What it’s like to take your kids on a three-month journey in the Himalayas

“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.