatia?? Our memory is fuzzy about whether W lost a tooth in Croatia. It sounds familiar, but it seems like he wouldn’t have enough teeth left if this were true. I think he did and got 5 Croatian Kuna, about $.86. But then I borrowed it from him to make change at the grocery….

E worked and worked and worked on a loose tooth for most of December, through Morocco, Greece, and Turkey. At the Bultemas’ New Years Eve party, he had no less than 20 offers to “help” with its removal. It finally came out (on its own) on New Years Day. He received 2 Turkish Lira, which is $1.11.

Only one tooth came out in Africa — W lost an enormous molar in Kenya (see, he is really is exploding). It’s a shame he never bothered to put it under his pillow, so he missed out on 100 Kenyan Shillings, or $1.16.

The bottom line is that it just won’t always be fair — a life lesson worth learning. I tried to tell them they are lucky to have teeth to be losing in the first place, but that didn’t go over so well.

So H’s canine has been loose for quite some time. Rwanda, Kenya, now Malaysia. Will he go for the 3 Malaysian Ringitt ($.97), or will he hold out for 30 Thai Baht ($1.01) next week?

Stay tuned — just don’t offer to pull it out for him.

One of our sons lost a particularly special memento today, a blue bracelet with home memories that he picked up just before we left the USA last summer. It’s been on his wrist ever since.

I don’t want to treat his loss lightly. He is devastated.

We realized it was missing this evening after a walk and some ice cream in downtown Kuala Lumpur. I’d just taken this photo:

These folks had arranged themselves for a group shot, and I thought it might be funny to take their photo in the seemingly iconic spot … in front of a lighted fountain shaped like stacked tea saucers.

Who are they? I don’t know … but there we all were. For a moment.

It wasn’t a momentous moment. Not like, say, football fans gathering for kick off tonight between Barcelona and Real Madrid. (I’m not happy with the final score.) Or, say, an entire country’s-worth of voters gathering for Kenya’s election tomorrow.

Still, there we all were. For a moment.

Fountain picture. Giggle. Finish ice cream. Satisfied. Bracelet is missing. Sadness. A moment.

We come and we go through moments like this — momentous and not-so-momentous.

And I think *all* of them are worth writing about.

My first friend was — is — Charles. An early memory: he and I are walking up a hill in our neighborhood, and we’re spitting every few steps. It was a cool habit we’d picked up very intentionally from another friend at elementary school named Scott.

“Soon,” Charles said, “the whole world is going to be full of our spit and Scott’s spit.”

Another memory: I admired how two cousins threw around interjections. At the time, of course, I didn’t know the definition of “interjection” … but I sure liked how they included “Sweet!” or “Dog!” in most of their sentences.

I’m reminded of these memories today … as S and I toured Kuala Lumpur with our boys, all of us partially reeling from jet lag. The boys were testy. They were gross. They were loud, boisterous. They were occasionally disobedient, occasionally frustrating. There were a few inappropriate interjections, followed by shared hilarity. We whipped around from strong discipline moments … to hours and hours of family togetherness at a SCIENCE EXHIBIT that enthralled them!

The photo above was taken at a Japanese sushi restaurant in an upscale Malaysian mall. Minutes after one of my oldest two sons tried to horse down his first piece of sushi (crab meat, salmon, and mango) … he kindly brought it back to the busy restaurant by returning it to his plate unsuccessfully swallowed.

Were we applied on all cylinders today? Did we hear any Echoes? I don’t know … but I’m convinced — after some time to reflect in a quiet room — that frustrating days are just as important as other days on this journey.

After all, my two eldest sons jumped at the chance to join me for sushi tonight because, in their words, they wanted to come “for the experience.”

Sweet.

Another day, another continent…. It seems too soon to leave Africa behind, but here we are in Kuala Lumpur, with all of our luggage AND all of our children. The first food stand I saw in the airport was for “corny fish”. Is this for bad fish jokes or a fishy corn dog? Too bad we didn’t have a chance to find out. (The second stand was Dunkin’ Donuts.)

As we dive into Asia, we carry especially Kenya in our hearts, looking toward Monday’s national election. Praying for peace and unity.