these shoes were made for traveling

Last month we traveled around South East Asia for about two and a half weeks.  We went to Hong Kong, Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai) and Laos (Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang).  It was a wonderful trip, with a nice mix of food, adventure, culture and summer weather! I'll write about each place individually soon, but first I need to tell you about a discovery I've made.  I've found the most fantastic travel shoes.  They aren't necessarily meant for travel, but when I found them I thought they had all the makings of a good travel shoe, and I was right.

The company that makes these shoes is called TOMS.  It was started by a participant of one of my favourite shows, The Amazing Race.  While traveling through several developing regions Blake Mycoskie noticed many children were living without proper shoes.  He had an idea and sought to help remedy the problem.  He started TOMS shoes on the 'one for one' principal that for every pair of shoes he sold, he would donate another pair to a child in a country like Argentina or South Africa.  Since he started the company in 2006, TOMS shoes has given shoes to upwards of 200,000 children around the world.

As soon as I heard about this company, I went to the website and decided I wanted to buy a pair of TOMS myself.  I looked through the styles offered and settled on these.  I loved the neutral colour and the wild animals print inside.  Little did I know then that I would end up wearing them while riding an elephant!  The next step, of actually purchasing said shoes, proved quite difficult since I live in South Korea.  Unfortunately, TOMS doesn't currently send online orders to Asia, so I had to track down one of the 5 or so stores in Seoul that carry TOMS.  I went to one in MyungDong, called 'ALand'.  I was happy to find they stocked the style I wanted (and also that they have a second hand store on their 3rd floor!), and I happily forked over my $42 USD.  I am proof that when you offer a customer something extra (especially something worthwhile) with their purchase, that customer is willing to pay a lot more than normal for your product.

I walked around in my TOMS before our trip, wanting to make sure they 'wore in' before we left.  I was pleasently surprised to find they didn't need it.  They were comfortable from the minute I put them on and they haven't stopped being comfortable since.  I was also happy to feel how lightweight they are, which is the second most important traveling requirement.  Comfortable? Check.  Lightweight? Check.  Two for two.  The other benefits of making these my 'travel shoes' revealed themselves once we were on the road.  In the past I traveled through warm climates primarily doning flip flops or other sandals.  While I adore my flip flops, they do not keep my feet warm on night buses, and they do not protect my feet from mosqitos (who are potentially carrying malaria) or random things on the street I don't want to get on my feet.  I was concered that they would feel too hot while I was walking around in the tropics, but I felt really comfortable in them.  It was a bonus that my shoes seemed to go with almost everything I wanted to wear. 

After two and a half weeks of wear through dirty cities and rough countryside, my TOMS held up very well.  The quality of these shoes is very high, and I would trust them to stand up to a much longer trip as well. Obviously, I would recommend other travelers get a pair of TOMS.  Not only do they make a great travel shoe, but they also give us an opportunity to improve the quality of life of people we often meet while traveling.  Now I need to find a reason to justify the purchase of these lovely TOMS wrap boots.