John Willmot, 55, took his family on a year-long trip around the world in episode 1 of My Family's Crazy Gap Year. We caught up with him when he got back to find out how the trip has changed him.
What have been the main things that you have learnt from your year away?
The main thing I have learnt is that you don't have to have wealth and money and possessions to be happy. In the rainforest the kids were so well behaved and such lovely people in their manner, humour and graciousness. It's incredible to think they just walk about in the jungle every day and hadn't been properly educated. They are happy families and they don't have anything, their whole wordly possessions are in a small roped bag made from tree bark carried by the mother and that's it.
I have also become a lot more spiritual, more eco friendly and more into animals and sustainable energy since the trip. We have also become very annoyed by the amount of rubbish we are producing and are trying to do something about it. Nothing in the jungle is wasted, they use everything. And even the little waste they have is organic and bio-degradable. We have been to places where people have nothing and we have too much. I have also changed my views of the homeopathetic remedies, or at least, I am more of a convert than I was before. Nobody got ill on the trip and none of us had the vaccines, even when we were in the worst malaria hotspots in the world.
Do you and your family get involved more with charities because of the trip?
We do a lot for charity anyway; we have our own small projects working in other countries. But the trip away definitely made us want to do more.
Tell us more about your charity work...
We run a 'Robin Hood-type' charity in India where we get our friends to send us money and we spend it in childrens orphanages or with villages where there is no water supply. It's a private little thing we do. 100 per cent of the money goes to the families in need and we tell the donors exactly how their money was spent. Weve put in a reservoir, put in sports equipment, bedding. One village needed washing machines, so we got them washing machines and installed them. Once in a blind orphanage, we gave the children football with bells inside them and built cupboards to put their stuff inside. We also fitted them out with blankets and shoes.
Any hard times on the trip? Any arguments?
The biggest pressure on a couple taking their children away for this kind of adventure is the vigilance that you have to have over and above what you have in the UK. Imagine that, but over an entire year: there is no respite. So mentally, you get very drained because you have to be very alert. We had far less rows when we were away as we were all working towards a common goal.
Your two boys were involved in a car crash during your trip. Can you tell us more about that?
We were in two cars. I was in the car in front with my wife and daughter. We had gone on ahead so when the crash happened we didnt know. We stopped to wait for them and when they didn't appear, we went back and discovered they had crashed. When we saw the car on it's roof, we thought it was a miracle. If the crash had been 15 minutes earlier, they would have been gonners as we were much higher up in the valley at that point, there was a 3000 ft drop into a river. Luckily, we had managed to get back to the bottom of the valley by the river which was very very lucky.
Tell us about meeting the Dalai Lama...
Meeting the Dalai was unbelievable. I think he is a very important world leader, more so than any of the others. He is not bound by politics, he can speak on behalf of the world. Other World leaders speak on behalf of their countries then say what their supporters want to hear. The Dalai can say whatever he wants and he talks a lot more sense. If we all listened to him the world would be a better place.
Have you made any lasting relationships with the people you met on the trip?
Definitely. The house we all slept in during our stay in Pakistan was recently invloved in the floods. It has been heavily damaged. Luckily the family are all ok but they've had to flea into the mountains and live in a tent. We have been able to send them money to help them out.
How do you feel after your year away?
I feel very privileged. We are perceived to have lots of money, and to be well-off, but I think we are privileged to have met so many incredibly inspirational people along the way.
What was the one gadget you couldn't have lived without on the trip?
The ebook, we read over 160 books. And also the laptop. We booked stuff as we went round the world which saved us a lot of money.
Did you have a desert island disc that reminds you of the trip?
The Mama Mia soundtrack. We played it a lot!
Do you think your children might want to become Buddhists like their mother after the trip?
Haha! the children are budding Buddhists!
Any advice for another family considering embarking on a family gap year?
Don't hesitate, plan it, research it and get on with it.
