Redirecting to new website
One of the important lessons I have learned in life is to remain calm and act confident, even while fighting the urge to panic.  Nowhere was this lesson more applicable than when I got caught drying my underwear with the hair dryer in the ladies' room at the Taipei International Airport.  How I devolved from a cubicle-dwelling rocket scientist living the good life in Silicon Valley with my wife and two children into the person drying his underwear in a ladies' restroom 16 time zones away from home is told in
360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World.

Before we had children, my wife, September, and I had discovered how traveling can shape one's thinking.  We wanted to give this experience to our children.  From that early concept the idea of a year-long around-the-world trip with our children emerged.  Jordan, our youngest, was just learning to talk when he heard of the trip.  When referring to it, the words "world-the-round" came tumbling out of his mouth; the name stuck.

As the children grew older we backpacked and camped in far-flung corners of the world to learn what worked and what to
Photo Gallery (SmugMug)
Multimedia Slideshow
FAQ: 52 Weeks, 28 Countries, One Family
Media Links and Upcoming Presentations
The Book
Home
Google Earth!
How To Plan a Round-the-World Trip
Bits & Pieces
Exploding Postal Scales
(Turkey)
The Ugly Side of Humanity
(Cambodia)
Sample Chapters
Want a preview of the book?
Take a look at a couple of sample chapters!
expect.  Saving and planning became a family activity.  To unite us in our goal we would consider even modest expenditures as a family and say, "Do we really need this, or would we rather save the money for the world-the-round trip?"  In the year before we left, we prepared home school lessons about the places we would visit and other curriculum.

Finally, the time came and September and I quit our jobs and packed up our home.  Over the next 52 weeks we visited 28 countries on five continents crossing 24 time zones.  Along the way we saw the beauty of the Swiss Alps, the surprise of Carnaval in Panama City and the ugliness of the Cambodian Killing Fields.  We stayed in the humblest of inns of the Bolivian Altiplano and witnessed the dazzling lights of Hong Kong.  We learned while cycling across Europe that fate can be cruel; after being stranded in a tiny village in Africa we learned that strangers can perform astonishing acts of charity.  You can read about our adventures here!
Contact Us
RTW with Children
360 Degrees Longitude:
One Family's Journey Around the World
Favorite Stories
We sent emails home while traveling and found that many of the stories were forwarded far and wide.  Here are a few favorites:
Links to Other Travelers & Websites
Copyright 2008 John Higham