As I sit in the 9th floor apartment overlooking the ocean, I’m exhausted. My head leans back against the couch and I watch the dark storm clouds creep their way towards shore, the wind picks up so fiercely that it whistles and the rain, which just started, is pelting down. This is a powerful storm.

The perfect storm brewing in Penang.
Photo: Bohemian Travelers

The storms roll in and out quickly here, on the beaches of Penang, Malaysia.

I’ve tuckered myself out rolling with the storm, not the weather, but the huge storm that we’ve organized here in Penang.

Traveling Families Storm Penang

We’ve organized a large meet-up of 8+ families this week in Penang. We know each other from a Facebook group of traveling families. Some are bloggers, some are not and the new ones that have joined us have randomly recognized us or have been drawn to our ecstatic energy, of which there is a lot. Over 42 people, mainly children, talking, playing, laughing and exchanging. It’s a welcome retreat for many.

The whirlwind of conversation is fierce. We’ve met a few families in the past for a day or two and are always surprised to experience the instant connections we have, though we are all very different.

The new families we haven’t met before are familiar to us through reading their blogs, creating a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. I study to see if their personalities match up with their blog writing and they certainly do. This is really cool. Some are big time bloggers and make their living writing about their life, others, like me, are novices that do it for fun (well, I’m still wondering the ‘why’ of why I do it). But it doesn’t matter. We all share the love of adventure, discovery, food, culture and are ballsy enough to actually go after it and make it happen.

There is connection with having balls. There is also a connection with the type of traits that go along with creating this lifestyle: openness, respect for all individuals, honesty with our children, the constant effort to remain unflustered with our children and all the new situations we put ourselves in, a willingness to accept what is rather than what could/should be, a genuine desire for growth, and a concrete knowledge that these experiences are shaping each one of us to a new awareness.

Because traveling can be quite a storm.

We’ve only been here for 2 days now and have stormed the Hard Rock Hotel for a foam party, have had a large meet-up for more pool fun and nearly overtook the night hawker market in Penang (our favorite place to eat!). My voice is sore from talking and I know I’ve acquired a few more facial lines from laughing so much. Tonight, we rolled into a beachside restaurant and enjoyed an evening of breezes, horses, puppies and food.

A tornado of people

circling around each other

sharing this

intersection of life.

-S King

Photo credit: Travel with Bender

Look up these awesome family bloggers.

Follow their journey. Get ideas. Create your own storm.

A King’s Life
Going Anyway
The Edventure Project
Bohemian Travelers
Travel with Bender
Worldschool Adventures
Edventure Girl