Wanderlust runs in Ting Dalton’s family.
The award-winning travel writer was bitten by the travel bug as a child. Her parents took her to Egypt, where she climbed the Great Pyramid of Giza, and to China, where she walked along the Great Wall. When she was in her 20s, Ting bought an around-the-world ticket; her first destination was India, and she didn’t return home to London for a year and a half.
In 2014, she started her website, My Travel Monkey, to document her travels with her son. She now has two kids, and continues to write about travel—in 2019, she traveled internationally five times, and took countless trips in the U.K. This past year, of course, has been very different.
“I’m so lucky to live somewhere where we have such beautiful natural landscapes close to home, but I really miss exploring further afield,” she says. “But it has made me really appreciate just how lucky I am to have been to so many countries. I will never take travel for granted again.”
In addition to traveling, Ting loves food. She even appeared on this year’s BBC series of MasterChef, beating thousands of contestants to be on the show. “Unfortunately, a few errors and the pressure meant that I was out in the first heat,” she says. But the experience reignited her passion for cooking, and inspired her to start a new site, Cook Simply.
Ting shared her best travel hack with The Expedition—as well as her favorite gear, the reason she plans to fly less, and more.
In three words, our travel style is…
Busy, chaotic, adventurous
My best travel hack is…
Always have snacks. You can never pack enough snacks.
Our first trip together as a foursome was…
To Lisbon in Portugal, when my son was just 12 weeks old. There were far too many hills for a buggy, let me tell you!
My must-have travel gear is…
We had a Maclaren buggy that went everywhere with us. It’s light,compact and can be put flat, so a sleeping toddler can be very comfy in it wherever you go, day or night.
My parents taught me to be…
Inquisitive about the world we live in. Travel is such an eye-opener, and teaches things that cannot be taught in a classroom. Their approach was very much: Let’s see as much as we can, on the budget that we have, and enjoy ourselves as a family unit.
I am becoming more and more aware of…
The negative impact travel has on our environment. And now more than ever, people do have to start addressing that. Which is one of the reasons we’ve decided to buy a caravan to renovate and do up! And fly a lot less.
I find that Europe is particularly…
Child-friendly. In Italy, Spain and Greece, they just love kids and loud noise. It doesn’t bother them at all.
Families who want to travel like us should…
Be flexible and open minded. Sometimes, somewhere you might not initially fancy could be the best destination ever. And when you travel with young kids too, you have to be flexible. There’s no point in sticking to nap times, or not letting kids stay up late or eat ice cream. Do what works for an easier life. After all, it’s everyone’s holiday.
What I most want my children to learn from traveling is…
Humility. They need to understand just how lucky they are. Also, diversity—how there are so many different cultures across the world, and not everyone looks or thinks the same way as they do.
I often decide on our destinations based on…
Budget. And where I can get the best deals. I am an avid travel fan, so really there is no destination that is out of bounds for me—I want to go everywhere!
The destinations on my bucket list are…
Too many to mention! But next big-ticket destinations I hope will be Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and Zimbabwe.
Families can learn more about me at…
www.my-travelmonkey.com or if you’re looking for food inspo from around the world, www.cooksimply.co.uk.
