We are the Wonderlusters

Who Are They?

“Wonderlust” blends “Wonder” with “Wanderlust,” a German word meaning “a strong desire to wander, travel and explore the world.” The Wonderlusters are a family of four, in an endless quest to marvel at and travel the world.

Daddyluster is Poly, and he has quite an atypical profile, to say the least. Born in France, of Chinese descent, his parents were refugees from Cambodia. He’s been privileged to study in England, then in Canada, where he now lives with his Mexican wife, Jessica, and their two Canadian-born sons, Mateo and Luka. By necessity, Poly was led to learn several languages (Teochew Chinese, French, English, German and Spanish), to live in and discover different cultures and customs, and to travel the world. Along the way, he naturally grew the ambition to explore the beauty of the world around him. His adventurous palate has led him to eat grasshoppers, ant eggs, turtle soup, caterpillars, lizards and scorpions.

Jessica is the Mommyluster. Mexican at heart and in the blood, she is deeply committed to her family’s well-being. Like most of her fellow Mexicans, she had always dreamt of leaving her country. Since she also loves snow, she found her way to a country she calls “Winter.” An artist in her spare time, she enjoys losing herself in museums, admiring masterpieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Monet, Da Vinci or Van Gogh. She appreciates having gelatos in Italy, touring the winding roads and tunnels of the Swiss Alps, contemplating architectural wonders like the Sistine Chapel and the châteaux of the Loire Valley, and lounging on Mexico’s pearly white beaches.

Mateo de Saint-Exupéry is the one who deepened his parents’ passion for travelling. Believing they would be condemned to inactivity after Mateo’s birth, they planned a “last” great trip to Asia — until they realized Mateo was the world’s easiest baby. In fact, while he was still in his mother’s womb, Mateo had already “climbed” the Great Wall of China. Before his first birthday, he had seen the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, the CN Tower and the Pyramids of Teotihuacan. He loves hiking and building sand castles, but what he loves most is watching hummingbirds. Above all, he holds the family record for the “longest time spent without blinking” — definitely an important skill for a Wonderluster!

Luka Skywalker adores having his head in the clouds. His favorite country to visit is Mexico, because he loves eating tacos, and he’s spent a good part of his short life there. But like his mom, he’d rather live in Canada. He’s seen the Grand Canyon, the Colosseum, the Sagrada Familia, Chichen Itza and the Château Frontenac. His favorite sport is barefoot running on the beach, and his best trip memory is a helicopter ride over New York. Although he has almond-shaped eyes like his dad, he’s somehow able to open them wider than his older brother. He was definitely born into the right family.

Together, the Wonderlusters marvel at extraordinary landscapes, at countries with historically rich cultures and traditions, and at people having incredible human qualities, as well as artistic and culinary skills.

What is this website about?

In November 2017, Poly and Jessica came up with the crazy idea of going on a family trip around the world. Six months later, the family embarked on an adventure of a lifetime, which would last 444 days across 50 countries, with 56 flights, 33 car rentals and 181 dwellings on the clock.

Poly created this blog to document the travel adventures of the Wonderlusters around the world. He records the places they’ve visited, their itineraries, travel expenses broken down by category, enhanced with crisp stories and amazing photos!

As an expert planner, Poly continues sharing travel tips and tricks in pursuit of the mission he set for himself: “To inspire and help travelers optimize the planning and budgeting of their future adventures, by giving them all the tools and information needed to do so on their own.”

What’s behind all this?

To conclude, Poly shares some personal thoughts.

From my point of view, most people work and endure a routine in order to acquire and maintain an appreciable standard of living. Eventually, we end up clinging to transient joys by acquiring a 4K television, a new car or a house financed up to the maximum credit limit granted by the bank. We take pride in being able to enjoy the material fruits of our labour, while at the same time envying the neighbor who has a greener lawn. We take for granted what others in the world will never have the chance to have.

I have spent years proving to myself that fulfilling myself professionally and personally in appearance, attaching myself to material possessions, or seeking recognition and admiration would bring me happiness… in vain. I have managed to a certain extent to consider myself happy in these circumstances, knowing that all this is only an illusion.

At the age of 25, my reckless goal was to retire at 40. I have put this modest wish aside, seeing my goals evolve as I grew older. Priorities change as circumstances change. I now realize that life is hanging by a thread and I want to pursue my dreams while there is still time, so that I don’t regret when it’s too late.

With this in mind, Jessica and I made one of the easiest decisions we ever made in our lives: to take a trip around the world as a family for a full year.

The goals behind this decision were multiple. We wanted to escape our comfort zone and our daily routine, to detach ourselves from our material possessions, to forge strong family bonds, to take advantage of our children’s young age as much as possible, and above all, to come closer to God. We had hopes that we would collectively emerge from this process more human, intellectually grown, emotionally transformed and spiritually better equipped.

The mission is accomplished.

Where? When? How?

The 444-day family trip through 50 countries has come to an end. Here is the report of this extraordinary world tour in 3 parts:

Part 1: Key highlights of a wonderful family trip around the world
Part 2: Organizational summary of our round-the-world trip
Part 3: Financial report on our family trip around the world

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