When I read a recent story on CNN that talks about how the age at which people (in the West) get bitten by the travel-bug is decreasing, I felt both good and envious.

I’ve been lucky to have parents who moved around a lot, so I have lived in more places than many since a very young age; but it was purely a coincidence, the benefits of which I’m only comprehending now. A conscious effort to travel and explore the world only happened for me when I moved to Australia for university where I was surrounded by adventurous people; my lust for travel, funnily enough, started with weekend hikes!

My parents have always encouraged travel and totally support my vagabonding life; but I sometimes do wish that I spent more of my childhood holidays traveling purely to travel, rather than travel to visit family members. But, as an Indian girl brought up mostly in India, that’s what you do. I think this is changing now, but it’s nothing like how it works in the United States or Europe where things like independent travel and gap years are commonplace — which brings me back to the article I was referring to.

If you are parents who want to inject your children with the travel-bug and help them explore the world outside them while not having to worry about their safety, this article is filled with information and links to organizations that will sort it out for you. Here are some of them:

• West Coast Connection

• Where There Be Dragons
• Thrill Coaster Tours

It’s a good place to start, you can read the full feature here.