I love most of the shows featured on the Travel Channel and Big Crazy Family Adventure is my newest TV obsession! The stars of the show are the Kirkbys, a family that consists of parents Bruce and Christine, plus sons Bodi & Taj.

Bruce Kirkby is a longtime travel guide/photographer who’s known for visiting the most remote locations. He conceived of taking the “family trip of a lifetime”—a 13,000 mile, 96-day trek from their home in Canada to a monastery in India. Because their boys are only 7 and 3, that would be daunting under any circumstances, yet the Kirkbys kicked it up several thousand notches by not using any airplanes!

Throughout their odyssey, they focused on alternative travel methods, using a combination of canoe, cargo ship, ferry boat, bullet train, riverboat, taxi, pony, elephant and rickshaw—plus good old walking, whenever possible.

When I first heard the premise of Big Crazy Family Adventure, I couldn’t believe any parents would even attempt, let alone enjoy, such a trip. Traveling with kids is hard for most of us; I can remember my own parents almost had a nervous breakdown when we took a simple car trip to Disney World. But the Kirkbys seem to have a pioneer spirit. What makes their trip even more impressive is that little Bodi has Autism and unfamiliar surroundings can be super tricky.

Obviously, there were disappointments and mini meltdowns like when they missed their train in China and were detained in Russia, but overall the Kirkbys kept a remarkably cheerful can-do attitude. I doubt most of us would want to recreate their adventure, but it’s inspiring to watch nonetheless.

Every episode is available with On Demand, so you can binge to your heart’s delight. I watched 5 shows in a single sitting; that’s how good I thought it was. Isn’t vicarious living fun…

Would you attempt a Big Crazy Family Adventure? Why or why not? Personally, I’d be too scared!