“I learned so quickly that children change everything about travel.” –Bruce Kirkby

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Bruce discuss how Bruce got his travel-writing career started, and why he ended up traveling to a Tibetan Indian monastery with his young family (3:00); what it is like to travel overland with young kids in tow, from Canada to India, and how having a child on the autism spectrum affects the experience (12:30); what it was like to travel to Asia with a sixteen-person TV crew in tow (23:00); what it was like to life a low-tech offline life and teach English in a remote (yet changing) mountain region in Tibetan India (27:30); how Bruce and his family navigated the tension between tradition and modernity in Zanskar, and how being there for three months differs from a shorter visit (38:00).

Bruce Kirkby (@bruce_kirkby) is a Canadian adventurer, photographer, and writer. His newest book, discussed in this episode, is Blue Sky Kingdom: An Epic Family Journey to the Heart of the Himalaya. More about Bruce and his career can be found at: http://brucekirkby.com/.

Notable Links:

• Mergui Archipelago (group of islands in southern Myanmar)
• Family Ties (1980s TV show starring Michael J. Fox)
• Kate Harris (Canadian travel writer)
• Kate Harris on travel (Deviate podcast episode)
• Zanskar (mountain region in Tibetan India)
• Ladakh (union territory in India’s Kashmir region)
• Autism spectrum disorder (neurodevelopmental condition)
• Big Crazy Family Adventure (Travel Channel show)
• Long Way Round (TV travel doc featuring Ewan McGregor)
• Monkey mind (Buddhist concept)
• 14th Dalai Lama (Tibetan spiritual leader)
• Rumspringa (Amish rite of passage)
• Leh (capital city of Ladakh)
• Being a better bad tourist (Deviate episode)

This episode is sponsored by the Santa Fe Workshops, which offer a variety of online and in-person classes and seminars in writing and photography, including “Three Simple Lines & The Color of Wind,” a hybrid writing-photography webinar featuring Natalie Goldberg and Eddie Soloway (January 27-29, 2021); and “Across the World and Deep Within,” a travel webinar featuring author Pico Iyer (February 16-18, 2021).

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.