When Mark and his 11-year-old daughter Quinn determined to journey collectively by way of Cambodia, they anticipated an journey. What they didn’t anticipate was one of many best experiences of their lives. Mark shares what made this specific journey so particular, and why he recommends each father or mother travels with their children.
Mark Kosiba isn’t your typical journey man. The 54-year-old father of three is a self-proclaimed ‘working dude’, who entered the workforce straight out of school and hasn’t actually stopped. He’s completed a handful of enterprise journeys to China, however hasn’t completed a lot journey for enjoyable.
That all modified just a few years in the past, when a buddy of Mark’s – who takes a complete month off to journey every year – advised they go on an Intrepid journey to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. That was all it took to get Mark hooked.
This yr, Mark determined to hit the street with a brand new journey companion: his 11-year-old daughter Quinn.
“There’s something unique about having that one-on-one time travelling with a child,” Mark says. “When you’re without the sisters and mom, we get to know each other a lot better. It’s incredibly powerful and important.”
Mark and Quinn – together with a father-son pair they’re mates with – took Intrepid’s 8-day Cambodia Family Holiday with Teenagers, and Quinn was fairly nervous about her first journey abroad. “It’s a whole different part of the world and I was excited to see it, but also nervous about things going wrong, like missing our flight or getting stuck somewhere,” Quinn says. “But when we finally got there, all that went away and I was so happy to be there with my friends and my dad.”
Travelling with children, significantly one-on-one away from siblings and one other father or mother, will be an effective way to construct resilience and address no matter challenges life would possibly throw at you.
“We talked a lot about what might happen if we lost our passports or missed our flight,” Mark says. “Ultimately, it’s about not panicking – whatever happens, we’re going to figure it out together. In fact, Mark believes some of those unexpected things can lead to the best memories. “There’s magic in things going sideways when you’re travelling, that some people might look at as a negative, but it’s just part of the experience. The ability to face a problem and then solve it with your kid? I can’t express how great it feels to do that,” he says.
One of the largest issues that made Mark and Quinn’s journey so memorable was their Intrepid chief Patsreymom. “We felt this bubble of safety travelling around Cambodia with her,” Mark says. “She was so intuitive with the kids. I felt safe to take chances I wouldn’t normally take if I was trying to travel with Quinn by myself.”
Quinn has since misplaced her journey jitters and is happy to see extra of the world. “Thailand sounds really cool, and maybe China too,” she says. “Basically, I just want to go out of America and see a lot of other places! If we go on another trip with Intrepid, I think I’m going to feel safer because I’ll be with people who know what to do and what to eat.”
For mother and father who would possibly really feel nervous about travelling one-on-one with their children, Mark has one piece of recommendation: do it.
“Travelling with your kids will be one of the greatest things you’ll ever do,” he says. “When you completely replant yourself in another part of the world where you’re dealing with things like language, culture, food – there’s an intensity. You bond, you learn about each other, and it changes the relationship dynamic between you and your kid. It’s the coolest thing ever.”